The Coming Resurrection

Q: What does the Bible say about the resurrection of the dead?

The Bible teaches that the resurrection of the dead is a distinctively Christian doctrine announced by Jesus, affirming that all who are in the graves will come forth. The resurrection of the dead is a unique and foundational tenet of Christian faith, explicitly taught by our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 5:28-29, Jesus declares that 'the hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.' This promise indicates that every person who has ever lived will be resurrected—whether they are believers or not. Unlike concepts found in other religions, such as reincarnation or vague notions of an afterlife, the biblical resurrection ensures that our physical bodies will be revived in a glorified state, retaining their identity and character. The resurrection showcases God's creative power and His sovereignty over life and death, confirming the truth that, if a man dies, he will indeed live again.

Q: How do we know the resurrection is linked with Jesus Christ?

The resurrection is intrinsically connected to Christ, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:20, where Paul affirms that 'now is Christ risen from the dead.' The resurrection of the dead is inextricably linked to the person of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:13-22, the Apostle Paul emphasizes that without Christ’s resurrection, there would be no resurrection for us. His victory over death as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep lays the foundation for our hope in resurrection. Jesus said in John 14:19, 'Because I live, you will live also.' This further strengthens the assurance that just as Christ was raised from the dead, all who are united with Him in faith will also experience resurrection. This connection highlights the centrality of Christ in our understanding of eternal life and underscores the necessity of belief in Him for salvation and resurrection.

Q: Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

The resurrection is vital for Christians as it confirms Christ's victory over sin and death, providing hope for eternal life. The importance of the resurrection for Christians cannot be overstated, as it is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. It is through the resurrection that we are assured of our justification and the reality of our eternal life. Romans 4:25 states that Jesus 'was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.' The resurrection provides the evidence of God's acceptance of Christ's sacrifice, assuring believers that, because He rose, they too will rise. Additionally, the resurrection instills hope amid trials, as Christians look forward to the day when death is fully defeated and they are raised to new life in glory. This future resurrection ignites a pressing purpose in the lives of believers today to live righteously and faithfully, anticipating the fulfillment of God's promises.

Q: What does it mean to be spiritually dead?

To be spiritually dead means to be separated from God, lacking true understanding and life despite being physically alive. Spiritual death refers to a state of separation from God due to sin, as articulated in Ephesians 2:1, where it states, 'And you were dead in trespasses and sins.' This condition signifies that individuals, although physically living and capable of thoughts and emotions, are dead to the spiritual realities of God’s glory and their own needs for redemption. Their hearts are unresponsive to the truth, equating to a deadness that hinders them from recognizing their desperate state and the need for a Savior. This spiritual deadness manifests in a life dominated by the desires of the flesh and separation from the light of God. Without the transformative work of Christ, individuals remain in this state, bereft of spiritual life until they are made alive by His grace through faith.

Q: Why is Christ's resurrection our assurance of eternal life?

Christ's resurrection assures believers of eternal life because it demonstrates His power over death and His promise to raise us as well. The resurrection of Christ serves as the ultimate assurance of eternal life for believers. By rising from the dead, Jesus defeated sin and death, thus ensuring that those who trust in Him will also be raised. As noted in 1 Corinthians 15:20, 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.' This illustrates that His resurrection is a preview and guarantee of our own resurrection to come. Moreover, Romans 6:5 states, 'For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.' Therefore, Jesus not only secured salvation for us through His death but also provides the promised hope of eternal life through His resurrection. This assurance gives believers the confidence to face death without fear, knowing they share in His victory.

