GOD WILL REDEEM MY SOUL FROM THE POWER OF THE GRAVE

Proclamation:

“But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to Himself.”  Psalm 49:15 (NIV)  The King James version of The Bible for this verse reads: “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for He shall receive me.”

Explanation:

This psalm was written as a song, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, by an unknown human author for the sons of Korah to sing.  The unknown psalmist herein presents the vanity of trusting in riches, (Psalm 49:6 and 10) the insufficiency of wealth to purchase the redemption of the soul, (Psalm 49:7-8) and the certainty of physical death. (Psalm 49:10-14)  However, he expresses his hope and faith in The Lord God knowing that He will redeem his soul from death and take it to be with Him for eternity.

Application:

There is nothing wrong with money, or with having a lot of it.  The problem comes from a person putting their faith in their wealth. (Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25)  It is the love of money which is sinful. (1 Timothy 6:10)  Money cannot buy salvation or influence with The Lord. (Acts 8:18-20)  And, when we die, we cannot take our money or any of our possessions with us. (Ecclesiastes 5:15)  Our soul is eternal, and when we die it will leave our physical body and return to The Lord God who gave it to us and who will determine where our soul will spend eternity. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)  As believers, we look forward to hearing Him say, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. (Matthew 25:21 and 23)

THE PENALTY FOR SIN AND THE GIFT OF GOD

Proclamation:

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 6:23 (KJV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome.  Paul wanted them to know that death is the punishment for sin.  However, believers in Jesus, The Christ, will receive the God given gift of eternal life. 

Application:

We all have sinned. (Romans 3:23)  None of us is righteous. (Romans 3:10)  We all deserve the penalty of death for our sins.  Death is both physical and spiritual.  The physical death is the separation of the body and the soul.  Man is just the dust of the earth into which God breathed the breath of life and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)  Without the God given breath of life the body dies and the soul returns to God.  The spiritual death is the eternal separation from Jesus, The Christ.  This "second death" occurs when the soul is cast into the "lake of fire" for eternal damnation and torment.  The only way to escape the second death is by belief in Christ and the acceptance of the gift of eternal life. (John 3:16)  We cannot pay the debt that we owe for our sins.  However, Jesus has already paid the debt for us with His death on Calvary and He has given us the opportunity for eternal life with Him, if we believe in Him.  At some point in time we will all die.  The question is, after death, where will your soul spend eternity?

Blessed Are Those Who Die In Christ

"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in The Lord from now on.'  'Yes,' says The Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.' "  Revelation 14:13 (NIV)

These are the divinely inspired words from The Holy Spirit of God as revealed to, and recorded by, the Apostle John which was written to all believers.  He was told to write that believers who die from that point in time forward, would be blessed.  They will make the transition from earthly labor, to rest and heavenly reward.  Their works will follow them as a testimony and evidence that they lived a Christ-like life, and were obedient to The Word of God.

For the believer, death is not the end of life, it is the beginning of eternal life.  The death of a believer is precious in the sight of The Lord. (Psalms 116:15)  The battle with sin, temptation, sorrow, persecution, illnesses, trials, and tribulations is finished. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)  The death of the physical body just liberates the spiritual soul, which then returns to The Lord God to whom it belongs. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)  The dead in Christ shall rise and meet The Lord first. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)  On judgement day, the rewards and crowns which we receive will depend upon the works that we did to give God glory. (Psalms 62:12, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 25:21-22, Jeremiah 17:10, Matthew 5:11-12, Matthew 10:41, Ephesians 6:8, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:10, and Revelation 22:12)  Believers are blessed during this life, and will be blessed throughout eternity.  Loved ones who die are not lost, we know where they are, they are in heaven with The Lord.

Death Is A Temporary Process Life Is Eternal

"So then, death is at work in us, but ... because we know that The One who raised The Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus ... Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day ... For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:12-18 (NIV)

This message was written by the Apostle Paul to the believers in The Church in Corinth to encourage them to keep the faith and not be led astray by false prophets. (2 Corinthians 4:13)  He told them that although they were dying a little each day, and would eventually see physical death, their spirit was being renewed each day, and it is eternal.

From the day that we are born we began to die.  It is just that, while we are young, we were growing at a faster rate than we were dying, so the net result was that we grew.  However, at some point in our life the rate at which we were dying exceeded the rate of growth and we began to notice that we were aging, decaying, wasting away, and slowing dying.  As Paul put it, "...death is at work in us..." from the very beginning.  But when the process is complete and death overtakes us, as believers we know that The God who raised up our Lord and Savior Jesus, The Christ, will also raise us up from the dead.  Christ said that, "he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25)  We know that when the body dies physically, the spirit returns to God, for when we are absent from the body, we are present with The Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)  We know that the dead in Christ shall rise, and they will meet The Lord God first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)  Our spiritual selves will live throughout eternity. (Matthew 25:46, John 3:15, Romans 6:23, and 1 John 5:11)  Death and dying is a temporary process, but spiritual life is eternal.  In this we can find comfort at the death of a loved one.

Our Spirit Will Live Forever

"Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her.  'Stop wailing,' Jesus said. 'She is not dead but asleep.' "  Luke 8:52 (NIV)

Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words which Jesus spoke to the crowd that was mourning the death of the twelve year old daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue.  He said, stop crying, she is not dead, she is asleep.  Jesus touched her hand and called to her, and her spirit returned to her, and she got up. (Luke 8:54-55)

We were created to live forever, our spirit will never die.  Once our spirit leaves our physical body, the body dies and the spirit returns to The Lord God who created it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7, 2 Corinthians 5:6 and 5:8)  So we can find some comfort in knowing that our loved ones who have died are just asleep, and they will rise again.  On that great day, when The Lord God Himself shall return, the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)  Then we will all meet up with Him in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)  We will see our loved ones again.

Mourn Then Move On

"Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.  They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of The LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword."  2 Samuel 1:11-12 (NIV)

David mourned the death of King Saul, who had become his enemy, and the death of Saul's son Jonathan, his best friend whom he loved.  He did nothing but mourn, weep, and fast for a period, then he moved on and got busy. 

It is okay to mourn and cry because of the death of a family member, friend, or loved one.  That is a natural and normal human behavior.  We will always remember our deceased friends and loved ones, they will forever be a part of our lives.  However, we are not to stay forever in a dysfunctional state of mourning because of any ones death.   A day may not be long enough for a period of mourning, but a year is too long.  There comes a time when it is time to resume our place in society.  Death is a part of life.  Death is something that we will all experience, unless we are alive when the rapture occurs.  Remember, to be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)  Trust in The Lord. 

Our Deeds Will Follow Us Even After Death

"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Revelation 14:13 (NIV)

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, recounted and out of body experience in which things beyond earth were revealed to him. He was told by angels and by The Holy Spirit to write what he saw and heard. He was told that those who die believing in Jesus Christ will be blessed. They will be given rest from their earthly labor, and they will be rewarded for their works which were obedient to His word.

This revelation of John was revealed to him after he saw images of the anti-Christ, and there are those who believe that this blessing is only for the martyrs who will be killed for refusing to be branded with the mark of the beast. Others believe that this blessing applies to all who die believing in Christ. Either way, it is clear that we will all have to give an account of our stewardship (Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:12; Hebrews 4:13; & 1 Peter 4:5) and it is clear that Jesus, The Christ, will judge each of our thoughts, words, and deeds (John 5:22; John 5:27; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 4:12; and Revelation 20:12-13) and our future rewards will be based upon what we did to give God glory.