To Be or Not to Be
Notes
Transcript
I had a couple different sermon requests that I thought went well together. One person asked about the phrase asleep in the Lord and who are they. Another person requested a sermon on consequences of disobedience verses obedience.
Have you ever made a choice in life that even years later you’re still feeling the consequences?
I know there are a couple choices I made in my youth where I am still feeling the consequences today.
We do the same thing in our spiritual lives as well. The problem is that most of the time we don’t recognize the consequences for those choices in our spiritual lives.
It’s not just bad choices though is it? We make some good choices where the consequences have us still reaping the benefits.
Scripture is full of places that talk about consequences for disobedience and blessings for obedience. One of those consequences verses blessings come in the form of “asleep in the Lord.”
We’re going to be bouncing around a bit in Scripture today. But our main passage is going to be Daniel 12:2.
Shakespeare, in his play Hamlet, hit the nail on the head. In the famous scene that starts out: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet is weighing the consequences of choosing a life of suffering verses ending the pain and suffering through suicide.
Far too often this is taught with a worldly view of physical life and death. The tragedy of facing the hardships of life or ending them in death. The spiritual consequences of such a decision aren’t even broached by English teachers and professors today.
We face those spiritual decisions and consequences every day. We can choose to listen to the Spirit or we can choose to listen to our flesh.
We’re going to look at what the Bible means when it talks about being asleep and how that is associated with consequences and blessings.
What is biblical Sleep
What is biblical Sleep
In Daniel 12:2 it talks about those who are asleep.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
There’s a lot to truly unpack in this seemingly straightforward verse. The word many from our understanding would be a large number of people. However, Scripture widely uses this word in the OT and NT to represent “all.” If we look at Romans 5:15 and Romans 5:19
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
When Paul says, “by one man’s offense many died” in verse 15 and “by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” in verse 19, it is clear that he is including the entirety of the human race.
“Those who sleep in the dust.” Sleep is often used in Scripture to denote physical body death. It’s very important to distinguish between physical bodily death and spiritual death here.
If we look at what Jesus tells His disciples in Jn 11:11-14
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”
13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
Jesus is speaking of Lazarus’s physical body laying dead in the tomb. In verse 17 we find out that upon Jesus’ arrival Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. It’s important to understand Jewish beliefs at that point.
You see, Jews believed the soul remained with the body for three days before departing. The fourth day removes any doubt even in Jewish minds that Lazarus wasn’t just resuscitated but actually resurrected.
When the Spirit prompted the writers to use the word “sleep” as a metaphor for “physical death,” it helps our minds prepare for the concept of resurrection.
You see sleep is a temporary state from which we awake. It is clear that Daniel is declaring physical bodily resurrection and not some spiritual resurrection.
“In the dust of the earth” declares the body buried in the ground. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth” means every human who has physically died will be physically awakened.
You ever wonder where the zombie apocalypse idea comes from?
It’s important to understand that sleep refers to physical body death only. Upon death the soul is immediately either in the presence of the Lord (2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:21-23) or immediately in conscious eternal torment (Luke 16:22).
So every human that has ever lived will be bodily resurrected and faces one of two fates. “Some to everlasting life,” and “some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Now we are at the point of understanding the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience.
Jesus says in Jn 5:28-29
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice
29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Jesus would have stood at the tomb where Lazarus was buried and just said, “come out” instead of calling Lazarus by name?
Here Jesus makes it clear that all will be resurrected. Some to life and some to condemnation. I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole of whether Jesus is talking about one or two resurrection events here. That may be a sermon for another time.
Let’s discuss the consequences of Disobedience first.
Consequences
Consequences
“Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Before I truly saw Jesus as our Lord and Savior, I always believed there was a heaven and hell. I alway believed in some form of eternal existence.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for an atheist to live with death looming. No hope, death is the final blow. How can they cope with the loss of their loved ones? Especially if it was a child.
The grief, the despair that they live with must be unbearable. The lack of hope becomes a cesspool of misery, agony, and pain.
But, that misery, agony, and pain is nothing compared to what comes at the resurrection.
The Hebrew word translated “shame” means a disgrace or reproach, the state of dishonor and low status, the object of dishonor and low status.
Now comes the moment of reckoning. Resurrection day!! Imagine the surprise that is going to be on the faces of all those who denied God’s existence and eternal life.
I can see it now, they’re standing there in their resurrected bodies. A body that will never decay looking at their hands. Then they realize they are before Christ on the throne. He says, surprise!!!
Even worse, what about all those who might believe there is some form of afterlife. But, they think they just had to live a good life. All paths lead to heaven right?
They are all awakened to “shame.” They are in a state of disgrace and dishonor. The weight of their misconduct, sins, and evil deeds rests upon them heavily.
They bodily rise to their shame before the entire universe for their sins. One commentator states it this way:
“One of the bitterest ingredients in the doom of the wicked will be the shame and confusion with which they will be overwhelmed in the great day on account of the sins and follies of their course in this world.”
But, the consequences don’t end there.