The resurrection of the dead is distinctively and particularly
a Christian doctrine. Now, sects and cults and man-made
religions may talk about reincarnation. They may talk about happy hunting
grounds. They may talk about some form
of life after death. Not long ago, there was a book
written and a movie made, and then the Reader's Digest had
quite a bit to say about life after death. But the resurrection
of the dead, that is, that this body shall live again, that's
distinctively Christian. That's particularly the teachings
of Christ our Lord. If a man dies, shall he live
again? The Lord Jesus Christ answers, all that are in the
graves shall come forth. Can these bones live is the sneer
of the skeptic, and our Lord's answer is, all that are in the
graves shall come forth. You mean to tell me people that
have rotted and gone back to the dust whose bodies the worms
have devoured and the fish have consumed that have been dead
and gone and forgotten and the place thereof knows them no more
for centuries and millenniums. They're going to come back together,
these particles that form that body, and that man is going to
rise in his likeness and in his personality and in his own character. All that in the grave shall hear
his voice, and there'll come forth. That's what our Lord says. And the resurrection of the dead,
that's the first thing I want you to remember. It's distinctively
Christian. I don't know any other religion. I don't know any other religion.
I don't know any cult or sect that teaches the resurrection
of the dead as it's taught in God's Word. The resurrection
of this body. This body shall live again. All
that are in the grave shall come forth. Now, the second thing
I want you to remember is this. If you'll turn to 1 Corinthians
15, the resurrection of the dead is always linked with the person
of Jesus Christ. Always. The resurrection of the
dead is always linked with the person of Jesus Christ. We were
talking, Jay, Ronnie, and I in the study a few moments ago,
how that Job said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Now, it's
believed. I can't prove this. Perhaps some
of you can. But it is said that Job, rather
than Genesis, is the oldest book in the Bible, that Job was the
first book written, that Job lived long before Moses. And
Job said, clear back then, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Who
taught him about the Redeemer? God did. God spake to our fathers. He said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and on this earth he shall stand. That's the incarnation
of Christ or the second coming of Christ. But he's going to
stand on this earth, Joseph. And though after my skin, worms
destroy this body, he knew that he was going to die. He'd watched
others die. He'd buried other people, and
somehow they'd They dug up the people after they'd been dead
a long time. They had no embalming processes
more than likely, and he found that after two years or three
years, nothing but bones. And the worms had devoured the
body, eating someone said from within. You can seal them up
tight as you want to, but the body's going to be destroyed
from within. It's got the death in it. Not
only around us, but in us there's death. We died in Adam, and there's
death in us, within us. And though worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh, he said, in my flesh mine eyes shall see
the Lord. I'm going to see the Lord in
my flesh. Now, worms are going to destroy
this body. It's going back to the dust and
ashes from whence it came. But this man writing centuries
and centuries and centuries ago, taught by God. A student of God
himself said, I'm going to see the Lord myself, he said, not
another, not a reincarnation in some other body or some other
form or some other person. I myself, he said, am going to
see the Lord. I'm going to see the Lord in
my flesh. These eyes, he said, these eyes
are going to see the Lord. You see, even then, Job, the
first one to teach the resurrection of the dead, taught it. in connection
with Christ, my Redeemer. I'm going to be raised to see
my Redeemer. And John, one of the last writers,
said that now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but when He shall appear, we'll see Him and
be made like Him. The resurrection. And then when
the apostle taught the coming of the Lord, he said, every eye
shall see Him. They shall look upon him whom
they have pierced. We're gonna see him the resurrection
is always Linked with Christ. Now, let me show you that in
1st Corinthians 15 In verse 13, it says if there be no resurrection
of the dead If that's your doctrine if that's your theory, then it's
Christ not risk. It's linked with Christ Because
I live he said ye live if he doesn't live nobody's gonna live
If Christ be not risen, there is no resurrection. That's how
simple it is. It's connected. It's linked with
Christ. Look at verse 16. If the dead rise not, Christ
is not risen. Christ is not risen. And then,
if you will, verse 20. But now is Christ risen from
the dead, and he has become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man came death. Who's that? That's Adam. By man
also, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. Who's that? That's
Christ. For as in Adam, every son of Adam dies. In Adam, there's
nothing but death. It doesn't matter who comes from
