December 31, 2017
taught by Ken McGarvey
First Baptist Church of Tellico Village, Tennessee
Where are the dead in Christ before he returns? Are they asleep someplace?
There is a belief called “soul sleep,” taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and others. It states that when a person dies, their soul sleeps until the end of time and the resurrection occurs. At that time the body is raised and the soul reunited with it to face judgment and either punishment or reward. Neither of those groups believe in eternal punishment, but rather annihilation.
Where do they get these beliefs? Somewhere in the Bible? Actually, they do get the idea there, but not through a careful study and understanding of the Word. In the book of Ecclesiastes it says, For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5) and then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
The problem is the failure to understand the context of the book of Ecclesiastes. Most scholars believe the book comes from Solomon. It begins, “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Then follows eleven chapters of pessimistic, cynical writing. Several times the author adds, “under the sun.” All is meaningless under the sun. It is basically a description of what life is like without the God dimension. It is vanity. It is hopeless. It is meaningless. And the portions quoted by the believers in soul sleep fail to recognize such. It is only in chapter twelve that he brings God into the picture to give us hope.
It is wise to remember that the New Testament gives us understanding of the Old, and not the other way around. Though the Old Testament gives us a historical and cultural background of the New, it is not the interpreter of it. So let’s see some New Testament teachings on the subject.
Several New Testament scriptures give strong evidence that our soul/spirit goes directly into the presence of God at the end of life on earth. Let’s look at a few of them.
In Luke 23, when one of the thieves being crucified next to Jesus expresses his faith in Jesus by asking him to remember him when he begins ruling his kingdom, Jesus answers, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This is an indication that the man would be conscious and alive in the presence of Jesus at death.
In Luke 16 Jesus tells of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus who died. After death they were in two separate places, yet able to see one another and communicate back and forth. By the language used, both apparently had bodies of some kind. They had eyes to see one another and mouths so speak. The rich man spoke of his thirst and his tongue, and of Lazarus’ finger. There was awareness and consciousness.
In Matthew 17 Jesus took Peter, James and John up into a mountain. There Jesus was changed in his appearance into something heavenly. But then there appeared with him Moses and Elijah, servants of God from the Old Testament. As they conversed it was obvious that they were not unconscious, but very alive and awake.
Last September 17 our topic was, “Is Hell Real?” At that time we spoke a little of this, and said that hades is a temporary place for the departed unconverted dead, while paradise is a temporary place for the saints, the departed believers in Jesus Christ. After the resurrection the saints will enter the new heaven and the new earth. And in Revelation we read that death and hades will be thrown into the lake of fire… forever.
The resurrection is not a resurrection of souls or spirits, but of bodies. And, yes, even bodies which have been in the bottom of the ocean, or cremated, or blown up, or disintegrated over the centuries, will be reassembled by God, taken to heaven, and made into perfect resurrection bodies.
Did we receive salvation after baptism as a child, and the Holy Spirit? Or do we have to be baptized as an adult? How does one become reborn spiritually?
Let’s talk about baptism first. Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian and Methodist churches baptize babies. They don’t all do it with the same meaning attached. But none of them believe it saves the baby for all time. Some think it saves them until they reach an “age of accountability,” when they are responsible for confirming that commitment that their parents made for them at birth. Others believe it is basically a commitment of the parents to raise the child as God wants them to, so that the child will choose to follow Jesus when old enough to make that choice.
Baptist churches, as well as Bible churches and many Pentecostal churches don’t practice infant baptism at all, as they practice “believers’ baptism.” That means when people are able to understand what it means to choose to follow Jesus Christ, they trust him as their Savior and are saved, redeemed, born again, converted, forgiven, adopted, and many other terms that describe becoming a Christian, a child of God, saved for all eternity. They are then baptized as a public declaration of that fact. Baptism is a symbol of the death and resurrection of Christ, indicating that the person is choosing to put away their old live and begin a new one, given to God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. So baptism is not a cause of salvation, but rather a result of it.
Baptism is a complex subject. Catholics baptize babies by sprinkling to get rid of original sin. Presbyterian and Reformed churches baptize babies to confirm the covenantal relationship with God. Some Methodist churches baptize babies as a dedication of them to the Lord. Churches of Christ baptize believers by immersion to complete their salvation. Baptists baptize believers as a public testimony to their salvation. Brethren churches baptize by trine immersion (they dip them three times, face forward) for the same reason as Baptists. Quakers, Salvation Army and Grace Fellowship don’t believe in water baptism at all. And every one of these groups believe their practice comes straight from the Bible, when properly understood. Then recall that John the Baptist said, I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Luke 3:16)
Needless to say, we won’t cover the whole subject of baptism this morning.
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