Now, the title of my message
this evening is, What I Know About Life After Death. What I Know About Life After
Death. And I'm reading from the book
of 1 John, chapter 5, verse 11. 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. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. And then verse 20, the Apostle
John says, and we know, and we know that the Son of God is calm
and hath given unto us an understanding. Now note these words that he
uses. We know the Son of God has come
and given to us an understanding that we may know, that we may
know him that is true even His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the
true God, and this is eternal life. Now, I frequently hear
men and women call death and life after death the unknown. Perhaps many of you, without
thinking, have referred to dying and life after death as going
out into the unknown. We use that word frequently in
reference to this experience. Well, I believe it's time, and
this preacher has a reputation for doing that, to subject our
religious clichés to the Word of God. I think it's time that
we subject our idol traditions to the Word of God. I think it's
time that we subject our spiritual rituals and ceremonies to the
Book. Now, I know that we know in part
No one here, especially in this pulpit, claims to know everything
about God's word, of God's kingdom, or God's salvation. We know in
part, the scripture says, the secret things belong to the Lord,
but the revealed things belong to the sons of men. The secret
things, the mysteries of the kingdom of God, I cannot comprehend,
God, I would have to be God to comprehend God, but I can comprehend
what God has revealed. The scripture says, study to
show thyself approved under God, a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. And then we
prophesy in part or we preach in part. Our Lord even said to
his twelve disciples, I have many things to say to you, many
things to say to you. You cannot bear them now. It's
not time to reveal them to you. You're not able to receive them.
A foundation has to be laid in order to build the next floor
upon it. I have many things to say to you. They'll be taught
you later by the Holy Spirit. And I know that we see through
a glass dimly. The Scripture uses the word darkly.
We see through a glass dimly, but we do see. We know in part,
but we do know. It's not the unknown. We see
through a glass dimly, but we see. Now I must confess for you
and myself and all of us that most of our ignorance, spiritual
ignorance, is willful ignorance. Our Lord said, you have not because
you ask not. If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask of God that giveth wisdom to all men liberally and upbraideth
not. You have not because you ask
not. You will not come to me that
you might have life, he said. And again, Jesus answered them
and said, My doctrine's not mine, but his that sent me. If any
man, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God. If any man will to do his will,
he'll know of the doctrine whether it be of God. One day there was
a preacher, and a physician. They were friends and neighbors.
They were sitting out in the backyard. It was a quiet time
in the evening. The sun had gone down. The stars
were out. A summer night. They were visiting
together. It was silent. The doctor was
looking into the sky. And he said, Preacher, wouldn't
it be wonderful, wouldn't it be wonderful if somebody from
up there would just come down here and tell us what it's all
about. Wouldn't it be wonderful if somebody
from up there would just come down here and tell us what it's
all about?" And it was quiet for a moment, and the preacher
said, my friend, he did. He did. We're not listening to
him. We're listening to the voices
of men. He said himself, let another come in his own name
and him you will receive. I come in my father's name and
you receive me not. He did. He did. And we have his word and we've
neglected his word. He said, my word. My word hath
no place in you. The words of men, the traditions
of men, the thoughts of men, but not my word. My word hath
no place in you. We have neglected His Word and
we've fled to human logic. We've fled to human tradition.
We've fled to human thoughts. And the Scripture plainly says,
if they speak not according to the Word of God, there's no light
in them. We'd rather walk in the candlelight of our own imagination
than walk in the clear, brilliant light of God's own Son. Our Lord said to the preachers,
he said, he that hath a dream, let him tell his dream. That's
what folks want to hear. But he said, he that hath my
word, let him preach my word. And that's what I'm going to
do tonight in telling you some things that I know about life,
death, and life after death. You see, John wasn't afraid to
use the word I know. And John was a man of like passions
as this preacher. Elijah was said to be a man of
like passions. John was ordained to preach,
appointed to preach, and sent to preach. There was a man sent
from God whose name was John. And John was sent to preach what
God said, not what he thought. And I know some things about
life. I know some things about life after death. First of all,
I know this. I know that men were not created
to die, but to live. I know that. I know that men
were not created to die. This is not why God created men. God created men to live. God
created men in his own image, the scripture says. He breathed
into man the breath of life and man became a living, a living
soul. This is a result of our rebellion
against God. Our Lord said to that first man,
whom he created in his own image, in the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die. Man ate, man died. Sin brought
death. Sin brought suffering, old age,
pain, sickness, death. Sin brought all these things.