his loins. It doesn't matter who springs
from his loins. That person's going to die. As
in Adam, everybody dies, even so in Christ, in Christ. Now, we can learn so much from
the word of God with just a word for as in Adam, all who are in
Adam. You see, Christ wasn't in Adam.
That's the reason Christ had no original sin. He had no sin
nature. He had no connection with Adam
in this thing of being in Adam. He was never in Adam. If he'd
been born of Joseph, he'd been in Adam. Everybody who came from
Adam is in Adam, and in Adam we die. Well, even so, in Christ,
all who are in Christ, not all, but all who are in Christ, all
who came from Him, all who through His travail were born sons, even
so, in Christ shall all who are in Christ be made alive. That's spiritual life. In the
fifth chapter of John, that's the second thing I want you to
remember. The first is this, the resurrection of the dead,
of this flesh, of this body, is distinctively Christian. Secondly,
the resurrection of the dead is always linked with the person
of Christ. No matter where you pick it up
in God's Word, it's connected and linked with the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in the fifth chapter of
John, our Lord deals with the resurrection in a threefold way.
in a threefold way. First of all, in verse 21, he
said to these people, and if you will, get the picture, he's
speaking to a group of people, and he's speaking about the resurrection,
he's speaking about life, life and death. And he says, first
of all, in verse 21, as the Father raiseth up the dead. Now he's
talking here about different incidences in the scripture where
the dead were raised. I'm talking about physically.
You know, Elijah. Elijah raised the widow's son. The widow's son had died, and
Elijah raised the widow's son. That was God, through his prophet
Elijah, raised the widow's son. He was dead, and then he was
made to live. And Elisha raised the Shunammite's
son by the power of God, by the will of God. He raised the Shunammite
son, and this is what our Lord is saying to these Jews. He said,
as the father, as the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth
them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will. He raised Lazarus
from the grave. Lazarus who had been dead for
several days and they even said to our Lord behold He stinketh.
He's been dead long enough for his body to begin to rot He stinketh
Christ said Lazarus come forth and Lazarus lived And then our
Lord raised Jairus his daughter He came and asked the Lord to
heal his daughter and they sent word while he was talking to
the Lord your daughters your daughters dead but the Lord went
in and he said made arise and she arose and he said give her
something to eat And then one day our Lord was walking down
the street with his disciples and a funeral possession came
by and the Lord Jesus walked over and raised the woman's son
from the coffin. As the father quickeneth whom
he will, or raiseth the dead, and quickeneth whom he will,
even so the son has power to quicken whom he will. And then
down here, if you will, in verse 25, he's talking about another
resurrection. He's talking there about a physical
resurrection of people who had died. There was the widow's son
and the Shunammite son, and there was Lazarus, there was Jairus'
daughter, and there was the widow's son whom our Lord raised from
the dead. The breath and life of all men is in the hands of
Christ. He has the keys of hell and death. The Lord killeth and the Lord
maketh alive. The Lord bringeth down and the
Lord raiseth up. The Lord doeth these things.
And then in verse 25 he talks about another resurrection. He
says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God,
and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. What kind of resurrection is
this, preacher? This is spiritual life. Brethren, we are dead in trespasses
and sin turn to Ephesians chapter 2 This is the way men are born. I don't I'm not apologizing for
for the Word of God I don't feel that we have to I don't feel
that we owe me in any explanation I don't feel that we have to
tread softly on this particular ground men are dead in sin Our
Lord says they don't see. They have eyes. They have physical
eyes, but they don't see. They don't see the glory of God.
They don't see their own inability. They don't see their own insufficiency.
They don't see their sin. They don't see anything of the
wisdom and power of God in the cross. They have ears, He said,
but they don't hear. They have hearts, but they do
not understand. They're dead. They're not dead physically.
Men are not dead physically. They're moving around. They're
not dead mentally. They're thinking, but they don't
think on God. They're dead spiritually. They're
not dead physically. They're not dead mentally. They're
not dead emotionally. They have emotions. They have
a will. They have desires. They have passions. They have
self-love. They have fear. They have hate.
They have all these things. They're alive, but they're dead
spiritually. And that's what he's talking
about in Ephesians 2, 1, and you have to quicken. The word
quicken is make alive. You have to quicken who were
dead, dead to God, dead in trespasses and sin. And here's a definition
of those who are dead in sins. He said in times past you walk
