Sermons
Matters of Life and Death VIII
Series: Matters of Life and DeathLink to sermon video: Matters of Life and Death VIII - L Siegle
Matters of Life and Death VIII
“DO we HAVE Genuine LIFE?”
(John 5:24-27)
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. This is the eighth installment in the series, the title of this specific message is, “DO we HAVE Genuine LIFE?”
a. We are exploring what happens to a person when he dies?
b. What does the Bible teach about life after death?
c. What does the Bible teach about Hell?
d. What about the immortality of the human soul?
HOW CAN WE KNOW?
1. This morning when we woke up, opened our eyes, felt our feet touch the floor, heard the sounds of others around us,
did we pause to ask ourselves, “Am I alive today?”
2. Was there any doubt in our minds that we were given another day of life to enjoy?
a. The recent changes in the weather turning colder was certainly testimony of being alive, with aches and pains in
our bodies in places we did not know we had places!
b. The signs of life were there, no question about it.
HOW CAN WE KNOW?
1. There are three Biblical words used to describe what “life” means, two of which are what we tend to experience with
our physical senses in this realm, and told us this morning as we woke up that we are alive.
2. But, the third word in the original language pertains to where, what, and how “life” with God is vastly different.
3. When I am talking with Christians and the subject of “salvation” arises, this is where the question of knowing life
comes in—“Are you saved?” “If you were to die tonight do you know that you are going to be in heaven forevermore
with God?”
a. “I think that I am saved?”
b. “I hope I will go to heaven when I die?”
4. I have a GPS on my phone that tells me with certainty where I am and where my destination is going to be.
5. There is a vast difference in the common understanding of hope so thinking so common today and what the Bible has
to say regarding hope.
a. Believers in the first century, between the Cross and the “end of the age” lived in expectation of the approach
consummation and had the “hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2).
b. They had the “hope of righteousness” (Gal. 5:5)
c. God promised that in the “new heavens and earth” righteousness would “dwell” (II Pet. 3:13)
6. In the NT the word “hope” is found 68 times, from the Greek that carries with it the idea of confident expectation or
anticipation.
a. The common usage of “hope so” in our world today has the element of ‘uncertainty’ or ‘maybe’
WHAT IS “LIFE”?
1. There are three primary Greek words that are translated by our English word life in the NT.
a. Bios—“physical sustenance” from which we get our word “biology”—“The study of life or living organisms”
1) The word ‘bios’ is found 10x in the NT and calls attention to what is necessary to sustain natural “life” (Mark
12:44; Luke 8:14, 43; 15:12).
2) Whatever is necessary to sustain living in this physical realm falls into the use of this word.
b. Psuche—(Thayer)—“the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing” (translated as “soul”)
1) When God created Adam, He ‘breathed’ into Him the “breath of life” and he became as “living soul” (Gen.
2:7). Adam was created “mortal” in his nature.
2) The Hebrew equivalent nephesh is used of both humans and of animals (Gen. 1:20, 21, 24, 30; 2:19; 9:15, 16
Lev. 11:46).
3) The “soul” describes the person (as a whole, living being) (Lev. 17:11).
c. Zoe—“describes a greater quality and quantity of life” (the GOD kind of life that is imparted to believers)—
“eternal life” – a life that causes us to “stand up” out of “the death” as determined by Adam, resurrection-life that
brings us into the “sacred ground” (cosmic geography) into a living relationship with God through Christ.
1) We are going to spend a few minutes in discussing the third word--Zoe
2) The problem is our English language that simply has a single word “life” and we are forced to determine what
kind of life is under consideration.
BELIEVERS CAN KNOW WHERE THEY STAND WITH GOD
1. Several weeks ago, we paused to examine the OT phrase “land of the living” found 15 times throughout
a. This is “cosmic geography” manifested in the sense that Israel, by covenant was the “land of the living” (holy
ground)—where God would be present with His people, the most significant place of which was the Temple inside
the city of Jerusalem, in the Holy of Holies.
b. The shekinah (one who dwells)—calling attention to God’s presence (Exod. 19:16-20; 40:34-38)—manifested
“glory of the Lord” that ‘set it apart’ in a very special way.
2. When the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines, the son of Samuel was named “Ichabod” because the
“glory of the Lord” had departed (I Sam. 4:21).
a. Just prior to the time when Jesus went to the cross, His message to Old Covenant Israel and the temple was that
the “house was left desolate” (Matt. 23:37-39)
b. God’s presence was once again manifested in the “church” as the “temple of the Lord” (I Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19; II Cor.
6:16; Eph. 2:19-22).
3. The New Jerusalem is the Most Holy “dwelling” place that Jesus had gone to “prepare” (John 14:1-3; Rev. 21:1-14).
LIFE WITH GOD IN HIS PRESENCE
1. There is no reason for believers who have passed “out of death into life” (John 5:24-27) is have uncertainty about
having received the “gift of eternal life” (Rom. 6:23; John 3:16-18; 17:3).
a. There is “no condemnation” for those who are IN Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1-10)—
b. Believers are “dead to sin, but alive to God” (Rom. 6:3-23; 8:37-39).
c. When we enter into covenant relationship with God through faith, we can know that we have (present
possession) “the life” (I John 5:11, 12, 20)
d. Believers are in the “land of the living” – “raised to walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-5) in the “new creation” (II
Cor. 5:17), made the “righteousness of God in Christ” (II Cor. 5:21).
2. Because of the redemptive work of Christ the three elements
THE LAW ===è JUSTIFICATION (declared righteous)
THE SIN ======è SANCTIFICATION (cleansed and set apart by the shed blood of Christ)
THE DEATH ======è GLORIFICATION (resurrection-life)
3. The gospel is pictured PROGRESSIVELY as redemption, reconciliation, and restoration in the relationship with God that
had been lost “in Adam” but restored fully and completely “in Christ”
CONCLUSION
1. It is impossible to fully appreciate what happens to believers when we physically die, unless we first come to
appreciate what happens to believers when we fully live!
2. “Do you believe in life after death?”
3. My response is, “No, I believe in life before death!”
4. Jesus has come to give each one of us a victorious, and abundant life—filled with His goodness, filled with His love,
filled with His presence to lead us and guide us each and every day of our lives.
5. There is every reason to know that we are alive spiritually with absolute certainty as much as we know that we are
alive physically.