Everything that's associated with death came because of sin. Now, Adam didn't die physically
immediately. He lived 930 years. But he died
spiritually. He died spiritually, and that
death passed upon all men. The Scripture says, as in Adam,
all die. By one man's disobedience, death
passed upon all men. Judgment and condemnation passed
upon all men. Men died spiritually when they
rebelled against God, and as a result of that sin, they die
physically. That led Job to ask this question,
well, if a man dies, shall he live again? If a man dies, shall he live
again? Yes, he'll live again. God says all men will live again.
All men will live again. He shall live eternally. But
I know secondly, I know that God didn't create man to die,
He created him to live. But as a result of sin, men now
die. But I also know this, I know
from this book that God purposed in His grace and in his mercy
to redeem fallen man, to redeem sinful man and give them back
that life, that spiritual life, that divine life which they lost
in Adam. God said to Moses who inquired,
show me your glory and the Lord said, I'll cause all my goodness
to pass before you. I will be merciful. I will be
merciful to whom I will be merciful. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. God will be merciful. He purposed
to be merciful. He didn't have to. He was not
obligated to. He passed by the angels. The
angels whose fall preceded man's fall were reserved in everlasting
chains of darkness unto the day of judgment. And God took not
on himself the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. God
was pleased to save men. He was pleased to be merciful
to men. He was pleased to be gracious to men. And this is
the promise. This is the record. This is true.
God hath given to us, men, eternal life. Now, eternal life is not
how long it lasts. Eternal life is the quality of
it. Eternal life is the truth of it. Eternal life is divine
life. God hath given us eternal life.
He said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
have eternal life. And again he said in John 14,
6, I am the way, the truth, and the light. Man lost three things
in Eden's garden. He lost the way to God. He was
put outside the garden and flaming cherubim with flaming swords
were placed at the gate of the garden saying, keep out. But
Christ said, I'm the way back to God. He said, I'm the truth. Man lost the truth in the garden.
He believed Satan's lies and rejected God's truth. Christ
said, I'm the truth. Man lost life, spiritual life.
And Christ said, I am the life. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. But men do come to
the Father by Him. For he said, I am the resurrection
and the life. I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. And he that
believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. I know that there's life in Jesus
Christ. I know that God Almighty purposed
and planned to have life in Jesus Christ. He had committed everything
to Christ. He had vested everything in His
Son. And to have Christ is to have life. To have faith in Christ
is to have eternal life. I plan to die just as my brother
died Monday night. I plan to die too. That's the
reason I have a lot at Rose Hill Cemetery, because I plan to die.
But my friends, I plan to live. That's the reason I have faith
and confidence in Jesus Christ, because He's the life. He's the
life. And I know that He cannot fail.
Active obedience to the Holy Law of God has given to me a
perfect standing before God. His passive obedience before
the wrath of God on Calvary's cross has given to me eternal
justification. And what I have, I have by the
grace of God. And what I am, I am by the grace
of God. And what I shall enjoy throughout
eternity is by the grace of God through the merits not of myself,
but of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now
I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid, Jesus Christ. I am the
door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. I am the water of life. Are you
thirsty? Come and drink. I am the bread. He that eateth
shall never die. I know that. I know there's no
other door to the Kingdom of God but faith in Christ. I know
there's no other Savior but Christ Himself. I'm as sure of that
as I'm standing before you and reading an open Bible. He that
hath the Son of God hath life. God hath given to us eternal
life. And this life, it's as plain as words can make it, is
in His Son. It's not in the church, nor in
the baptismal pool, nor in the elements of the Lord's table,
nor is it in the law. It's in His Son. What the law
could not do, because it was weak through the flesh, God sending
His only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin
in the flesh. In other words, He came down
here to redeem man. That's the reason they called
His name Jesus. Jesus means Joshua. Joshua means God my Savior. That's
why they named Him that, because He is God and He's my Savior.