according to the course of this world, not according to the way
of God, according to the course of the world. According to the
prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience Among whom we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh We're very alive to
the flesh and very dead to God Men and women are very alive
to the flesh, but they're dead to the spirit And he says fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we were by nature
children of wrath even as others but God who is rich in mercy
and For His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead. How? Not physically, not mentally,
not emotionally, in sin. Hath quickened us, made us alive
together with Christ. By grace are you saved. And this
is what our Lord's talking here, talking about here in John 5,
24. He said, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word, the Holy Spirit quickens
to the word. Of His own will beget he us with
the word of truth. We're begotten again unto a living
hope. We're born again out of corruptible
seed but of incorruptible by the word of God. He that heareth
my word. It's like Lazarus in the grave and he heard the voice
of the Son of God and he lived physically. And men who are dead
to God and women who are dead to God, who are dead in their
sins, they hear the voice or the word of the living God and
they live. They hear His Word and they believe
on Him that sent me and they have life, eternal life. This is the life of the Eternal
One. This is spiritual life. This is divine life. And Christ
is saying here the second resurrection. The first is the Son quickeneth
whom He will. He makes alive whom He will.
He has power over death. Our Lord Jesus Christ can raise
any man from the dead, any woman, any boy or girl from the dead.
Even as the Father has power to raise the dead, the Son quickens
whom He will. But more than that, the Son quickens
dead sinners. He makes dead sinners to live.
Men who died spiritually in Adam are made alive in Christ. Men
who are dead to God and dead to grace and dead to faith and
dead to holiness are made alive to God. Men who see not and who
hear not and who speak not the words of spiritual life are made
to live. Someone says that sinners in
Adam are as dead to the light of the gospel as men in the grave
are dead to the light of the sun. Do you believe that? That's
so. Men who are in Adam, in Adam
there is dead to the light of the gospel. You can preach the
gospel to a multitude of people. Some will rejoice in it. Some
will grow angry because of it. And some will be totally indifferent.
It means nothing to them. They're not excited about it.
They're not troubled about it. They're not anxious about it.
They do not inquire about it. They're just dead. Just dead. The words of God just roll off
them like water off a marble slab. It does not penetrate. It does not excite. It does not
convict. It's just words. That's all. And there is dead to the light
of the gospel as men in the grave are dead to the light of the
sun. And sinners and Adam are as dead to the voice of truth
as men in the grave are dead to your voice. Look up here,
if you will. Did you notice this while Brother
Wembley was reading verse 43? Christ said, I'm coming in my
Father's name. I'm coming in my father's name.
There's no question about that. He came in his father's name,
and you didn't receive me, he said. Let another come in his
own name, and him you will receive. There's something wrong with
man. There's something wrong with people that'll hear a person
who's a phony and reject the person who is true. There's something
wrong. There's something wrong with
a person who will hear an imposter. and will refuse the Son of God
himself. And yet that's the shape we're
in. See, we're alive to human thoughts and human ways and human
plans and human philosophy, but we're dead to God. Dead. We don't
even recognize it when it comes along. They didn't even know
who Christ was. He was in the world, and the
world knew Him not. He made the world, and they didn't
know it. They didn't know him. Sinners
are as dead to the voice of truth. You say, oh, if preachers would
just preach the truth, people would hear them. They didn't
hear Christ. He preached the truth. They didn't
hear the apostles. They preached the truth. They
didn't hear Moses. He preached the truth. Well, Moses led those
people for 40 years. And at the end of 40 years, they
were still bucking him at every corner. Sinners in Adam are as
dead to spiritual service and worship as men in the grave are
dead to physical movement. In the flesh, no man can please
God. Only God in Christ can give life,
spiritual life. First John 5, 11 says, this is
the record. God has given us life. This life's
in His Son. He that hath the Son of God hath
life, divine life, spiritual life, eternal life. He that hath
not the Son, oh, he may have physical health and physical
strength and physical intelligence. He may have all physical thoughts
and will, but he doesn't have life. Not life, not spiritual
life. Now that's the two he's talking
about there. First he said, you know about the widow's son. Elijah
raised. You know about the Shunammite
son that Elisha raised. The Son of God, Jesus Christ,
has the power also to give life. And he showed it in Lazarus and
