Forever Clean: The Doctrine of Glorification

Lead Vocalist (Joel)

Welcome & Announcements (Mike L)

Good morning family!

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____ announcements:

1) Announcement 1

What to do and how to respond

2) Announcement 2

What to do and how to respond

3) Announcement 3

What to do and how to respond

Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Advent Reading: Love (Trish Figgers)

O Come, All Ye Faithful

In The Fullness of Time

Prayer of Confession (Ben Kavanay)

Assurance of Pardon (Romans 5:8)

Sing We The Song of Emmanuel

O Holy Night

Scripture Reading (1 Corinthians 15:50-52)

Pastoral Prayer (Mike L)

Prayer for PBC—Members

Prayer for kingdom partner—Nansemond River Baptist (Ryan Brice)

Prayer for US—Mayor-elect of Poquoson

Prayer for the world—OCC Shoeboxes

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

In Charles Dickens’ classic story A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge’s life is change after being visited by three spirits.

The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge how his past has turned him into the miserly man he is today.

The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge how suffering people like Tiny Tim Cratchit can have joy with little, while Scrooge is cold and bitter despite having plenty.

And the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge how his callousness and greed will affect him and the people around him.

No one spirit is able to transform Scrooge into the man he eventually becomes. It is only by seeing the full picture—past, present, and future—that Scrooge is able to embrace the spirit of Christmas and an attitude of generosity towards his fellow man.

In a similar way, we will never embrace the amazing goodness of the Bible’s doctrine of salvation until we see the full picture—past, present, and future.

Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15:50.

As you’re turning there, I want you to remember the three crucial doctrines we are studying this Christmas.

SHOW SALVATION CHART

Two weeks ago we studied the doctrine of justification, which instantly frees us from sin’s penalty. When we are justified we are declared clean.

If you’re a Christian, justification is a work that God completed in your past.

Last week we studied the doctrine of sanctification, which progressively frees us from sin’s power. Through the sanctification process we are becoming clean.

If you’re a Christian, sanctification is a work that God does in your present.

Today we’re studying the doctrine of glorification, which permanently frees us from sin’s presence. When we are glorified we become forever clean.

If you’re a Christian, glorification is a work that God promises to complete in your future.

In the PBC Statement of Faith we define glorification this way: In glorification, God perfects the believer upon the return of Christ.

You were declared righteous when you turned from your sins and trusted in Jesus.

You gradually become righteous as you grow in obedience to King Jesus.

But you are perfectly and permanently righteous when Jesus returns and makes all things new.

And we see this doctrine taught in this morning’s text, even if the term is not explicitly used...

1 Corinthians 15:50–52—I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

Notice that Paul says this doctrine is mysterious. There are a lot of things that we don’t know about the doctrine of glorification.

But we do know enough to learn Four Truths About Glorification:

Glorification is Necessary

Glorification is Guaranteed

Glorification is Immediate

Glorification is Permanent

Consider with me first why…

1) Glorification is NECESSARY .

1 Corinthians 15:50—I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Why is it that we cannot enter heaven in an un-glorified state.

God is SO holy and His dwelling place is SO glorious, that we cannot enter there with any lingering sin.

R.C. Sproul’s illustration [Hitler, Paul, and Jesus]

Thinking about the necessity of glorification should motivate us to faithfully pursue our sanctification. We should strive to grow in holiness because we know that holiness is necessary for heaven!

In his book, Holiness, J.C. Ryle writes this: “Most men hope to go to heaven when they die; but few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there. Heaven is essentially a holy place; its inhabitants are all holy; its occupations are all holy. To be really happy in heaven, it is clear and plain that we must be somewhat trained and made ready for heaven while we are on earth. . . . We need the work of the Holy Spirit as well as the work of Christ; we need renewal of the heart as well as the atoning blood; we need to be sanctified as well as to be justified. It is common to hear people saying on their death-beds, “I only want the Lord to forgive me my sins, and take me to rest.” But those who say such things forget that the rest of heaven would be utterly useless if we had no heart to enjoy it! What could an unsanctified man do in heaven, if by any chance he got there? Let that question be fairly looked in the face, and fairly answered. No man can possibly be happy in a place where he is not in his element, and where all around him is not congenial to his tastes, habits, and character. When an eagle is happy in an iron cage, when a sheep is happy in the water, when an owl is happy in the blaze of noonday sun, when a fish is happy on the dry land—then, and not till then, will I admit that the unsanctified man could be happy in heaven. [1]

Glorification is necessary because we would not be happy in heaven, indeed we cannot even enter heaven, unless we are holy!

Consider with me, second, that...

2) Glorification is GUARANTEED.

1 Corinthians 15:51—Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed

It needs to be said, first of all, that when Paul says “we” he is not talking to everybody.

He is writing to a local church in Corinth, so this is a truth for Christians.

It’s common in our world to talk as if everyone is “in a better place” after they die. But that is not what the Bible says.

If you’re not a Christian, these promises are not for you. But they can be.

When the angel spoke to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born he said...

Luke 2:10–11—… “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The offer of eternal life through Jesus is available to all people. If you will but turn from your sins and trust in Him.

EXPLAIN THE GOSPEL

We invite you to repent and believe today!

If you have done that, this verse is meant to be a great comfort to you.

When Paul says “We shall not all sleep,” he’s using sleep as a euphemism for death.

Not everybody is going to die. Some will be alive when Jesus returns.

But notice the promises at the end of the verse: “we shall ALL be changed.”