He's the God-Man. God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto Himself. God came down here in person
to do what no one else could do. No angel could redeem men.
No armies of men could redeem men. No man could redeem himself. But Jesus Christ, the God-Man,
came down here and redeemed us. He fulfilled God's holy law.
God did not trim the law down. God did not repeal the law. God
did not take the edges off of the law. He sent a man down here
who could obey it. And God said, the soul that sinneth,
it shall surely die, and that's what the soul that sins shall
do, it shall surely die. But we died when Christ died,
because we were in Christ. In Christ by God's divine grace,
in Christ by God's divine purpose, in Christ by God's divine will. When he died, we died. When he
was buried, we were buried. When he rose again, all of his
people arose, and now they're seated with him in the heavenlies
on the right hand of the Father. All right, the third thing I
know. I know what happens at death. God's Word tells me. I know what happens at death.
It says over here in the book of Ecclesiastes, it talks about
man getting old and feeble and infirm. It says that the keepers
of the house tremble, that's their arms. It says the strong
men bow themselves. That's the legs. It says the
grinders cease because they're few. That's the teeth. They that
look out of the windows be darkened or weakened. That's the eyes.
The doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the
grinding is low. That's the lips. He shall rise
up at the voice of a bird. That's inability to sleep. The
daughters of music shall be brought low. That's his inability to
sing. They shall be afraid of that
which is high. Fears shall be in the way. The
almond tree shall flourish. That's the snow-white hair. The
grasshopper shall be a burden. That's the weariness of old age. And desire shall fail. What's
happening? Man's going to his long home.
That's what's happening. Man's dying. The silver cord
will be broken. That's the bond between the soul
and the body. The pitcher will be broken at
the fountain. That's the heart. Then shall the dust return to
the earth from whence it came." That's what God said. This body
came from the dust. It's going back to the dust.
But that's not all. The spirit shall return to God
who gave it. This book knows nothing about
a place called purgatory. It's an invention of man. There's
no such thing mentioned in the Bible anywhere. This book knows
nothing about halfway houses. It knows nothing about soul sleep.
Body sleeps, soul doesn't sleep. Our Lord said to the thief on
the cross, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise. This
day. This day. Be with me. Where's Christ? He went to the
Father. And that's where the repenting thief went. The Apostle
Paul said, for me to be absent from this body is to be present
with the Lord. Apostle Paul said for me to live as Christ to die
is gain. To die wouldn't be gain if I
was going to purgatory. To die wouldn't be gain if I
was going to some sleepy holler or some halfway house somewhere.
To live in limbo, that certainly would not be any gain whatsoever.
That'd be a loss. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. That's the scripture. But in
our darkness and tradition we'd rather hold to what men say rather
than what God says. He said, if our earthly house
of this tabernacle be dissolved, this is a tent. This tabernacle
is a tent. A tent is a fragile, fragile
dwelling. And I'm in a fragile dwelling.
Someone says, how can a heart with so many strings stay in
tune so long, only by God's grace and power? How wonderfully I
am made, David exclaimed. But if this house or this tabernacle
be dissolved, I'm not going to be found naked. My soul's not
going to be found naked wondering about somewhere in the misty
heavens. I have a building made by God. You know what you read?
I have a building. That I don't know, and no one
else knows. You say, what's that particular
building like? I don't know, but I have one. I have one. And when I lay this body aside,
when we breathe the last breath, and go to be with the Lord. We
do go to be with the Lord. We go to His presence, and we
go there clothed upon, not naked. We go there clothed upon with
His beauty, His glory, His righteousness, and that body He prepared. I
know something else. I know this. I know there will
be a resurrection. I know there will be a resurrection.
Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 tells me this. It tells me, if
the dead rise not, then Christ is not risen. That's pretty serious. Any man who denies the resurrection
of men denies the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the dead
rise not, then Christ is not risen. And he said, if the dead
rise not, our preaching is all vain. If the dead rise not, your
faith is vain. If the dead rise not, we're false
witnesses of God. If the dead rise not, then God
didn't raise Christ, whom he said he raised. So God's a liar. If the dead rise not, then you
are yet in your sins. If the dead rise not, those that
have fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If the dead rise
not. I know there'll be a resurrection.
Well, you say, what'll it be like? Listen to this. Verse 35. Now some man will say, well,
how are the dead raised up? How are the dead raised up? We
take an old, withered, broken, diseased body and put it in the
ground. Hire the dead raised up. And
with what body do they come? Verse 36, thou fool, thou fool,
that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. In other
words, if anybody's going to be raised, they've got to die.
You men who plant gardens, if you're going to plant corn, don't
stand there and hold it in your hand. You'll never have a crop.
It'll never come up. Don't keep it in your pocket.
Don't keep it on the shelf at home. There's just one way to
have a crop of corn. There's just one way to have
a new sprout. There's just one way to have
a new ear of corn. Plant it. Plant it. It's got
to die. It's got to decay. It's got to
go back to the ground. Now you see that? Now read on.
And that which thou sowest, and that which you plant, you do
not plant that body that shall be. I take a little withered
grain of corn. I want a new, fresh, vital stalk
of corn with many ears and grains. I've got to plant it. It's not
going to come up till I do. And this body's never going to
bear the likeness of Christ till it dies. I've got to lay aside
this old body. It's got to be put in the soil.
It's got to be planted. That's the reason death is gained.
That's the reason Paul was in a desire to depart. He wanted
to die. He wanted to depart from this
world. He wanted to lay aside this withered, wrinkled, frail,
sinful, sorrowful, suffering body. Plant it. Plant it in hope. I know a lot of people are buried
hoping there's not going to be a resurrection. God's people
are buried in hope of the resurrection. They're buried on their backs,
face up, looking for his coming. They're not cremated, which is
a denial of the resurrection. Destroy the body, burn it, do
something, deny the resurrection, lay it in the grave, face up,
waiting for his coming. And he said that which you sow
is not that which you reap. In other words, we put in the
grave a corruptible body. It comes out incorruptible. You
take that little withered, wrinkled, dried up, dead grain of corn,
put it in the ground. And in a few days there's a fresh,
beautiful stalk of corn growing up, a few weeks, a month or so,
and there's a lot of grains. What you put in the ground resembles
what came up. It's the beginning of what came
up, but it's not just like it. So the body I'm going to have
in the resurrection is going to resemble this one. I was made
in the image of God. But it will still be so much
greater and so much more powerful and so much more beautiful and
like the very body of the Lord. So an immortal body raised an
immortal body. So an weak body raised a powerful
body. So an sinful body raised a holy
body. So an immortal body raised an
immortal body. That's what the Scripture says.
I know that. The Scripture says, when He shall appear, we shall
see Him and we shall be like Him. for we shall be changed
into His glorious image. You say, what kind of body is
it? Well, I can tell you a little bit about it. When our Lord Jesus
Christ came forth from the tomb, He appeared to His disciples. They saw Him crucified, they
saw Him as He was hanging on that cross. The Scripture says
His visage was so marred He didn't look like a human being. They
plucked out His beard, they hit Him with their fists, They'd
spat upon him, they'd put a crown of thorns on his head. There
was no beauty about him, no comeliness, just a mass of beaten, bruised
and bloody flesh. And they saw that terrible image
down that cross. And then one day in the upper
room, they saw him stand before them in all of his beauty and
glory and presence. And they thought it was a ghost.
They thought it was a ghost. And he said, it's not a spirit.
Reach, Heather, touch my hands. A spirit doesn't have flesh and
bones, as you see me have. And they reached over and touched
him. That's the kind of body we're going to have in the resurrection.
