Catechism Questions 41 and 42:
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The Eternal Benefits of the Believer
The Eternal Benefits of the Believer
Question 41:
What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
The souls of believers are at death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory, and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graces till the resurrection
Question 42:
What benefits do believers recieve from Christ at the Resurrection?
At the resurrection, believers become raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity
Main Proposition:
Statement of Doctrine or Application:
At death and resurrection like Christ true believers will be given the benefits of the kingdom of Heaven
Intro:
Statement of proposition
Just as we are given earthly benefits when we come to that saving faith in Christ as do we when we physically die and then when we are resurrected
As we will talk more tonight that we are both spiritually and physically connected with Christ’s death and resurrection
Last week we talked about our justification, adoption as God’s children and our sanctification in physical terms
What happens when we die? We are already justified, adopted and sanctified. What else though? Is there more?
This morning we are going to talk about the eternal benefits when we die and the benefits when Christ returns and we are given our resurrection bodies
Other texts that support
Why does this matter?
Throughout our sanctification we continue to grow closer to the image of Christ
We slowly distance ourselves of this world with the goal of living a life that is glorifying and honoring to God
but it is not perfect, we are not perfectly obedient even when we come to that saving faith.
We will continue to fall short, but will continue to grow closer to Christ
We are enabled at the time of our conversion to die more and more to sin
In these two question it tells us that at death we are made perfect in holiness
Which tells us that when we were living we were not living a perfect holy life
But when we do die we are made perfectly holy
We immediately pass into glory
Because when Christ died for our sins it enabled us to die into our sin.
When Christ died He destroyed the power that sin and death have over His sheep
We are united to Christ forever because of his work on our behalf.
Because we are eternally united to Christ when He was resurrected physically we too will be resurrected.
We are still united to Christ throughout eternity.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
We have to have that deep belief that Christ fully died and physically rose from that death and because of that because of God’s grace and love we will too raise from the dead and it will bring even more glory to God
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
We can play this verse from the lens of a believer as well as a nonbeliever?
For a true believer to acknowledge Christ before man it is not just a verbal “I am a believer in Christ” it is so much more than that. What was this person’s attitude towards Christ? What was their heart posture for Christ?
Not just publicly, but privately/internally as well.
We know that a nonbeliever is going to either just put on the Christian hat and externally come off as a believer, but internally their heart is not indwelled with the Holy Spirit
And then we have people who outright just deny Christ.
Based on our heart posture and our hearts ability to love Christ and God is whether or not Christ is going to acknowledge us when we come to Him in Heaven
Christ is our advocate in Heaven with the Father.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
In my mind these two passages go hand in hand. Works do not get us into Heaven. Cast our demons in your name? Cool
What about the thief on the cross? What works did he do? None.
This man understood that he had no hope, but divine grace and Christ’s gracious affirmation of this man’s salvation shows us that
Main Point #1: Believers are made perfect at death
Statement
Our entire newness of life from the time of our conversion to death it is a stairway to living life closer to Christ and when we pass away we are then made perfect into holiness that Christ has offered us.
Prove
1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Here in 2 Corinthians we see Paul has reached the pinnacle of his heavenly anticipation.
We are talking about the eternal fulfillment of God’s plan
The perfection of what Heaven truly is
Here we have Paul who is one of the most proud Christians in history that is saying how much he is looking forward to facing death
This is not just a temporary feeling, a passing emotion like the seed on the rocky terrain. We are talking about someone that knows exactly what is waiting for him when he crosses into judgment.
Life for Paul was to finish the race, win the battle and lead people to Christ. That is what his mission was the second he met Christ on the road to Damascus.
His life 100000% changed.
He knew at that moment his only reason to remain on earth was to serve God, and he stated his readiness to leave when that service was complete.
I wish I had that much enthusiasm
You can just feel Paul’s energy jumping off the pages. You can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit working in Paul as he is writing all of his Epistles.
Paul knows what we must realize as believers:
It is not enough just to say I am a Christian, walk off the field and sit on the bench. Our mission as believer’s is to serve God to the best of our abilities and when we are done with that, when our mission is completed and God calls us home to him because that is our eternal home. We will be ready to take on that perfect holiness that Paul is looking forward to and what ALL followers of Christ should be looking forward to.
We see the progression from 2 Corinthians to 2 Timothy:
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
As Paul writes this letter he knows what is coming his way. He is reflecting on his journey with Christ.
Paul isn’t sitting in a nice prison with air conditioning, an hour of exercise and 3 meals per day. Paul is sitting in an Ancient Roman Prison with no running water, no windows, brick floors, and rock walls and ceilings. He knows that he is more than likely going to be executed in Rome and his outlook is that he has finished the race that Christ has set out for him. His faith has never wavered, his humility never was lost.
What is waiting for Paul in Heaven? the crown of righteousness in which Christ will award Paul, but also ALL who have loved his appearing.
up until this moment Paul has been a faithful servant to Christ and has always listened to what the Holy Spirit has put into his heart.
We talked about why he never went to Rome before he was imprisoned there. Because Christ had never opened the door for him to be profitable there.
By profitable we mean his ministry.
Up until this moment for all believers even Paul it is only in Heaven that believers will have intimate, unbroken fellowship with God
This is the amazing, beautiful news that we get to look forward to when God calls us home.