Jairus' daughter and the widow's son. And then he said, Verily
I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is. It's now, right now. When the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God. And Peter's a good example. He
lives. John, he lives. Andrew, he lives. Nathaniel, he lives. And some
of you live. You've heard the voice of the
Son of God and you've been raised from the state of deadness just
as much as Jairus' daughter was raised or Lazarus was raised
or the widow's son was raised. We live. We've got a new life,
a new heart, a new nature, a new family. We live. But watch this
now, verse 28. Marvel not at this. Marvel not it. You need not marvel
and be amazed at these two claims of mine I'm going to tell you
something that'll even more amaze you Christ said He'll even more
amaze you in other words he said Lazarus had been dead a few days
and I raised him because the son of quick and whom he will
And I quicken people spiritually, and being that we can't see that,
that doesn't alarm us too much. That doesn't seem too far-fetched. But he said, don't be amazed
at this. I'll tell you something that'll even more amaze you.
He said, there's coming an hour when all that have ever lived,
all that have ever lived, Every Chinese citizen has ever lived
in that country through all of its ancient history. Everyone
in India, how many millions and millions and millions. Everyone
on the continent of Africa, how many millions and millions. Everyone on the islands of the
sea, every person. There's coming an hour when all
that are in the graves, all who've ever lived and all who've ever
died on this earth, all Clear back to Abel, the first man to
die, 6,000 years ago. They're going to hear the voice
of the Son of God and everyone coming out of their graves. They're
coming out of the air, they're coming out of the sea, they're
coming out of the earth, they're coming out of the oceans, they're
coming out of hell, they're coming out of everywhere. But they're
coming out. Don't be amazed. He said, marvel
not at this. I'll tell you something. That'll
amaze you. The hour is coming when every
dead person who's ever died is going to hear my voice, and they're
all coming out of the grave. Why? Why should we marvel at
any of God's promises? Is he not able to do what he
promises? Abraham believed that. Why should
it amaze us? Is anything too hard for God?
Is the Lord not able, who said he was able to save and he was
able to keep and able to justify, is he not also able to bring
forth the dead? He who created man from the dust,
and that's what the scripture said, he made man from the dust
of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life and he
became a living soul, can he not gather that dust together
again? Can he not gather that dust together
again? But oh, where is that dust? Yeah,
wherever it is, it's in God. Because by Him everything lives
and moves and has its being. And by Him all things consist.
God knows where it is. Is anything too hard for God?
God who created man from the dust of the earth and breathed
into his body life, can He not gather that dust again and once
again breathe life or put back that soul that has left? The
scripture says when we die, the soul returns to God who gave
it, either to be kept in his presence or kept wherever he
pleases, and the body to the earth from whence it came. And
someday, at his good pleasure, those two are coming back together
again. He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness Can
he not cause the light of spiritual life to shine on our darkened
understanding? He who has the power to create
life in a human body, can he not restore life to that body?
Oh, he said, marvel not at this. I talk about raising Lazarus,
or Jairus' daughter, or the widow's son. I talk about giving life
to dead sinners who lost that life in Adam. I talk about restoring
an understanding and restoring sight and hearing to men who
are dead. Don't be amazed at that. There's
coming an hour when everybody is going to hear my voice and
they're going to live. They're coming out of the grave. Notice
the next thing. Marvel, don't be amazed at this
for the hour is coming. The hour is coming. The hour
is come. Why did he say it that way? The
hour is coming. I think there are four reasons.
First of all, he said the hour coming to indicate its nearness. He doesn't say the decade is
coming or the year or the month or week or day. He said the hour.
The hour is coming. You know, when you and I are
talking about an event that's going to happen Years from now,
we say, well, in 1983, such and such. We talk about a year. If
we talk about a Bible conference that's going to take place in
June, we say in the month of June. If we talk about an engagement
we have that's next week, we'll say it's Thursday. But if we're
talking about something that's going to happen at 11 o'clock,
we give an hour. It's pretty close. You see, the
closer it is, That's when we refer to it as an hour. And Christ
Jesus says the hour cometh, indicating its nearness. Oh, you say it's
a long ways off, but let me tell you something. To our Lord, a
thousand years is a day, and a day's a thousand years. It's
very near. The hour's coming. That's what
Christ said. He stood before these people,
and listen, compared to the to the past. When Christ said that,