They knew him. You say, well, we know each other
in the resurrection. But I know you now, and I'll
be a lot smarter then than I am now. I know you now. Will we be ourselves in the rest?
Well, of course. How am I going to praise God
for saving me from my sins if I'm not me? Will we have a memory
of the earth? How am I going to praise God
for saving me from my sins if I don't remember it? What happened
down here? We need to buy a Bible and start
reading it. Quit depending upon what somebody
says. Our Lord said, do you have anything
to eat? They gave him fish and a honeycomb, and he stood right
there in a glorified body, in a resurrected body, in a new
body, in a body his father brought from the tomb of the Spirit of
God, and ate with them. Ate with them. And I'll tell you something else
I know about this life after death. It's going to be lived
right here on a new earth. In Romans chapter 8, listen to
the Word of God. In the 8th chapter of Romans,
sure there'll be a new heaven. Sure, we'll have access to heaven
and the globe and the throne of God. But my friends, there's
going to be a new heaven and a new earth. That's what Scripture
says. You see, when Adam fell, not only Adam died and all men
died in sin, but nature died. Creation suffered. Creation was
subjected to vanity by the fall of Adam. The trees in the garden
didn't have any blight. The animals in the garden didn't
die. The flowers in the garden didn't
wither. The leaves in the garden didn't fall. Not until Adam fell. And then when Adam fell, death,
darkness, and all these other things came. That's what Scripture
says. It says over here in Romans 8, the creation was made subject
to vanity. Vanity. Not willingly, but by reason
of Him, God, who subjected the same in hope as the hope of the
new nature. a new world, a new creation,
because the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain
together until now, not only they, but we ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We groan within ourselves
waiting for the adoption, namely, the redemption of our body. So
God's going to make a new earth. The holy city, I saw John said,
coming down out of heaven, descending out of heaven as a bride adorned
for a husband. Oh, there'll be the river of
the water of life. There'll be the trees bringing
forth their fruits in their season. There'll be God's garden blooming
once again in the brilliance and beauty of our great God.
Tell you something, there's nothing wrong with this world. The absence
of sin and the presence of the Lord wouldn't cure her. It still
retains some of the beauty of our God's handiwork. Still retains
some of that beauty. But he's going to make it again.
He's going to destroy this world because sin came here. He's going
to destroy heaven. You say, what's he going to do
that for? Because sin entered heaven too. Christ said, I saw
Lucifer, Satan, fall from heaven. That's where he sinned. He tried
to ascend the throne of God. He tried to exalt His throne
above the throne of God. And God cast Him out. And they
that followed Him, God cast them out. And God's going to make
a new heaven where there's no sin. No sin. There'll be no sin. There'll be a new creation. God's
going to make a new earth where there'll be no sin. That nothing
entereth that worketh or maketh alive. God's going to make a
new heaven and a new earth. And it's going to be inhabited
by a new people. a people made holy by His grace
and by His love and by His mercy. I want desperately, like the
Apostle Paul, to be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness,
but the righteousness of God which is in Christ Jesus. Oh,
that I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection, that
I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead. I want a part in
that city, in that kingdom, in that family. I want a part in
that new earth. And the only way I know from
the Word of God to have a part in God's purpose and plan for
His Son, for in Christ shall have all the preeminence, is
to be found in Him. To be found in Him. Christ in
you, that's the hope of glory. God's glory and kingdom and grace
is not to be found in anything physical or material or anything
that I do, for my righteousness is a filthy rat. In the flesh
no man can please God. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. But Christ pleased God. He said, this is my Son in whom
I'm well pleased. And this is the record God has
given us eternal life in His Son, in His Son. Scripture says this and I close
with this the kingdom of heaven Is likened to a merchant man
seeking goodly pearls Who when he had found one pearl of great
price? Went and sold all that he had
And he bought it When he had found one pearl of great price
he went and sold all that he had and bought it I heard this
story. There was a merchant man who
did collect pearls. He sought the best pearls, the
most beautiful pearls. Walking down the street one day,
he came by a new shop he'd never seen before. And there in the
window of the shop, there was the most beautiful pearl he'd
ever seen. He stood and looked at it for
a long time. It was everything he had always wanted. perfect,
not a flaw. It was laying there on a background
of a black velvet. And he dashed into the door and
found the proprietor, and he said, I must have that pearl.
