Life After Death
Tony Khalil
Midland SDA Church
June 30, 2018
Major Affective Disorder, Pleasant Type. Have you heard of this condition? Major Affective Disorder is a label Richard Bentall, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, has given to the condition more commonly known as happiness. In his research article published in the Journal of Medical Ethics titled “A Proposal to Classify Happiness as a Psychiatric Disorder” Bentall makes a case that happiness is, and I quote “statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system.” In this single sentence quoted from Bentall’s abstract, a form of the word abnormal is used three times in describing what we know as happiness. Is there any truth to this? Is unhappiness now the norm. Many things suggest this might be the case.
Over a 15-year period antidepressant use has increased in the United States by 65%. Over the same period the suicide rate climbed by 24%. Just this month there have been two high profile suicides, that of celebrity chef, author, and television personality Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade, both had notoriety, success, and fortune but happiness still eluded them. It seems there are a lot of indicators that as a society we are becoming increasingly despondent.
There are dozens of potential reasons for this, everything from poor health, to stress, to lack of sleep, or financial uncertainty, but interestingly, secularism in America has also risen dramatically over this time frame. I am not suggesting in any way that Christianity will preclude one from unhappiness, but lack of spirituality is likely one factor. If we have no assurance of a better life to come, we are without hope and susceptible unhappiness.
Is it possible that the rarity of happiness in the world today could be attributed to being in bondage to sin? I am not trying to simplify things too much here, I know situational, psychological, physical, and supernatural factors contribute to one’s state of happiness, but could all these factors result from our natural birth. We were after all born under the penalty of sin. If this is true, if our sinful nature inherited at birth is the root of this epidemic of unhappiness, are we therefore stuck with it? That is to say, is unhappiness something we just have to accept and learn to deal with? In Romans 5:18,19 the Apostle Paul tells us “NO”
18 Therefore, as through [h]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one[i] Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
We find ourselves in sin’s bondage as a result of Adam’s action’s, but all is not lost. There is hope of restoration through Christ Jesus. If this bondage to sin is manifesting itself as unhappiness in our lives, logic would suggest that the righteousness of Christ could be the antidote. If our natural birth brought the disease, a rebirth in Christ Jesus would offer the cure. But what is this rebirth? Do I have to go through it? Is it difficult? Will it be the end to all my problems? What will it require of me? Is it worth it?
In John 3 we find the familiar story recounting the meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus. You remember their conversation. Nicodemus asks Jesus what he must do to be saved and after some discussion about his strict obedience to the law, Jesus winds up telling him that he must be born again. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was a knowledgeable teacher of the law, and when it came to keeping the law he felt he was doing a pretty good job at it, in fact he prided himself on his good works. He even seemed to be quite sincere in his quest for salvation. But he was missing one key ingredient, one prerequisite as it were to salvation. He had not been born again. In fact, he did not even understand the concept of rebirth. According to the words of Jesus in John 3:3
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was a lost man and so am I, if I have not been born again.
If this new birth experience that Jesus talks about is essential for our salvation, how do we do it? The answer is, we don’t. We have no more ability to make ourselves born again than we could make ourselves born the first time. If we then don’t do it, how does it happen? Let’s turn to in our Bibles to Titus 3:3-7 and read it together.
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
In verse 5 the Apostle Paul used the phrase “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit”. What is the washing of regeneration? It is translated from the Greek word Paliggenesia (pal-ing-ghen-es-ee-ah) and is defined by Strong’s as the state or act of spiritual rebirth. So being born again is an action performed by the Holy Spirit. If this rebirth is required for our salvation and we can’t do it ourselves and it is performed only by the Holy Spirit, how then do we see to it that the Spirit preforms it in in our lives?
Within each of us, there is an area we have charge over, where our decisions our made, where our free will is exercised. It is here that we can choose to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of spiritual rebirth in us. We can not make ourselves born again, but we do make the decision of whether-or-not the Spirit of God is permitted to do His work in us.
So, it comes down to choice, our choice. That sounds easy enough right? Except for one thing. Our nature is corrupted, and we have no more bent toward godliness than does a cat towards taking a bath. It is not something we would naturally choose. Romans 8:7 tells us
“…the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Our fallen nature is more interested in feeding its insatiable appetite for pleasure than making a choice for God. In order for us to make this choice, we must come to the realization that we are dead. Yes, you heard that correctly. In order to get to the place where we are persuaded to chose to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of rebirth in us, we must realize we are dead. Let’s look at a couple verses that corroborate this idea. Turn with me to John 5: 24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Now turn over to 1 John 5: 11, 12
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
When we are without Christ, we are, essentially dead. Yes, we are breathing, and our heart is still circulating oxygen laden blood throughout our bodies, but this is a temporary condition. In the context of eternity, having stable vitals for a few short years is not life at all. In fact, anything that ends in death is not life at all, it is just the early stages of death. In order for our existence to be considered life, it must be eternal, for that is what we were created to experience. In John 11: 25, 26 Jesus is talking with Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus and he says…
I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.
