Hope in the Lord

If you have your Bibles (and I hope you do) please turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 4. If you’re able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NIV

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

This is the Word of the Lord!

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Since the 1970 publication of Hal Lindsey’s best-selling book The Late Great Planet Earth, dramatic images of the rapture have dominated evangelical thinking.

Lindsey described his idea of the rapture in the words of a fictional reporter:

“There I was, driving down the freeway and all of a sudden the place went crazy…cars going in all directions…and not one of them had a driver.”

A sports journalist noted: “Only one minute to go and they fumbled—our linebacker recovered—he was about a yard from the goal when—zap—no more linebacker—completely gone, just like that!”

Images like these have been replayed in Christian novels and movies and more than a few Bible studies, depicting believers as suddenly vanishing without a trace.

The understanding taught in Lindsey’s popular book and accepted by many evangelicals today is a view that was virtually unknown before the mid-nineteenth century.

Teachers of the pretribulation, secret rapture will usually admit that the key features of their doctrine are not found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the only verse in the Bible to describe the rapture directly.

For instance, John MacArthur, who believes in the secret rapture, writes that “no solitary text of Scripture makes the entire case for the pretribulation rapture.”

This being true, advocates of this view make their case not on the direct teaching of any Bible passage but from inferences taken from Scripture on the basis of a presupposed system of doctrine.

As much as people want to make this passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 about the rapture, it just isn’t. It simply isn’t about that.

Paul mentions a few things here about the coming of the Lord, so we’ll discuss that, but the point of this passage is found in verse 13.

Verse 13 is the reason Paul’s writing his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

Paul mentions Christians who “sleep” three times in our text for today (vv. 13, 14, 15) and then refers to them twice more (vv. 16, 17).

Paul uses the word sleep as a euphemism for death. It’s a little nicer euphemism than “kicked the bucket” or “bought the farm” or “another one bites the dust.”

The issue that Paul addresses concerns believers who have died. His primary focus is to address the question that was apparently weighing heavily on the Thessalonians’ minds:

What happens to Christians who die prior to the return of Christ?

Paul and Silas and Timothy, the missionaries who shared the Good News about Jesus with the Thessalonians, don’t want [them] to be uniformed. They don’t want these new believer’s in Thessalonica to be ignorant about this topic

Part of the reason this passage isn’t an exhaustive explanation of the events surrounding Jesus’ Return is because Paul taught some of this to them in person.

But he didn’t have time, in person, to teach them everything. So, among the new Christians in Thessalonica, there is some confusion about what happens after a believer dies.

Some, maybe much, of the confusion results from pagan ideas creeping into the church.

That’s an interesting thought: pagan ideas creeping into the church. It happened then and there. It happens here and now—pagan ideas creeping into the church.

The world we live in, the ways of the world, the beliefs of the world have a way of impacting those who belong to the church.

There are so many instances of this, specifically where theology is concerned. When Christians are uninformed about what the Bible says, they’ll believe just about anything.

Someone can say, “You know the Bible says, ‘God helps those who help themselves’ and ‘The Lord will never give you more than you can handle.’”

And the person who doesn’t know their Bible thinks, “Yeah, that sounds like that could be right,” when really the exact opposite is true.

There are people who call themselves “pastors” and gatherings that call themselves “churches” who teach outright heresy about the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, sin, sexuality, heaven and hell, and on and on.

Pagan ideas—unbiblical, unChristian, untrue ideas—can easily creep into the church. Pagan ideas creep into the church. And falsehood always clashes with true Biblical Christianity.

We have to be ready and willing to reject any unbiblical teaching, any worldly system of thought that is contrary to what the Bible has to say.

We need to familiarize ourselves with the Bible so that we don’t accept any teaching that differs from what is true.

In this one specific area—what happens to a Christian when they die—Paul doesn’t want his new Christian brothers and sisters to be ignorant or uniformed.

So Paul teaches them what Christians believe.

We Hope in the Lord (v. 13)

I’m not for sure where the world’s hope lies regarding life after death. I know some believe their goodness will get them to heaven as long as their good deeds outweigh the bad.

One of my favorite TV shows gets almost everything about the afterlife wrong theologically, but unwittingly gets total depravity correct.

The main characters find out there’s a point system to get into “The Good Place” and then realize no one has gotten into “The Good Place” in over 500 years. No one, not even the “best” people in history.

The writers of the sitcom stumble onto the truth. No one is good enough. No one’s good deeds outweigh the bad.

A lot of people put their hope in how good they are. A number of religious people believe their religious activity and service will make them right with God.

That’s just wrong. No one’s goodness will get them anywhere.

Most pagan, non-believing people in the ANE believed that death was the end. You die and that’s it.

It seems the Thessalonians believe some measure of this. “What happens to our loved ones who believe in Jesus, but die before Jesus comes back?”

They must think that once dead, that’s it for that person, believer or not.