I just must have that pearl in the window. I've got to have
it. What'll it cost? Well, the man said, come over
and we'll talk. So they went over by the counter, and the
fellow said, took out his pen and paper, and he said, the price
of that pearl It'll cost you everything you have. He said,
everything I have, everything you have. So he began to take
out his wallet and look through his wallet. He said, well, I
have $500. Is that all you have? Well, no. He said, I'm keeping
10. You see, I've got to have gas
for my car. Oh, he said, you have a car.
That's $510 and one car. Well, the man said, I can't give
up my car. He said, I own a business, and I have to go back and forth
to work. Oh, he said, you have a business. Well, that'll be
$500, one car, and one business. Well, the man said, I just can't
turn loose on my business. He said, I've got a house to
pay for. And the man said, oh, you have a house. Then that'll
be $500, one car, one plant, business, one house. Oh, the
man said, I can't give up my house. I've got a family. We
have to have a place to live. Oh, he said, you have a family.
That'll be one family. I told you, this pearl costs
you all you've got. Now, you want the pearl? You
want the pearl? It'll cost you all you have.
The man stood there a minute. He wanted that pearl. He must
have that pearl. I want Christ, don't you? I've
got to have Him. Everything's in Christ. Everything's
in Christ. He's Alpha and Omega. He's the
first and the last. He's the beginning and the end.
No sacrifice is too great. He said, no man can be not my
disciple unless he forsaketh all that he hath. All right,
the man said, I'll take it. He said, give me the title to
your car, and he handed it over. He said, give me the deed to
your house, and he handed it over. He said, give me the deed to your
business, and he handed it over. He said, now your family belongs
to me too, everything. He took the pearl and handed
it to him and said, the pearl is yours. And the fellow held
it close and started out, and the man said, wait a moment,
my friend. Come back. Come back. He came back and stood
before him, and he said, now here's the title of your car
back. And that's my car. And if I want you to use that
car for some purpose that I have, or maybe I send a friend, you
over to pick up a friend, take him somewhere, be all right if
he rides in my car, won't he? Huh? Oh yes, yes, he said. And
he said, here's the title to your house, the deed to your
house. But now that's my house. You're
living in it. It belongs to me. Now, if I want
some friends to spend the night, it'll be all right, won't it?
Will you feed them with my food and let them stay in my home?
Oh, yes. And that business, that's my business. I'm going to let
you run it. And I'm going to let you make
a living from that business. It's mine. And those children
and that wife, they're mine. And if I see fit to call one
away, it'll be all right, won't it? Since they're not yours,
they're mine. Boy, he said it'd be all right.
It's all right, isn't it? It's all right, isn't it, now?
It belongs to him. The cattle on a thousand hills,
they're his. I'm his. And when we come to that place,
we don't have any more problems. They said, Joe, everything's
gone. Well, he said, the Lord gave, and it was his, and he
took it back. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now, if you
come to that place, you can call yourself a Christian. And you can say, by the grace
of God, I've been saved. Because that's what Christ, the
goodly pearl, demands, all that you have. Our Father, we thank Thee for
the promise of eternal life. We thank Thee for the gift of
Thy dear Son. Make the message, the word, the
glorious good news of grace effectual to our hearts. Lord, we belong
to Thee. Make us content in whatsoever
state you have placed us with whatever you've given us to avoid
covetousness, which is idolatry. It's the Lord. Let him do what
he will. And we say with Job of old, and we trust it, we say
it from our hearts and not from our heads and just from our lips.
Though he slay me, I'll trust him. For he said, I'll never
leave you, and I'll never forsake you. Bless this dear family. and bless most of all thy word
to our hearts and to our understanding. We pray for Christ's sake. Amen.