We do not know entirely what this change will be like. But we do know this: you will receive a glorified body, and you will never, ever, ever sin or suffer again!

If you belong to Jesus, you WILL be glorified.

It is such a guaranteed promise, that Paul speaks of it in the past tense in...

Romans 8:29–30—For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.

Glorification is guaranteed to every believer when Jesus returns. None will be forgotten.

Consider with me, third, that...

3) Glorification is IMMEDIATE

1 Corinthians 15:52—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

The New Testament repeatedly describes the return of Christ as being preceded by the sound of a trumpet.

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

At that moment—when Christ returns for His people—every single saint who has ever lived will receive a glorified body where they will dwell forever with Jesus in the new heavens and the new earth.

There are at least four practical implications of this doctrine:

First, there is no need for anything like the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory.

If we are glorified in the twinkling of an eye, why would we need a place where we can continue to pay off our sin debt or earn holiness after death?

The Bible is clear that ALL of God’s people will be immediately glorified when Jesus returns.

Second, there are no second class citizens in heaven.

Every one of us will be equally glorious in heaven. There isn’t a hierarchy of glory. We may receive different levels of rewards, but all of us will receive the same glorified bodies.

Third, the body matters.

Heaven is not a disembodied state where our souls float around on clouds playing harps.

Heaven is eternity with a body like what God intended in the beginning. A body without suffering and without sin.

That’s why Christians for two thousand years have always respected the body, even in death. Historically Christians don’t dispose of bodies like the pagans do, because bodies matter.

Fourth, we do not receive our glorified bodies right away.

It’s quite common at Christian funerals to hear people talking about how our loved ones are running around in heaven and dancing or hugging their family and friends.

Now hear me clearly: the day is coming when that WILL happen.

But it’s not happening YET.

The saints who die before Jesus returns are WITH Jesus spiritually, but they do not yet have their glorified bodies.

Passages like this and 1 Thessalonians 4 are clear that we don’t get our glorified bodies UNTIL Jesus returns!

Another place we can see this is in…

Philippians 3:20–21—But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.

So your loved ones are with Jesus, they’re not suffering, but their existence is incomplete because they don’t yet have their glorified bodies.

I think that’s one reason why Revelation depicts the saints in heaven before Jesus returns crying out “How long O Lord?!?” (Revelation 6:10).

Glorification is immediate, but it will not happen until Jesus returns.

Consider with me, finally, that...

4) Glorification is PERMANENT

It’s not by accident that when the book of Revelation describes heaven, it mentions the tree of life.

If you remember, the tree of life was one of two special trees in the garden of Eden.

God told Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but after they did He banished them from the garden.

Do you remember why He banished them? It’s not because He was mad at them and didn’t want them around Him.

Genesis 3:22–23—Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life in their sinful state, they would have been separated from God for eternity.

God loved them too much too allow them to remain in that condition forever, so He banished them so they could not eat the fruit from the tree of life.

But in heaven we will be given the tree of life, because in heaven we will FOREVER be in our glorified condition.

Paul hints at this with one word in...

1 Corinthians 15:52b—… the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

When we are made perfect, we will remain in that perfect, glorified state forever.

I’ve occasionally heard people ask, how do we know someone won’t mess heaven up somehow?

After all, Adam and Eve were created without a sin nature and they were tempted and ruined everything.

How do we know it won’t happen again?

The reason it will never happen again is because we know GRACE.

It is one thing to be created in a perfect world and fall away.

It is another thing entirely to be born in a fallen world, then experience the grace of forgiveness from a holy God.

In his book Defeating Evil Scott Christensen says: “Without being dragged through the horrific conditions of a fallen world with its moral and natural evil decimating the pristine goodness of Eden, we could never fully appreciate the glory and grace of its redemption.” [2]

There will never again be another fall because once we’ve experienced the glory of grace—past, present, and future—we will never WANT to disobey ever again!

Our glorification is permanent, NOTHING will ever be able to separate us from the love of God for all eternity!

When Ebeneezer Scrooge saw his past, present, and future, he WANTED to change.

He said, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy.”

If Scrooge could feel that way with a salvation that lasted only until he breathed his last breath, how much MORE should we rejoice if have experienced this salvation that will last forever?

Prayer of Thanksgiving

In just a moment we’re going to sing a song, and after that we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper together.

Let me remind, you the Lord’s Supper is a special meal for Christians to remember the body and blood of Jesus.

If you are not a follower of Jesus, we invite you to repent and believe in Him today!

If you have not made your faith public by following Jesus in believer’s baptism, we invite you to talk with us about that today.

Pastor Jason is in the lobby ready and waiting to talk with anyone about any of these things. You can make your way to him in a moment when we stand to sing.

If you’ve not repented of your sin and followed Jesus in baptism as a believer we would ask you not to take communion with us in a few moments.

That’s not because we think we’re better than you or anything like that.

But because we want you to receive Jesus Himself, not merely the symbol that reminds us of Jesus.

Because we believe the Bible teaches baptism is the first step of obedience as a follower of Jesus, we shouldn’t take later steps until after we’ve taken that first step.

So if that’s you this morning, you’re welcome to remain in your seat when your row is dismissed to take communion in a few minutes.

Or, if you prefer, you’re free to leave the service when we stand in just a moment.

If you choose to leave, nobody is going to be staring at you or judging you because there will also be a bunch of parents getting up to collect their kids from the nursery while we’re singing so that all our volunteers can join us for communion.

Now let’s stand and sing together...

Keep the Feast

LORD’S SUPPER

Doxology

Benediction (1 Thess 3:12-13)