The truth is, writes Paul, there’s hope for the Christian who dies, and hope for those who are left to grieve.

Hope. Hang your hat there; we’ll come back to that.

When Paul uses the word sleep, he’s referring specifically to the physical body. When believer’s die, their bodies sleep.

This is not “soul sleep.” Some of you have heard about and been taught about “soul sleep,” but that concept is completely foreign to the Bible. You won’t find that anywhere here.

The Bible explicitly affirms the eternal consciousness of every person. In other words, there will never be a time when a person ceases to exist or ceases to be conscious of his existence. This is true for both the believer and the non-believer.

When Christians die, their bodies go into the grave, but their spirits go directly into the presence of God. 2 Cor 5:8 “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

When non-Christians die, their bodies go into the grave, but their spirits go immediately to hell.

Nowhere does the Bible teach that a person ever loses a conscious awareness of where he is or what is happening to him after he dies.

At death, your existence does not end. Your physical body goes to sleep, but your spirit continues to exist.

That’s part of Paul’s answer elsewhere in the Bible, and possibly something Paul taught the Thessalonians while with them in person.

Paul starts by reminding them to grieve WITH hope.

There are many who grieve without any hope whatsoever. Paul doesn’t want the Thessalonians to grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

There’s nothing wrong with grief. Grieve. Mourn. We’re instructed to do just that.

Christians simply don’t grieve like the rest.

Christians grieve like Christians.

Christians grieve with hope.

Christians hope in the Lord. In fact, our hope IS the Lord.

1 Timothy 1:1 NIV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

Titus 2:13 NIV

13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

We don’t hope the good stuff we do outnumbers the bad things we do. We don’t hope that God might be pleased with our religious observance. We don’t trust our country or our political views to save us.

We trust in the Lord. Jesus Himself is our hope. Specifically here in the area of death.

“Death has been overcome by the Risen Lord. And that has transformed the whole situation for those who are in Him.” -Leon Morris

We hope in the Lord,

Believing the Gospel (v. 14)

In verse 14, there’s a brief summation of the gospel—the Good News about Jesus. Do you see it? The first half of 1 Thess 4:14 “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again…”

To ground them in hope, Paul takes them back to the foundational truths of their faith—the death and resurrection of Jesus.

They’re concerned about those among them who have died. They’re confused about what death means for a believer.

So Paul takes them back and points them to Jesus. That’s what we’re meant to do.

The cornerstone of our faith is Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Without the death of Jesus, the whole thing crumbles.

But, this is true: Jesus really lived and really died. He’s not another one of their Greek gods. He’s no myth. He actually existed, historically.

In His death, Jesus accomplished something for us that we could not accomplish ourselves. His righteousness becomes ours. He paid for our sins—all of them; not in part, but the whole.

The death of Jesus transforms our death into sleep. Those who belong to Him, those who are in Christ, will not experience death.

By means of His death, we are delivered from God’s wrath and we enter into His kingdom.

These are the truths the Thessalonians (and we) need to be reminded of. This is the basis of their hope (and ours). Our death disappears in the death of Christ.

Beyond Jesus’ saving death, He rose again. That’s the second part of Paul’s gospel summation.

Every other world religion’s leader/founder is dead.

You can go to India and see the shrine that covers part of Buddha’s ashes. Travel to Illinois to find Joseph Smith’s body, China for Confucius’, Saudi Arabia for Muhammad’s. L. Ron Hubbard is scattered all over the Pacific Ocean. The list goes on.

Jesus, dead for three days, is alive now and forevermore! He is not in the borrowed tomb; He just used it for a bit.

The most historically verifiable event ever is the resurrection of Jesus. It was witnessed, attested to, written about.

Paul points to this truth—the historical fact of the resurrection as proof that God will also resurrect every believer who dies.

This is not wishful thinking; it’s built on the foundation of a fact. Since God was faithful to raise Jesus from the dead, the same promise holds true for those who love Him and belong to Him by faith.

1 Thess 4.14 “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

“Look back at what you know.” That’s the gist of what Paul is saying to the Thessalonians. This is what I would urge you to do when you suffer, when you grieve, when you’re confused. “Look back at what you know.”

Remember what Jesus has done for you. Look back at His death on the cross FOR YOU! Think about His resurrection and how that guarantees a resurrection for each and every Christian!

Look back at what you know. Put your hope in Jesus and believe the gospel. Trust the Good News that Jesus died to redeem sinners and rose from the dead to prove our redemption.

We hope in the Lord,

Awaiting Jesus’ Return (vv. 15-16)

Key to these two verses is Paul’s division between those Christians who died before Jesus’ return—those who have fallen asleep, the dead in Christ—and those who are still living on earth when Jesus appears—we who are alive, those left until the coming of the Lord.

Of great comfort to those who are grieving the death of loved ones, is Paul’s teaching here—according to the Lord’s word—that the dead in Christ will rise first.

