What happens when we die?
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What Happens After We Die?
What Happens After We Die?
I. The Reality of Death
I. The Reality of Death
A. This morning we dealt with the reality that Scripture teaches that- Death is certain for all.
I just want to remind you of a few verses.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
We also made the important point that Death is not natural — it is the consequence of sin.
God told Adam in the Garden what would happen if he disobeyed.
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Paul picks up what Adam did in Romans 5 to give us an understanding of theologically why it wasn’t just Adam who died, but why all of us die as well.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
We know that death is the rightful payment for what we have done.
We have sinned against God and so because of that, we deserve death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And so we dealt at length with that this morning.
But tonight I want to go a little deeper, and discuss a question most of us have.
Most people fear death because it is the one thing none of us who are living have personal experience with.
Because we are living.
Death is called the great mystery.
It’s been called the Grim Reaper.
The silent visitor.
The dark door.
The Great Equalizer.
Other more common and irreverent titles like—
“Kick the bucket.
Bite the Dust.
Meet your maker.
Pushing up Daisies.
Shakespeare said we “shuffle off this mortal coil.”
None of those are pleasant, are they?
We have these ideas of what it means to die from a worldly sense, but what about biblically.
The Bible makes some things clear for us with regard to death.
As we think about the Nature of Death
The Bible makes it clear that- Death is separation, not cessation.
We don’t cease to exist, but in our Physical death, there is separation of the soul from the body.
Our body ceases to live, but our soul lives on.
In Genesis 35, listen to what the Bible says when Rachel is dying.
And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
The language there is clear. Her soul is departing, for she was dying.
Then last week we saw—
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
So in both of those passages, you have the physical body giving up the soul. The immaterial part.
And the soul is eternal.
And so this is very important…
Death does not end our existence; what death does is it divides body and soul and reveals our standing before God.
And so then, that brings up the ever interesting topic of the Intermediate state.
And for me, this has always been one of the more interesting things to study.
In seminary, I took a class on eschatology- which is the study of last things, and death is a part of that.
But I wrote my big final paper on the intermediate state.
And the intermediate state is the state of people between their earthly death and the final resurrection.
Another way to ask this question is this— We know what happens to the body.
What happens to the soul?
And I think the Bible is actually really clear on this particular question.
Now before we get into what the Bible teaches, I do want to explain that there are many false teachings when it comes to the intermediate state.
I want to walk through a few of these.
You have the false teaching of Soul Sleep –
This is the belief that—The soul is unconscious until resurrection.
That it just goes to sleep.
Seven Day Adventists believe this— Jehovah’s Witness believe this.
But we will see that the Bible doesn’t teach this.
So there’s that one.
Then, You have the Catholic false doctrine of Purgatory – which they describe as A temporary place of cleansing for believers.
But this is a false teaching.
The Bible teaches this
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And so purgatory implies that there is some payment left. Some condemnation left for us to take on and to pay.
But that is the exact opposite of what we find in the Gospel.
There is no condmenation.
Furthermore, listen to Hebrews 10:14—
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
So if you are in Christ, there is no more debt to pay.
It is finished. Paid in full.
The debt has been cancel.
Obviously that doctrine flows from the Catholic doctrine of salvation by works doctrine.
So there is a nother view that is wrong.
Move quickly through these—
You have the false teaching of Universalism –
Everyone will eventually be saved.
You have the false teaching of Annihilationism – which teaches that The wicked cease to exist.
You have the teaching of Reincarnation – Souls return in new bodies or forms. Whether they come back as a Tree.
Or a cardinal or what have you.
No. Each person dies once and then faces judgment.
There is the belief of spiritism – Where living people believe that they can communicate with the dead.
Finally there is the theory of Limbo – where souls are just kind of floating around waiting.
But that’s Not found in Scripture either.
So as you can see, there are lots of wrong thoughts about the intermediate state.
So lets talk about what the Bible says.
What happens when believer’s die?
A. For the believer:
Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:8—
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Absent from the body, present with the Lord.
how can those two things be true.
Absent from the body, present with the Lord.
There is a division of soul and body, and so at the moment of our earthly death, the soul goes to be with the Lord.
That language is important, with the Lord.
Paul says again talking about his own death—
I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
And then you have what Jesus said on the cross to the thief.
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
And so for believers, our physical death here on this earth, is a separation of our soul from our mortal bodies, but we go to be with the Lord.
For the unbeliever, its a similar thing, but their existence is not said to be “with the Lord.” Rather, they are said to be “in torment.”
In the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
Also, 2 Peter 2:9
then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,
And so when humans die, Upon death, its clear the soul goes immediately to conscious existence…
In other words, it goes on living— believers with Christ, unbelievers under judgment.
Now this is the mysterious part… How will we exist?
Because if we are waiting for our body to be raised to be united again, of what kind of nature will be our existence in heaven?
The tradiotnal understanding is that we are conscious but without a physical body.
The soul is with Christ in joy and awareness, but the full physical embodiment awaits the return of Christ when the dead are raised.
Others offer the possibility that we are given an “intermediate body.” They point to passages like the Rich man and Lazarus where he asked for Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool his tongue.
They will also point to the recognizable state of Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration.
The imagery could imply some kind of temporary, perceptible form.
Or, it may simply be Jesus using familiar physical language to describe real spiritual experience in a way humans can understand.
Either way, the passage makes one truth crystal clear:
After death, the soul remains awake, aware, and accountable — not annihilated or asleep.
Now, either way, whatever state we find ourselves in in the goodness of God, is not the final state.
It’s a temporary state —in that state, we are awaiting the resurrection of the body.
And so— Our bodies will be resurrected.
All people, in the final state, when Jesus Returns, we will have a body, recreated, and fit for eternity.
Believers having a body fit for an eternity with the Lord.
Glorified and made like Jesus in his resurrected state.
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
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.
One thing is clear— Resurrection is certain for all people.
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
The nature of the resurrection for unbelievers.
Unbelievers bodies will rise too.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
So then Everyone’s body will be raised; what differs is the destiny of the resurrection when the soul and the body are rejoined —will it be life or judgment.
And so, what do we expect then?
There is The Final Judgment
There is The Final Judgment
A. Christ will be the Judge of all.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed;
B. The outcome of judgment.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the believer, There’s life. NO CONDEMNATION.
For the unbeleiver.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
VIII. The Hope for the Christian
VIII. The Hope for the Christian
A. Christ has conquered death.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our resurrection is guarenteed.
Romans 8:11 — “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14 — “Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
→ Summary: Death is no longer a hopeless end but a conquered enemy. For believers, dying is “gain” (Phil. 1:21).
IX. Application: Living in Light of Death
IX. Application: Living in Light of Death
Face death honestly. (Eccl. 7:2)
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Grieve with hope. (1 Thess. 4:13–14)
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Prepare for judgment. (2 Cor. 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Live for eternity now. (Col. 3:1–4)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Proclaim the hope of resurrection. (1 Pet. 3:15)
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Conclusion
Conclusion
Death is real, but it’s not final.
It came through sin, but it is conquered through the Savior.
For the believer, death is not defeat — it’s departure to be with Christ and the anticipation of glorious resurrection.
