After We Die

A statement was made by our pastor on Easter Sunday that I liked very much. He said, “The resurrection of Jesus should shape my life. It should shape my life because it frames my death.” You and I are going to die. When we die there will be a reckoning for each of us before Jesus. The verdict will be read. We will either be condemned for eternity or saved for eternity. There will be life after death for all. We will spend the afterlife in hell or in heaven.

All I know about life after death is from what I have read in the Bible. I know many people will disagree with me, but I cannot believe that anyone has died, gone to heaven, or hell for that matter, and has returned to earth. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”

If I am wrong I guess there are a few people who know something about what the afterlife is like. Otherwise who can advise others about what is happening to us after we die? A doctor can tell us about our bodies before we die, but they cannot dissect our corpse, find our spirit and tell our loved ones what our afterlife experience is like. A good detective may be able to investigate our past and give a pretty accurate account of  what we did while we were living, but he cannot conclude anything about where we are in the afterlife or what we are doing. It seems that people try to find these afterlife answers from some liberal philosopher, some egghead professor in a university or find a medium to contact their dearly departed. Who are we going to call on to tell us about the afterlife? Maybe Jesus would be our best bet.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

   
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:18   

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:45

All we need to know is that for God so loved us that he gave us Jesus. All we need to know is that if we believe in him we will not perish into a devil’s hell. All we need to know is that because of our belief in him we will have eternal life. All we need to know is that he is the only way and our only hope. Yes the resurrection of Jesus has shaped my life and your life, and it will frame our death. “Therefore the resurrection should affect everything we do everyday.” Dr. David Hogg, Pastor Christ Baptist Church