the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God and live, it was just an hour away. How old is God? I hear people talk about how
old is this earth? Well, I know how old man is.
I don't have to buy a book on evolution to read about these
bones they've dug up And talking about how old man is, I know
how old man is. God created Adam. And we can
reasonably be sure from the genealogies given us in the scripture that
we can trace right back to Adam. But how old this earth is, I
don't have the faintest idea and you don't either. The Bible plainly indicates to
me that God created originally this world. And something happened
to it. And He recreated it. That's just
clear, Cecil, to me. Very clear. You talk about the
oil and the gas and the coal and the dinosaurs and all these
things. There's no problem there with
the Word of God. Not that we have to explain anything. But
there's no problem there. In the book of Genesis, in the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth
was without form and void. God never made anything without
form and void. It became without form and void.
And darkness was upon the face of the deep. God never created
anything in darkness. Can you imagine the God of light,
Jay, creating something in darkness? Can you imagine the God of light
and life creating something without form? The God of all beauty making
something that has no form to it? He made the world and something
happened. You know what happened? This
world was inhabited in its original creation. There's no problem
there. You know who ran the thing? When God made Adam, listen to
what He said, Adam, let us make man in our own image, after our
likeness, so He created him, male and female, and then He
said, Adam, multiply and replenish the earth. And do what, Jay? Replenish. You can't replenish
something that hasn't been plentied. I like what the little colored
boy said sitting at the table. He said, pass the laces. And
his mother said, what? He says, pass the lices. She
said, you mean molices. He said, you can't have molices.
You ain't had no lices. And you can't replenish something
that hasn't been replenished. God says, Adam, replenish this
earth. This earth had some inhabitants.
I know who. I think they are. I believe it
was Lucifer, prince of fire there, king of this earth. Lucifer was
king of this earth. And when Lucifer fell, if you
read the book of Isaiah chapter 14, when he fell, well, I'll
tell you it was chaotic conditions on this earth when he fell. What
was he doing down here anyway when Adam fell? Because he'd
been down here a long time. And he's still down here. And
one day he's going to be taken away. But our God created this
earth. Man is 6,000 years old. But when
you go back, back, back, back, back, And you talk about the
resurrection, it's the next hour. Christ said the hour's coming,
it's near at hand. And then he says the hour's coming,
indicating it's certainty. It's certain. There's some events
which may or may not occur, but this hour our Lord says coming.
It's coming. It's as sure as God's on the
throne. It draws near. It draws near silently and surely. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die. And after that, the judgment. It's appointed. It's in God's
appointment book. It's on God's calendar. The hour
is set. He said no man knoweth the day
or the hour but my Father which is in heaven. It's set. Any preacher
who comes along telling you he knows when Christ is coming,
you know immediately he's not telling the truth, because Christ
said no man knoweth. No man knoweth. Not even the
angels of God, and they're pretty close to the situation. But they
don't know. But the hour's coming, it's certain.
It's near, it's certain. And look here, I believe he says
the hour's coming, indicating its suddenness. It's suddenness. I don't expect the resurrection
to take several years. I don't expect the resurrection
to take several days. I don't expect the resurrection
to take several hours. I expect the resurrection to
come suddenly and unexpected and the graves open and in an
hour. If you think not, the dead shall
come forth. All of them. All the multitudes,
all the billions and billions of people. And then I believe
he uses the term hour to indicate its nearness, its certainty,
its suddenness, and its importance. When our Lord talked about his
death, he referred to it as his hour. You remember that? His hour. He said frequently.
He said, my hour is not yet come. To him, to us, to redemption. to the world, to God's purpose,
this was the hour. This was the hour. Oh, the importance
of that hour. When our Lord came to that hour,
when He gave Himself, when He submitted to the wrath of God
in our place, when the nails were driven in His hands and
in His feet and He suffered and He cried, it's finished, that
hour of all hours. It causes every other hour to
fade into insignificance, into the shade. This is the hour.
Man, an hour has not yet come. Our Lord lived 33 and a half
years, and all those years, He talked about an hour. An hour. He said, for this cause came
out to this hour. Finally, He prayed in Gethsemane's
garden, Father, the hour has come! It's come. And now He's talking
about your hour. The hour is coming. The hour
is coming. It's near. It's certain. It's sudden. And it is of most