“Everlasting contempt.” The word “everlasting” means eternal, never ending. The word “contempt” means loathing or abhorrence. It’s a feeling of extreme repugnance a feeling of hate and disgust.
Here the word means abhorrence in the way that we turn away from that which is loathsome, disgusting, and hateful. It’s a state of mind where we contemplate the vile and the outcast.
It expresses the emotions with which God and all of His kingdom will view the wicked on the final judgement day. And will be how God views them as an abomination for the rest of eternity.
I truly believe that part of the eternal torment they will face is in knowing the truth, having stood in the glory of God, and in their shame. And having the eternal understanding of what the separation from God versus eternally living in His glory truly means.
Those who have blessings for obedience are eternally opposite.
Blessings
Blessings
“Some to everlasting life.”
This isn’t just some immortality for the wishful thinkers. If we have this idea where we just say, “yea, I’ll live forever,” we do not understand the concept of the eternal life God provides.
It’s about quality of life. A life of experienced happiness and holiness of character. A life transformed into the likeness of God in both experienced happiness and holiness of character.
It’s a happiness that’s found in the enjoyment of God’s favor, friendship, and fellowship. A holiness grounded in God’s own nature and character.
In death our soul is immediately in the presence of Christ. We immediately get the friendship and fellowship. The holiness of character grounded in God’s nature and character.
Paul tells us that in 2 Cor 5:8 and Phil 1:21-23
8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
How often do we think about eternal life and our resurrected bodies with the thought or idea that we will have no more pain?
All my aches and pains will be gone and my body will be perfect. Hallelujah right? While yes, that is true, it is not the purpose of eternal life. A great benefit, absolutely, but not the purpose.
Our eternal life actually started the day we first believed. The day we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. Our heart began to soften and our spirit was broken.
Our will subdued and becomes subordinate to God’s will. We are passing from death into life. Life by faith united in Jesus Christ, just as the branches become united to the vine.
The consequence of this blessed union is we begin to take on and partake of the nature of the vine we are grafted into. When our bodies die we are immediately in the presence of the Lord.
Just like sleep brings our bodies rest now in our death as believers our bodies are perfectly at rest. How many time do we crawl into bed at the end of a long day and welcome the coming sleep?
As we sleep we forget the troubles of our day and get the much needed rest our body deserves. I think Charles Spurgeon said it really well when he said:
“In his sleep, the prisoner in the dungeon forgets his manacles; the slave in the galley forgets his bondage; the poor man forgets his poverty, and he who dreads the approach of danger, drinks a draught of the waters of Lethe, and remembers his fears no more.”
“What a blessing sleep is to this poor, weary frame and to the throbbing brain! The saints in heaven have a better rest than sleep can give, but sleep is the nearest word we can find to describe the state of the blessed.”
“They have no poverty, no toil, no anguish of spirit, no remorse, no struggling with indwelling sin, no battling with foes without and fears within.”
“‘They rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.’ Oh, what a sweet thing to fall asleep, if this be what it is, — to enjoy perfect repose, and to be beyond the reach of all influences which make life here to be so sorrowful! ‘Some are fallen asleep;’ that is, they have entered into their rest.”
I could not have explained what it means to be Asleep in the Lord any better. Now we can understand what Paul means when he says “to die is gain, to live is Christ.”
In the Roman Catacombs there are both Christian and non-Christian burial sites. These inscriptions tell the story of two eternal fates.
In the non-Christian part of the catacombs the inscriptions above the tombs display the despair and anguish felt by those who loved the deceased. It’s as if they couldn’t find the words to describe the despair they felt or the agony in their hearts at the loss of their loved ones.
They compile a bundle of mournful words together in efforts to express their grief. One such recorded inscription says, “Alas! Alas!, dear Caius has gone, and with him all joy is quenched for ever, for I shall see him no more.”
The despair and hopelessness that must felt. It would be a hopeless effort to try and give comfort to the bereaved.
But step into the Christian part of the Catacombs and it tells a different story. There the inscriptions talk about resting in peace and thankfulness in the Lord.
There are no despairing inscriptions seeking to find the words of expression. Instead you find submissive inscriptions that are thankfully declaring the deceased is resting in eternal victory.
Every human body is going to fall asleep and their soul will immediately go to one of two eternal fates. One of eternal damnation or one of eternal life.
We first have the act of falling asleep, then we are in the state of sleep. That is the metaphor God chose to use for death.
If I think back as far as I can remember in my life, which isn’t very far anymore, maybe last night, I cannot think of one time that I went from my conscious state of mind to the unconscious state of sleep.
As we move into the state of sleep we are unaware of the things going on around us in the world, but our minds are aware of another world filled with dreams. For some those dreams might be fright with nightmares, while others soar on the wings of eagles and walk among the clouds.
This is the image God gives of death. We move from being conscious of this world, to a state of not being aware of this world and fully aware of another spiritual world. For those who have fallen asleep in the Lord it is to be aware of a much better, brighter, more magnificient world than this world.
That is why even in the grief of losing loved ones we can write inscriptions of thankfulness that they are resting in everlasting peace. This is the hope realized. This is what it means to be asleep in the Lord.
