Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

For those who do not believe in Christ, death can be a time intense pain and grief.

But one of the reasons why I am a Christian is because of the hope it brings in the midst of life’s toughest times.

The Christian is not ignorant of life’s pain or the reality of death, but it deals with pain and suffering with glorious hope.

What makes the Christian gospel so beautiful and so powerful is what it offers us in the midst of life’s most difficult times which includes the passing of our loved ones.

The Bible tells us that believers should grieve, but grieve not as those who have no hope.

Because Christians believe Jesus died and rose again, a believer can grieve with glorious and confident hope in the midst of death.

Especially for those who trusted in Christ, the Bible tell us to comfort one another with these truths and these promises.

For the Christian, death is the end of life, but the beginning of life eternal.

For the Christian, death is not annihilation to human existence altogether, but it is an arrival into our eternal state.

For the Christian, dying is not loss, but dying is considered gain.

In our short meditation this afternoon, I want to reflect on how dying is gaining for the Christian.

Have you ever thought that death is a means to gain?

I want to reflect on what the Christian gains when she dies, so that we may receive comfort found in God’s promises and have wisdom to live each day f or the glory of God and eventually prepare for our own time.

What does the believer gain in dying?

My mediation will be from this afternoon.

If you have a Bible or one on your phone, you can turn there.

I. Glory (vv.

16-18)

The apostle Paul experienced lots of pain and suffering for the preaching of the gospel.

He endured persecutions, afflictions, trials, and beatings for the message he proclaimed.

Yet he continued to live boldly and victoriously in the face of opposition because of his confidence in the future: So we do not lose heart.

Even in the midst of suffering, we can have courage.

(v.

16) Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Outer man refers to that which belongs to this present age of sin and death.

It refers to this temporal life that is decaying, while inner self refers to the life that is hidden with Christ ().

The believer’s future is secure because by the death of Jesus Christ, believers have gained forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life and are going from one degree of glory to another, until we will be like Him.

Future Glory Outweighs Present Suffering (v.

17)

We also see in the text that whatever sufferings in this life happen to us as Christians (for Paul that meant beatings, imprisonments, lashes, shipwreck, threats, and insults), it does not compare to the eternal weight of glory that is beyond all comparison.

When we are in eternity everything that has happened to us seems light in comparison.

Sickness, disease, heart failure, cancer though from an earthly perspective may seem massive, but in the light of eternity Paul considers these afflictions light.

Glory in the OT was associated with the presence of God and display of his character.

When the believer dies, she is in glory beholding the beauty of God.

Unseen Things Are Eternal

[18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

In our culture we believe that seeing is believing.

But the Bible shows us in this life that believing is seeing.

And one day our believing will be made sight.

The present form of this world is passing, but what is coming is eternal.

We believe in an all-powerful immortal and invisible God who promises our good and glory.

That is why we look to the things that are unseen.

What Connie Dela must be experiencing is unimaginable to our eyes.

To our

mortal eyes, she is in a coffin.

To God’s eyes, she is in heavenly glory shining bright as the sun.

Transition: A believer not only gains glory, but a future resurrection.

II.

Resurrection (vv.

1-5)

Next, Paul describes that his suffering is worth it because of a future resurrection body.

Christians throughout history believe that when a believer dies, they “fall asleep”.

In fact, cemetery is taken from the greek word sleeping place.

Christians used sleep as a euphemism for death because they believe the soul will one day be united with a glorious body.

2 Corinthians