“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” – I Thessalonians 4:13
With those words the Apostle Paul would seek to comfort the church about those that had dead in Christ. Where they going to miss out on the Rapture since they were not living? Why should Christian “sorrow not, even as others which have not hope“? That is what I preached on Sunday night and what this blog entry is about today!
So why should Christian sorrow differently than the world? I will give you five reasons using First Thessalonians 4:13-17.
1.) The Revelation of Scripture – “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, …” (I Thess. 4:15a) The Bible tells us about death and the afterlife. The Scripture is full of passages when death was the focus and passage where the afterlife is made very clear. Jesus would attend the grave of Lazarus, the deathbed of several and teach on Heaven and Hell.
2.) The Return of Christ – “… even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. …that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. “ (I Thess. 4:14-15). Jesus is coming again. We do not know when, but we do know that He is coming soon. His coming is imminent. Therefore, we must live our lives in accordance to His word. We can take comfort in sorrow, because Jesus is coming back with those that have passed on. He is coming back with them for us that are alive and remain.
3.) The Resurrection of the Christian Dead – “ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” (I Thess. 4:16) One day, the Lord will come again and call the dead from their graves to join Him in the air. The soul will be united with the body that is in grave asleep. This is the first resurrection that leads to life. There is another resurrection in Scripture that leads to death. Christians that died in Christ will experience this first resurrection. Those that die in their sins will know the second resurrection that leads to eternal separation from God.
4.) The Rapture of the Church – “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” (I Thess. 4:17a) The dead has risen and then the living will join them. All of this will take place in a moment, the twinkling of an eye. The Lord has rescued His church from the wrath to come. The Church will be raptured, meaning that God will caught us away unto Himself. The world will suddenly be missing people all over the world.
5.) The Reunion of All the Saints – “… and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17b) “WE”, the dead in Christ and the living, will be reunited in glory. What a wonderful day that will be. We will see Jesus, hear the sound of his voice and know the joys of Heaven. Also, we will see all the saints that we know today and those that we have lost through death. But also, we will see saints that we have only heard of and those that we never knew existed. This is a family reunion that you will actually want to attend.
Five reasons for you to sorrow differently than the world. The World has no hope, but the Christian through Christ has all the hope that we will ever need. Praise God for being One that comforts through the revelation of Scripture, the return of his Son, the resurrection of the Christian dead, the rapture of the Church and the reunion of all the saints.
I hope and pray that you will “sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”
