Thursday 3 October 2013

Read: Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, Hebrews 9:23-28

What happens when we die? Yesterday we looked together at the certainty of our death, the fact that all of us will one day face the end of our lives. What will happen when we get there? Solomon raises this question in passing in verse 21: "Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the Earth?"

There have been numerous theories about what exactly happens when you die. The Catholics believe in purgatory, a place where you go once you die to suffer for your sins until you have been punished enough to go to heaven. Some Christian groups believe in soul sleep, the idea that once you die your soul sleeps or is unaware for a time until Christ's return at which point we are all judged.

The Bible does not teach these ideas however. Instead the Bible gives a clear picture that all people die and immediately face God's judgment. At that point those who are in Christ go to be with God and those who are not are cast out. We see this picture in Hebrews 10 where the author, writing about Christ's work on the cross, tells us that man is destined to die once and then to face judgment.

We see this picture also in 2 Corinthians 5:10 (which we will look at in detail tomorrow) where Paul tells us that to be away from the body is to be present with God. There is no delay in Paul's mind between death and being with God, no soul sleep, no purgatory to cleanse us of our sins. Instead we go immediately to face God in judgment.

What do we learn from all this? Firstly we learn that our only hope for salvation is in Christ alone. There is no second chance for us to atone for our own sin by being punished for a time in purgatory. This idea undoes all the work of Christ on the cross for us.

Secondly, as believers we have tremendous hope that when we die we will go to be with Christ immediately. This provides us not only joy in relation to our own deaths but also tremendous comfort knowing that those believing loved ones who died before us are know with Jesus.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today's reading to help you get ideas. 

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Pray for the elderly members of your church. Pray that they would grow in their love and passion for the Lord. Pray that they would be bold in proclaiming the gospel wherever they are. Pray that they would be faithful in showing the love of Christ to their families and friends. And finally pray that God would give them the strength and health they require to work for His kingdom.
• Pray for all the children who came along to Extreme Week at Christlife last week and heard about the love of Christ. Pray that God would be working in their hearts and the hearts of their families. Pray that they might come along to church to hear about all that He has done for them and that they would respond to Him with repentance and faith.

My Additional Prayer Points. 

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