Grace and Peace Episode 20

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Grace and Peace Episode 20

Presbyterian Church of Easton

January 19, 2021

Watch Episode 20

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

Heidelberg Catechism

40Q.  Why did Christ have to suffer death?

A. Because God’s justice and truth require it: nothing else could pay for our sins except the death of the Son of God.

41Q.  Why was he “buried”?

A. His burial testifies that he really died.

42 Q.  Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die?

A. Our death does not pay the debt of our sins. Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life.

 “They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden, there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” (John 19:40-42)

Death is a reality.   As I write this one member of our church just lost his wife just a few weeks short of their 50th wedding anniversary.  Another member is at home receiving hospice care.   A dear friend of ours lost her husband this week to Covid.  And another dear friend’s husband is in ICU will the virus.   Most people fear death.   They know that with death, relationships end, and grieving starts.   Most people have no idea what happens to a person after death.   And they fear that after death there is nothing at all.

But we Christian have hope.   Our hope is in eternal life.   When a believer dies we believe that he or she is with Jesus.   And our hope is that one day we will all be resurrected to new life.   Why do we believe in resurrection?   We believe in it because we know that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.   And if our Lord and Savior was resurrected so too will we.

The Bible is clear, that when sin came into the world so too did death.   Death is the natural result of sin.   But with Jesus’ death, our sin is forgiven.   Why then would Christians continue to die?  Shouldn’t saved Christian just live forever?  Well, yes! We will live forever.   For Christians, death is not the end of anything.   Death is just a transition to a new kind of life with Jesus.

This is why Christians face death without fear and filled with hope.   We believe that when a faithful Christian dies he or she is with the Lord in heaven.  And we have hope of seeing them again in the resurrection.   So filled with hope in eternal life, we face death with confidence that our loving savior, Jesus Christ will welcome us into heaven.  Let’s pray.

We thank you, Jesus, for leading the way to heaven.   We thank you for the blessings of eternal life. We thank you for filling us with this hope.  Amen.