Without Christ we are all in one stage or another of death, and realizing this is the first step toward life. How so you might ask? It is through this realization that we are awakened to the reality that there is something more than a vapor of an existence in the brief timeline of an insignificant blue planet. And this awakening can lead us to discover the path that our loving creator has laid out before us. A path that leads from death to life. Let’s take a second look at John 5: 24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Here we see that the gateway between death and life is the elimination of condemnation which comes only by belief in Jesus. The moment we accept Jesus, we are changed from dead to living and this shift results in an amazing transformation in our existence to the extent that we have a new life and have in essence been born again. This is called Justification by faith. We are justified when the condemnation is removed, and the impetus is our belief or Faith in Christ Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 5:1
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What does the phrase peace with God mean? Whenever I hear that phrase, my mind goes back 30 years to a conversation with my Aunt Margaret. After leaving behind a lifestyle that was out of harmony with God’s will and doing the best that she knew how to live according to His word, she declared, “I have made peace with God”. Although I do believe she was responding to the Holy Spirit working in her life and don’t question the authenticity of her experience, I can’t help but correct her statement. We do not make peace with God. He makes peace with us. Our part is to simply believe in Him, trust Him, put our faith in Him and He removes the condemnation making us at peace with Him. Believing we have been pardoned and then experiencing the peace that accompanies it as the assurance of salvation is the new birth experience.
You may say “Yes, I have experienced that peace, but sometimes I have doubts and that peace seems to elude me when I see my mistakes, imperfections, and failures” What you must realize is that our remorse over our shamefulness is just as much a part of our salvation experience as when we feel the peace of God, for this recognition of our unworthiness can keep us depending on Jesus alone to bring the changes that are part of being born again. I like a quote by Martin Luther that emphasizes this point. He says…
“When Satan tells me I’m a sinner, he comforts me, for Christ died for sinners.”
And Paul backs that up in Romans 5:8 when he writes
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Yes, sin is disgraceful and as born-again Christians we want to abhor it, but when you recognize it in yourself don’t let Satan use that moment to derail you, rather let it compel you to lean on Jesus more.
During His discourse with Nicodemus Jesus brings together the concept of rebirth with the Kingdom of God. In so doing He is telling us that He works through the new birth experience to prepare us to live in His kingdom. In Revelation 21:5 he tells us He will create a new heaven and a new earth. He is creating all things anew including us. When we are changed from mortal to immortal we will get new bodies as well, but he is already working on changing our hearts which begins with being born again.
In the physical realm we are born, live, then die. Life always comes first. The new birth reverses this order as life is proceeded by death. We are dead first, born, and then live. Colossians 2:13 puts it this way…
Even when you were dead because of your offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with him when he forgave us all our offenses.
We must die to our old selfish carnal ways before we can be reborn as it were in Christ. We cannot move from old life to new without first dying. Does this sound difficult? It would be if we had to kill our old self. However the act of dying to self is not suicide, for we do not do the killing, God does. Just as with the rebirth we can’t do it ourselves, we can only choose to allow God to do it for us. Another way this prerequisite of death is illustrated is through the concept of surrender. We must surrender our hopes, dreams, and plans to God. This is what Christ was talking about in Luke 9: 24 when he said…
For whosoever will save his life will lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
The problem is, when we come to the realization of this truth, self is healthy and strong, we have been feeding and watering it for years and it does not want to just give up and die. It is therefore not initially an enjoyable process. Our nature has been trained over time to preserve self and wants to continue to do so, but in so doing we are only preserving the origin of our unhappiness and preservation of self will lead to our destruction. Perhaps you have noticed the most self-serving, greedy people are often the most miserable as well, and the more one serves self, the unhappier they are. This is because self can never be satisfied. Which is why when the Bible speaks about the new birth, it speaks of going from bondage to freedom. By choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to make us a new person in Christ, we are escaping the slavery to self.