importance, for it is the hour when the dead shall stand before
God. We are bad to procrastinate.
That old black preacher down in Alabama said procrastination. His deacons asked him to preach
on procrastination. They said, how come you never
preach on procrastination? Well, he said, I will. The next
Sunday morning, he got up and said, procrastination. That's
one of our most important Baptist doctrines. And it is, I believe.
We put things off. We're bad to put things off and
not realizing till the hour comes that we have put this off. But
our Lord said, the hour's coming. It's coming, coming, coming,
silently, swiftly, suddenly. The hour's coming. And suddenly,
you find yourself standing before God. It's the hour in which the
book shall be opened. It's the hour in which the sheep
and the goat shall be forever separated. It's the hour when
men will hear what they don't want to hear. Depart from me,
I never knew you. It's the hour when men will hear
God say, bind him hand and foot and cast him into hell. It's
that hour. It's the hour when time stops and eternity begins. It's the hour when the earth
is done away with and heaven begins. It's the hour when the
believer shall hear, come ye blessed, into the kingdom prepared
for you before the foundation of the world. This is the hour.
Everything before it and after it rides on this hour when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. Now we know in
part Then we shall know. Now we prophesy in part, then
shall the truth be known. Now we see through a glass darkly,
then face to face. Now, then. Now, then. Separated
by that hour. Now, then. Now we have faith,
then reality. Now we have hope, then fact.
Now and then. Separated by the now. You talk
about an hour. Don't be amazed at this. The
hour is coming. The hour is coming for what?
when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come
forth. All that are in the grave, not
all that are in the graves now only, but all who've ever been
in the grave, all who've ever lived and died, all who ever
shall live and die. They may have been eaten by fish,
devoured by worms, burned and their ashes scattered to the
wind. They may have rotted centuries and millenniums ago, but every
son of Adam, every daughter of Adam, shall hear his voice. And
they'll come forth. How, preacher? They'll come forth
themselves. Themselves. You shall live again. If a man dies, shall he live
again? Yes, sir. He'll live again. That's what
the Word of God said. He shall come forth in a human
body. Our Lord said, don't fear him
that kills the body and after that has no more that he can
do. Fear him who's able to cast you body and soul into hell.
I heard a preacher, a man preaching not long ago, who said that that
was Satan. That's not Satan. Satan's not
able to cast anybody into hell. Satan doesn't have the keys of
hell. God has the keys of hell and death. He said, fear Him who is able
to destroy both body and soul in hell. They'll come forth themselves.
They'll come forth in the human body, and they shall come forth
at the sound of His voice. The resurrection awaits the sound
of His voice. Christ said they shall hear the
voice of the Son of God. They shall hear the voice of
the Son of God, and they shall come forth. out of the air, out
of the earth, out of the sea, out of wherever. But they shall
all come forth. No one will be missing. No one
will be able to hide. There will be no place to hide.
They cried for the rocks and mountains to hide them, but there
was no place to hide. And then he says in verse 29,
the only two characters that are going to rise. Now we've
got, we're bad about dividing folks into all kind of characters.
You know, there's the real good and the not-so-good and the pretty
good and the not-so-bad and the pretty bad and the wicked. We've
got folks all fixed up. But our Lord said just two characters
coming out of the grave, they that have done good and they
that have done evil. That's all. Out of all these
billions, they that have done good, they that have done evil.
They that have done good shall come out of the grave. to the
resurrection of life, life upon life, eternal life, divine life,
glorified life, a life of the very presence of God. They that
have done evil to the resurrection of damnation, condemnation, death
upon death, separation, darkness, misery. They that are filthy,
let them be filthy still. They that are righteous, righteous
still. They that are ungodly, ungodly still. They that are
holy, holy still. But preacher, when Brother Jay
is reading that, I couldn't help but stop there. Well, I did too.
I did too. Because preacher, the Bible says
there's none good, no not one. The Bible says there's none good. The Bible says all we like sheep
have gone astray. The Bible says all have sinned. Oh, and we don't know how much.
The best person that ever lived on this earth is a wicked, ungodly
sinner in the eyes of God. He's just as doomed and damned
and corrupt and vile as the man who's killed a dozen people in
the eyes of God. They're just good and evil. They're
just plumb lost or plumb saved. They're just plumb wicked or
plumb holy. There's no middle ground. Seeing is missing the
mark. It's just like taking a pistol
and shooting at a target. If you miss it an inch, you've
missed it. If you missed it 20 miles, you still missed it. It's
