Sermons
Matters of Life and Death I
Series: Matters of Life and DeathLink to sermon video: Matters of Life and Death I - L Siegle
Matters of Life and Death I
(Deut. 30:11-20)
Series: Matters of Life and Death
Thesis: Learning to understand and appreciate what God has set before each of us.
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of this series is Matters of Life and Death
2. For the next few weeks, together we are going to explore some of the questions that all of us have about the meaning
of life and what happens to us when we die physically.
a. The points that will be made in this study are sometimes controversial and may call into question some of our
own concepts, ideas, and things that we have “always believed” about the destiny of the “righteous” and what
happens also to unbelievers when they die.
b. J.I. Packer, who was an evangelical theologian once wrote:
“We do not start our Christian lives by working out our faith for ourselves; it is mediated to us by Christian
tradition, in the form of sermons, books and established patterns of church life and fellowship. We read our Bibles
in the light of what we have learned from these sources; we approach Scripture with minds already formed by the
mass of accepted opinions and viewpoints with which we have come into contact, in both the Church and the
world…” --Fundamentalism and the Word of God, p. 69.
3. All of us have sat under the influence of the teachings and conclusions of others.
a. The admonition of the apostle Paul remains (I Thess. 5:21)--Test everything…
b. There is the possibility that we may not have correctly understood the Scriptures (Matt. 22:29; I John 4:1).
c. The Bereans tested what the apostle Paul taught them (Acts 17:11, 12).
4. In our studies over the next several weeks, examine what is being said, based upon what the Bible teaches.
VARIOUS VIEWS ABOUT ETERNAL LIFE AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT--WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?
1. In the year 1611, the King James Version of the Bible was published.
a. Every translation of the Bible from Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek is problematic is some instances in the determination
of how certain words and phrases should be rendered and the result is confusion.
b. The Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek corresponding word Hades is a classic example:
a. Translated 31x as Hell, 31x as Grave, and 3x as Pit--So which one is it?
b. The concept of Sheol/Hades simply means “the place of the dead”
1) To solve this problem, many more modern translations simply leave the words Sheol/Hades untranslated
in the text (Psalm 9:17 ESV).
2) The ASV (1901) has the word Sheol 65x in the OT--
c. How one understands certain words ultimately affects our understanding of the message and meaning of what is
found in the text of Scripture.
a. In the NT, our English word Baptism is simply a transliteration of the Greek word Baptizmo a word that
literally means, “to dip, plunge, or immerse”
1) But since various religious groups want to argue of various “modes” of baptism, it was less controversial
for the majority of the translations to just leave the word untranslated
2. We are going to discover in this series that laying aside various preconceived notions will help us to uncover the truth
of Scripture as it pertains to what happens when a person dies physically.
3. What if we discover, for example, that the word Hell does not mean “eternal conscious torment”?
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL
1. How many of us have either heard or used the expression “immortal soul”?
a. Would it be a surprise for us to discover that this exact expression never occurs at all in the Bible?
b. The Bible does affirm the tripartite nature of a person--spirit, soul, and body (I Thess. 5:23).
2. The question then becomes as to whether or not the nature of every person is mortal or immortal?
3. Perhaps we are not familiar to the term Conditional Immortality or the term Annihilation--or have never consider that
the difference between these two words actually is.
a. God created Adam and Eve in “His image” and “according to His likeness” (Gen. 1:26, 27).
b. Adam was created “from the dust of the ground” and God breathed into him the “breath of life” and he became a
“Living soul” (Gen. 2:7).
1) The “natural” mortal nature of Adam is affirmed in these verses.
2) Immortal by definition implies the ‘inability to die’ and only God has immortality in His nature (I Tim. 6:16)--
Christ as glorified has this nature (John 1:1, 14).
3) Life and immortality would come to believers only through the gospel (II Tim. 1:10).
c. If Adam has not been mortal then access to the “tree of life” in the Garden of Eden would have been wholly
unnecessary (Gen. 2:9; 3:22-24).
1) When Adam and Eve sinned God took away access to the “tree of life” lest they “live forever” in their sinful
condition.
2) In Christ access to the “tree of life” has been restored for believers (Rev. 22:1-5).
3) Believers through participation in the “resurrection” have passed “out of death into life” (John 5:24).
4. Instead of every human being having some form of immortality, only those who enter into the life of Christ are
granted “eternal life” (John 3:16; 17:3).
5. When we begin to realize the conditional nature of having “eternal life” we can begin to understand the concept of
conditional immortality.
6. As we enter into a deeper study of God’s Word we are going to discover some facts about the destiny of those who
refuse and to reject the gospel of Christ as to their nature.
a. We are going to begin to have a greater understanding of the difference in what the Bible actually teaches about
Hell and what we have been told down through the centuries through religious tradition.
b. Where in the Genesis account did God threaten Adam and Eve with ‘eternal conscious torment’ if they disobeyed Him and ate from the forbidden fruit?
1) Did God forget to tell them about ‘endless suffering and punishment’ for their transgression?
2) No, God told them, “in the day you eat…you will surely die” (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:3, 4, 19).
3) The Bible teaches the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
c. In our studies, we are going to see, that the expression “cut off” is found 194 times from Genesis to Revelation.
1) The case of Israel, a person who sinned and was unclean was “cut off” and placed outside the camp--it
expressed separation from God and from His covenant people--sometimes for a short period of time, other
times it was permanent separation, including physical death as punishment.
2) In one of our studies we will examine some of the instances where being “cut off” illustrates the point of
separation from God and His people.
CONCLUSION
1. This lesson is simply an introduction to our efforts at answers questions about life and death.
2. For Israel, in our text today, God laid before His people the choice of walking with Him in fellowship and in receiving
the blessings that come to those who are His people.
3. The alternative for them, for disobedience was that of a “curse”--having God’s presence, love, fellowship and
“blessings” withheld from them
4. Darkness is the absence of light--one could either walk in “darkness” or experience the “light” that comes from God.
5. Every decision we make in life, large or small is woven together in a symphony of consequences that takes our lives in
a certain direction.
1) We awaken each morning, go through our daily activities, have a set routine, and little things happen all around
us---right place at the right time, wrong place at the wrong time.
2) A casual random dinner at a restaurant after work, two sisters sitting together, we begin to have a conversation,
and since that time Linda and I have been together, married, and each day is a new adventure.
6. What choices in the interest of God’s Kingdom are we making for Him today?
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