So, we have learned that the rebirth experience is a dramatic shift, it is initiated by us only in our decision to allow it, it requires death, and results in freedom and life. Is that where it ends though? Do we go through this painful process, this change in the entirety of our life and then live happily ever after? Or is there more to it than that? I would suggest both are true. We do live happily ever after by experiencing the joy of having the presence of Christ living within us. Colossians 3: 1-3 puts it this way.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
We will experience joy and happiness and our life will take on new meaning as we put Christ first and he lives in us, but the new birth is not the end, it is the beginning. Just as our natural birth is the beginning of our natural life, the rebirth is the beginning of our life in Christ. When we are born as infants, there is a tremendous amount of growth that will occur between our birth and adulthood. Although parents may refer to their new born baby as perfect, and they may be perfect for that stage of life, if they stayed that way forever without exhibiting growth physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially there would be cause for concern. The same is true spiritually after our new birth. As time goes on we should realize growth. I like how Paul says it in Philippians 1:6.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
I particularly like the fact that in the same way our rebirth is not something we can do, neither is the growth that follows of our own making. It is the beginning of living a new life in the spirit, which is characterized by a moral makeover from a life of slavery to the flesh to one of freedom in Christ. It is not an instantaneous transformation, but rather a slow spirit initiated and spirit lead process of God cleansing, healing, and changing into His image, those who have surrendered their lives to Him. Colossians 3:9 & 10 refers to this change when it says…
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him.
The entire process is God’s we can’t do it ourselves and we can’t inherit it from our parents all we can do is make the decision to receive it and He is faithful to do in us as He has promised. I particularly like how John 1: 12 & 13 puts it. It reads…
But as many as received Him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
He couldn’t make it any clearer. When we are born of Him, He gives us the power to become like Him.
You may be thinking that this is all well and good, and seems to be supported scripturally, but I have asked God to make me anew in Him, why then do I continue to struggle? The act of being born again does not instantaneously remove our sinful flesh from us, rather it changes the way we respond to it. Our sinful flesh cleaves to us and does not want to let go. We must remain dependent on Him. Just as we were born again through surrender to Christ it is an ongoing daily surrender to God that keeps us growing in Him, and as we depend upon Him, He will faithfully make us a new creature. Do not misunderstand and think that just because the rebirth process is something God does in us, we do not need to cooperate with Him. Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6
As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:
Part of surrender is obedience to the one in whom we have surrendered. In the context of war, when one surrenders to the enemy, he does not simply say I surrender and then do as he pleases. He must obey the command of the force he has surrendered to. He becomes subservient to it. I don’t want to take this analogy too far, because when we surrender to Christ we do not become prisoners of war, rather we find freedom in Christ, but my point is surrender involves the action of obedience. We now have a real relationship with God and through spending time with Him, doing what he asks of us and learning what he wants us to be, we are gradually changed so when we are assaulted by temptation the Holy Spirit will impress us with what God would have us to do. And the best part… when we choose to do what God has asked, we will be given divine power to carry out that choice. I Corinthians 10:13 …
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This is an incredible promise is it not? When we are surrendered to Him, He gives us His divine power to have victory over our trials. We can count it.
`Why then are we not always victorious? If God’s power is able to keep us from sinning and he promises a way of escape, what’s the problem? The problem is not with God’s power or promises. The problem is ours. God provides all that we need, but we still must choose. He never takes away our freedom of choice, rather he works to give us victory as we choose it. It is of utmost importance that we remember that our standing with God is dependent not on our own merit, but on Jesus applying his merits on our behalf, and that includes when we fall.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
Perhaps the most wonderful part of the new birth is having the assurance that while God is working on making us into his likeness, we have already been accepted, so regardless of how many times we fall, we are not cast off. Jesus is interceding for us so as the Father sees Jesus, so He sees us. Hebrews 7 reinforces this when we read in verse 25…
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
So, the new birth offers us three things, forgiveness of sin, freedom from bondage, and walking in newness of life. After all, if we are dead to sin and are not resurrected to be alive in Christ what is accomplished? To be alive in Christ means that because we have accepted His sacrifice on our behalf, all the resources of heaven are available to us. The separation that sin caused between our creator and us has been repaired. Is that not new life? When we die to sin and are risen with Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, He will work to bring our lives in accord with His moral image. We believe this not because we necessarily see it happening, but because we accept it in faith in Him who promised it. Romans 6: 4&5 admonishes us…
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.
I want to live in Him and walk in this newness of life, how about you?
To live with Him is to live by faith, believing He loves us… He has forgiven us... He has saved us… and He will bring us the rest of the way.
Let us Pray…