What Happens when we Die

Attention:

What Happens when we die?

Mankind has an innate obsession with the beyond, and this is due to the fact that we know that the material world around us is not all that exists. Mankind knows that their is a creator, and only the fool says in their heart that there is no God.

In order to be rightly informed on this topic we must ensure that we develop our understanding from God’s Word.

Need:

One of the few certainties that awaits all of mankind is death.

We experience physical death as a regular rhythm of human life now, but you and I are more than just a body.

In Adam we have died both physically and spiritually. This is why Paul says in Eph 2 that we are dead in our trespasses and sins.

My soul is who I really am. My body wastes away but my soul is eternal. This is why Jesus said don’t fear him who can destroy the body but fear him who can destroy the body and soul in hell.

So our great need is to know what it takes to be spiritually alive and where my soul will reside for eternity.

Sermon Idea: When we die we either will be with God or face torment as we await the resurrection and our eternal judgement.

Transition: In order to see this we will examine two texts. One is a story told by Jesus and the other a final warning/ promise given in Revelation.

Luke 16:19-25

The story given by Jesus is really about how eternity and the kingdom of God is completely different than the current broken world we live in, but there are some crucial components of it that help us understand our current question.

V. 19-21: Success and Favor by the Worlds Standards

We have before us two men. One whom illustrates fine living and gluttony, and the other a grotesque picture of poverty.

According to later jewish writings this man would not even be counted as living because he depended on others for food and was covered in sores.

Whether we say it outright we definitely would prefer to be one versus the other. Many of us very often show favor to the ones that look like us or that we want to look like versus the other.

For Jews they would have believed the idea that the rich man was favored by God and the poor not, and Jesus plays off of this to illustrate how different the kingdom of God is.

V. 22: Abraham’s Side/ Paradise with God

We see the poor man after his suffering is carried away to be with Abraham.

This is a picture of a place that Jesus later on call Paradise.

When a believer dies, they are taken to Paradise or in a sense heaven.

Paul says to die is gain for he will be with the Lord (Phil. 1:21), and to be absent of the body is to present with the Lord(2 Cor 5:8-9).

Paradise in the sense we now experience is not permanent.

V. 23-25: The Great Divide of Hades and Paradise

The rich man has met his end, and has found himself in Hades/ Sheol.

This is also not the final place but it is the present location of those who die unforgiven and out of relationship with God, and our text illustrates some key aspects of it.

There is torment, described as burning in flames.

There is a great chasm that separates its residents from those in paradise.

There is no second chance.

What this text helps us see is that that many of the other notions of what happens after death do not exist.

No second chance to repent

No such thing as purgatory

So, we have established that when we die we are either with God or we experience torment in Hades, but is this all?

Rev. 20:11-13: Resurrection of the Dead

Paradise and Hades are temporary places that our souls reside until the Resurrection comes.

In the end we will all be raised and given a new body and face the final judgement.

Rev. 20:14-15; 21:8: The Second Death

This is what we have come to know as hell.

It is a place of eternal conscience punishment.

It is not absent of God, but absent of his mercy.

But 21:8 paints such a bleak picture, how do we avoid this place?

Rev. 21:27: The Book of Life

Only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be saved.

The new name, and identity written in the Lamb’s book comes by repenting and trusting in the work of Christ.

For those written in his book we will life with God for eternity, for those not, only destruction awaits.

Discussion Questions:

How is the description given today different than what you previously thought/ believed?

Have you ever heard of purgatory or that there is a second chance after we die? How would you respond to someone who believes in purgatory or that there is a second chance?

How does learning about life after death, push you to live for Christ now?