missing the mark. There's the perfect mark, and
if you shoot and miss it one inch, you've missed it, you don't
get the prize. You turn around and shoot in
the opposite direction, you don't get a prize either. Both of them
go away without a prize. A fellow shot that way, and a
fellow shot this way. Well, I just barely missed it,
but you missed it. All have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. But I just came a little bit short. But you came short.
You see that? You came short. To offend in
one part is to be guilty of the whole law. How many crimes do
you have to commit to be a criminal? Here's a man in jail who's committed
20 crimes. Here's one in the cell next to
him who committed one. They're both in jail. They're
both sentenced. They're both under the law. Well,
what does this, they that have done good, mean? Now, you always
interpret Scripture in the light of Scripture. When you look at
this verse here, and our Lord says, there's just two characters
coming forth. I'm telling you this, He said,
the hour's coming, it's near, it's sudden, it's certain, it's
right on you. When all that are in the graves,
every human being, every son of Adam's coming out of those
graves. And there's just two characters coming out. One group
is earmarked for condemnation and judgment. One group is earmarked
for holiness and righteousness and life eternal. Those that
have done evil and those that have done good. And you interpret
scripture in the light of scripture. And John Calvin said, you interpret
the difficult passages in the light of the clear passages.
And the Bible's clear when it says there's none good, no not
one. Every imagination of man's heart
is evil continually. We know that. Well, what is the goodness? The
goodness here is the goodness of Christ by substitution by
faith. That's their goodness. Turn to
John 6, 28. Let me show you that. In John
6, 28. And then they said unto him, What shall we do that we
might work the works of God? That's goodness. That's working
the works of God. I want to work the works of God,
the works of holiness, the works of righteousness, the works of
godliness. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, this is the work of God, that you believe on him whom
God has sent. Brethren, I expect to come out
of the grave. I expect to come out of the grave
to the resurrection of life. But all that I expect to receive
is not because of anything I've done or haven't done, anything
I've given or haven't given. I expect to come out of the grave
a recipient of the resurrection of righteousness because Christ
loved me and gave himself for me. His righteousness is my righteousness. His goodness is my goodness.
His glory is my glory. His holiness is my holiness.
He of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. In Christ we're holy and unblameable. And these people that come forth
having done evil to the resurrection of damnation are people who come
forth without a robe of righteousness, without Christ, without holiness,
without being redeemed by His blood. That's where it is. They
that have done good, not their goodness, We've all come short
of the glory of God. We're all weighed in the balances
and found wanting. Don't. Well, there's some folks
gonna stand before Him someday and say, hold it, hold it, hold
everything. Well, Lord, we preached in Your
name. And we cast out devils in Your name. And we did many
wonderful works in Your name. And He'll say, depart from me,
ye that work iniquity. You mean preaching's evil? It
is if it's not done for the glory of Christ. It is if it's not
done in the power of the Spirit. It is if it's not the true gospel.
Paul said, if any man preach any other gospel, let him be
accursed. I don't care if it's an angel from heaven, he said.
Well, surely preaching is profitable no matter what it is. No, it's
not. It's damnable if it's not Christ. Woe is unto me, he said,
if I don't preach the gospel. Woe is unto me if I don't preach
the gospel. They that have done good here.
are those who have a goodness that they didn't do. They have
it in Christ by faith. They have a holiness and a righteousness
and a sanctification that is there because the Son of God
loved them and gave himself for them. And those who've done evil
are religious iniquity workers and ungodly iniquity workers
and political iniquity workers and every other kind of worker
of iniquity who doesn't have the wedding garment of the Son
of God. Believers shall come forth into
a resurrection of life, and unbelievers to a resurrection of damnation.

The Coming Resurrection

What does the Bible say about the resurrection of the dead?

How do we know the resurrection is linked with Jesus Christ?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean to be spiritually dead?

Why is Christ's resurrection our assurance of eternal life?

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The Coming Resurrection

What does the Bible say about the resurrection of the dead?

How do we know the resurrection is linked with Jesus Christ?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean to be spiritually dead?

Why is Christ's resurrection our assurance of eternal life?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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