Illustrations
For me over the last few months I have been praying and reflecting on Heaven. I don’t know if it is because of the loss that Sarah and I suffered in December and thinking about that our baby is in the arms of Christ right now in his/her perfect holiness.
I think about that and pray about how amazing it is going to be
People put so much stock in their wordly treasures and they end up losing focus on what awaits for them on the other side.
Main Point #2: Believers will be acquitted on the day of judgment
Statement
ALL believers will be acquitted on the day of judgment, but everyone will be judged by Christ
Prove
We have been talking in Romans about how every person is under the judgment of Christ on their final day.
There is not one person that will not be judged Jew, Greek, Gentile.
In the world today people do not want to talk about God’s judgment.
Because it makes people think deeply about their lives, it makes them come to the realization of thinking of their life in a deep, spiritual sense.
I am going to Heaven? or am I going to Hell?
We all have to face that judgment though regardless if we are elect or not, Jewish or not, members at Capital Community Church or not, regardless of who our parents are or not,
The thing is, is that churches need to talk about God’s impeding judgment.
If we decide to skip this doctrine than people are going to assume well there is either not going to be judgment on who gets into Heaven or minimize the actual meaning of it.
A false religion does not know who God truly is, it cannot bring someone to God, it can’t provide forgiveness or redemption, it does not please God and it does not lead people to Heaven.
A false religion and false church leaders cannot bring someone to a saving faith in Christ.
We see hypocrisy today but we also saw it before Jesus’ time and especially during his time.
How many times do we read about pharisee’s that are leading people astray in order for themselves to gain money, status, power or authority?
How many times have we talked about the actions and heart posture of these church leaders? Last Sunday morning we went over a passage about that.
If that is their posture on it what are they teaching their people?
29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
These people were headed to divine judgment if they did not acknowledge their Messiah, Jesus Christ
People want is spelled out black and white
They think that if they can see it, feel it, examine it they will come to the saving knowledge of Christ, but completely block out one major player in all of this: The Holy Spirit.
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
What do we see in Romans 1?
We see people that are at the lowest, very bottom inventing their own God.
They have rejected the real God
They have grasped the religious counterfeit of satan
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
This in my opinion is one of the best passages of showing what will happen to those who deny the one true God, that make gods and idols of themselves and ultimately what is waiting for them. God’s wrath
Paul lists a ton of examples of what men make idols of, but here is the thing. In today’s world we see exactly what Paul is talking about, BUT there is so much more that we need to unpack
We can make idols out of everything. People would rather put playing video games ahead of worshipping God.
Illustrations:
Roman Catholicism, Purgatory, God’s judgment, assurance of faith etc.
Main Point #3: Believers will receive the full enjoyment of God for eternity
Statement
We will receive eternal enjoyment to the likes that none of us can ever expect
Prove
Compared to what the riches of eternal life in Heaven has to offer. The riches of this world are literally microscopic.
We put so much stock into wordly success that it starts to define who we are:
What school do you go to?
grades?
What company you work for?
social circle?
What level sports do you play?
How much money do you make per year?
When Sarah and I first moved to Raleigh we only knew her sister, husband and that was it. They invited us to hang out with them and their friends and the first thing they start talking about is their credit score (haha), how much their houses have appreciated, etc.
Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with a great credit score, great grades in school, great paying job etc. BUT when that becomes your identity and that begins to take over who you are as a person, the more you are a slave to the world the less you are “IN CHRIST”
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
What is your priority? God or Sports? God or money? God or wordly benefits?
Once again there is nothing wrong with sports, money, career success, but when you put that above God, above God’s church. Than that is where you start to have issues.
There was a video that I aw this week that looked at the percentage of a kid playing professionally in sports 0.02%. There are families that will put all of their stock in making sure their kid is at whatever tournament even if it means missing church and worship of God and his son.
Yes, they talk to you about God throughout the week and that is great BUT they are still making sports a priority over God.
There is a 0% chance of someone making it as a professional athlete, but there is a 100% chance of standing before Christ in judgment.
Where are you stocking the priority of your riches?
There is a saying to explain certain places on earth: “Heaven on earth”
California, places in Italy, Bali, etc
It’s like trying to describe a perfectly made filet mignon to someone that only eats bologna sandwiches.
We try to bring what is eternal in Heaven down to a world level. It’s like bringing a Beverly Hills mansion and dropping it off in the projects of Chicago.
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
First off, we see the start of everything: We are dead in our trespasses.
Even though we are enemies of God at this time we are given grace and by the justification in Christ by faith alone we are made alive
When we are resurrected we are seated with Christ in the Heavenly places and with God’s grace we are shown riches that are immeasurable or unfathomable, infinite, unbounded
Apply or Confront
If the world were to end today where would you spend eternity? Are you putting your stock in worldly riches or Heavenly riches?
Nobody can answer that except for you.
Application Points:
Beware of false teaching that will hype up the rewards of the world and minimize the Heavenly riches and glory of God.
Believe with 100% assurance and confidence that if you are a true believer than you will be acquitted on the day of judgment
Pray to God thanking him for his grace because if you are one of God’s elect than you did nothing to earn it.
Think about where are you putting stock in your riches? in the world or Christ?