Those who are left here, still alive at the Return of Jesus, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

The coming of the Lord is an event that will not be missed. That phrase—the coming of the Lord—is a common NT phrase designating Christ’s return in order to establish His eternal kingdom and rule.

This is “the great event anticipated by believers, when Christ the King returns to judge the living and the dead and complete His work of bringing all things into subjection to the Father.”

Christ is returning, but remember, Christian: Jesus is near to us right now, as we await His return. We anticipate Jesus’ return, but we don’t neglect His presence with us now.

Speaking of Jesus’ “second coming” stresses that Jesus has come before. He took on flesh and dwelled among us. When the Resurrected Jesus spoke to His disciples before He ascended into heaven, He said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

On that great day, when the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, He will be unmissable.

Verse 16 rules out any idea of a hidden or secret or invisible return of Christ. Listen:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NIV

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Loud Command. Voice of the archangel. Trumpet call of God.

No one is missing that. No one will wonder what’s going on. No one will sleep through it or question what happened.

Jesus’ return: unmissable and imminent. For every biblical reference to Jesus’ first coming, there are 8 that point to His return.

This is something that is to be anticipated.

The word used for Christ’s return (you’ve maybe heard it before, parousia) is a word used for the arrival of an important person or dignitary.

The Thessalonians—all Christians—were to be watching, waiting, expecting the day when Jesus would return to be with His people.

It’s really, really, really good news—exceptional news—for those who believe in and belong to Him.

And for those in Thessalonica who are wondering about their loved ones who died before Jesus’ return, there’s great assurance—wonderful news—that their Christian family members aren’t going to miss out on anything.

Their spirits are with the Lord from the moment they die, and upon Jesus’ return, their spirits and bodies will be reunited.

Death did not separate them from the Lord, and it will not separate them from the Lord’s return.

We await, anxiously, Jesus’ return, knowing He’s coming to set the world at rights.

We hope in the Lord,

Trusting Our Future (v. 17)

This will be the most impressive family reunion in history, when all those who belong to Jesus, some coming with Him and some going out to meet Him, will be with the Lord for good.

The word meet in verse 17 is crucial to our understanding of events. It appears in only two other places in the NT.

In the parable of the virgins who wait for the bridegroom whom they meet and welcome back to the wedding feast (Matthew 25:6), and

In the last chapter of Acts, when Roman believers travel out to welcome Paul and bring him back to Rome with them.

In both Matthew 25 and Acts 28, the action of meeting involves going out to greet an honored person and then promptly returning with the honored guest.

Even secular Greek writing use the word to speak of civic delegations going out to welcome a dignitary before returning in celebration to the city.

It seems clear that this is what’s going to happen. This is the picture of Jesus’ Return. Not secret, but celebratory. Not quiet, but uproarious.

We will be with with the Lord on that day. And, Paul says, at the end of verse 17—so we will be with the Lord forever.

Forever. Always. At all times.

This is our sure and steadfast hope, like an anchor for the soul. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Say that with me: And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Comforting One Another with Truth (v. 18)

Paul’s conclusion to this section is a call to encourage one another with this teaching.

There’s comfort here for the issue at hand. Believers in Thessalonica who were concerned about the fate of their dead brothers and sisters in Christ should be comforted by this truth.

Paul’s concern here is to address that issue, not to answer all the eschatological questions.

The point is not speculation about the end-times, but comfort in the here and now.

1 Thess 4:18 “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

What Paul calls the Thessalonians to do with this teaching, the Holy Spirit is calling us to do. We must encourage one another with these words.

We can disagree about how the end-times are going to shake out; I love to talk about this stuff. But if our conversation isn’t encouraging/comforting/uplifting, I think we’re missing something important.

The point of this is not a greeting card kind of comfort, but a comfort we share based on the truth of God’s Word.

Paul doesn’t tell the grieving Thessalonians to “comfort one another” and leave it at that. No, it’s the encouragement and comfort that these words bring.

What Paul has just written to them will comfort them and encourage them, because it’s from the Lord and inspired by His Holy Spirit.

Many pastors, myself included, will read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 at the graveside of a believer. It’s more than just something to read; it’s very real comfort we can offer those who grieve.

You should be encouraged here this morning by these words (not necessarily the words I preached, but by the Word of the Lord).

Our hope is in Him. We believe the gospel, the Good News about Jesus. We await Jesus’ return, trusting our future.

This is how we comfort and encourage one another, friends: with the news about what Jesus has done and the unshakable truth of what He will do soon!

Put your hope in Jesus and be ready for His return.

Oh, there will be a day when all will bow before Him There will be a day when death will be no more Standing face to face with He who died and rose again Holy, holy is the Lord

And on that day, we join the resurrection And stand beside the heroes of the faith With one voice, a thousand generations Sing, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain"

What a day that will be!