Conduct Yourself Worthy Of The Gospel

 

1.         We miss them

Many of us have loved ones who had departed to be with the Lord.  We still miss them as time doesn’t take away the pain in our hearts.  Special occasions like their birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Chinese New Year, Christmas etc only remind us how much we miss them.  Their photos, appearances in our videos and even recorded voices just bring back strong memories of them.

2.         They are at home with the Lord

Our loved ones who believed in the Lord is with Christ and is better off than before (Philippians 1:23).   Although we cannot see them, they are at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).  How do we deal with the lingering pain of their departure?  The Bible says in Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel?”  That means we need to remind ourselves what is the Gospel?  What is its Good News?

We just learned from 2 Corinthians 5:8 that our loved ones who believed are with the Lord.  That is part of the Good News.  Jesus came so that those who believe in Him will have everlasting life (John 3:16).  Our loved ones are alive in the Lord (Matthew 22:32).

3.         We will see them again

The Good News also tells us that we will see them.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 declares that the dead in Christ will rise first and be caught up together with us in the air when Christ comes in the rapture.  And we will be with them forever.

When that trumpet sounds, our departed ones will have new bodies and no longer be merely spirits.  Like them, we will also have new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51).  We will hug them and kiss them and be reunited with them.  That is the Good News.

4.         We will reign with them

The Good News also tells us that in our new bodies, we will together with our loved ones reign with Jesus for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).  There will be much godly work to do.  There will be a new heaven and a new earth.  God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.  There will be no more deaths or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.  God is making everything new! (Revelation 21:4-5).

Let’s therefore encourage one another with this Good News (1 Thessalonians 4:18) and conduct ourselves worthy of this Gospel.

What Will Happen To My Body?

 

1.         No particular body shape

Our culture tells us to get into a particular body shape.  It tells us that there is a body shape which people admire.  If you are a woman, you need to be slim and trim (whatever that means ?)  If you are a man, you need to chisel your muscles and have bulk (as promoted by those men magazines).  Is culture the best guide for us?  Not necessarily.  As Christians we have the Bible as our best guide.

2.         Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

The Bible does not prescribe the ideal body shape.  So, as a Christian you need not bother whether you have got the right shape.  It says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Therefore you look after your body well as your body is meant for the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:13).  You eat well, have adequate sleep, get regular exercise and manage your emotions.  There is no particular body shape that God feels you should have.

3.         God shaped your body

In Psalm 139:14-15 God says He created your body shape and you are wonderfully made.  It doesn’t matter whether you are small, medium, large.  Your body shape which He has given you suits Him fine.  Therefore honour God with your body by simply thanking Him that you have a body shape that He has given you.

4.         Your body will be saved

The Bible says you are body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  Your spirit is that part of you that interfaces with God.  Your soul consists of your mind, emotions and will while your body is the physical body which you use to interface the world around you.

As a Christian, salvation is an ongoing process.  You are saved; you are being saved and you will be saved.  When you accepted Christ, your spirit is saved.  As you grow in Christ, your soul is being saved– i.e. your mind, emotions and will are being shaped by God to be more like His Son Jesus (Romans 8:29).  But as you age, your body will waste away daily but your spirit is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).  If you finally pass on to glory before Christ comes, remember that your body will be saved (Romans 8:23). 

5.         You will have a great body

When Christ comes, your body will be changed and you will no longer have that body that was wasting away but you will have a new body (1 Corinthians 15:35-50).  You will have a strong and healthy body just like what Jesus had while He was here on earth. I don’t know what shape it will be or how heavy you will weigh. I do believe you will have a fully functioning physical body which God gives you for the work He requires you to do after Jesus returns.

All body parts will be in top form and like Jesus’ resurrection body, you can eat, go through walls, travel anywhere in the universe, fly etc. You will have a body that will last for eternity. It doesn’t matter whether you were cremated at your funeral. Your spirit will be clothed in your new resurrection body and you can give your loved ones that first hug when you are reunited with them. What a party you will have on that day!!!

Therefore, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord because you know that when you serve the Lord, it will not be in vain. You serve Him now on earth. You will serve Him again when you are clothed in your new resurrection body. Enjoy your body now. It’s only a shadow of that great body you will have when Jesus returns.

Did You Hear His Last Thoughts?

“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple”

(Jonah 2:7)

1.         Is he saved?

A Christian student was very disappointed with herself.  A few days earlier, she had shared the gospel with her teacher but he did not pray the sinner’s prayer.  Having attended church in his younger days, the teacher had back-slided and no longer went to church.  After hearing her share the gospel, he was not prepared to believe in  Christ as his Saviour.

She is very upset with herself now as she just heard that her teacher was involved in a road accident and died.  She kept asking herself, “Is he saved?”  “Should I have persisted in my sharing of the gospel?”  “Maybe I should have pressed for a decision instead of allowing him time to decide.  Now he is lost forever.”

2.         It’s for God to decide

Is he really lost forever?  Is his salvation based on whether he said his sinner’s prayer after she shared the gospel?  I don’t think it’s that simple.  I don’t think it’s for us to judge whether someone is saved.  It’s for God to decide whether someone is saved. This is especially so when we cannot hear a dying man’s last thoughts  before he died.

3.         Jonah died and was resurrected to life

In the Bible, we do have an account of a dying man’s last thoughts and this is found in the story of Jonah.  Whenever we think of Jonah, we remember him being swallowed up by a big fish.  What we may not know is that Jonah died and was raised back to life by God.

We read from the story of Jonah about a prophet who ran away from the Lord because he did not want to do what God asked him to do.  Jonah got on a ship and later encountered a storm which threatened to sink the ship.  Jonah volunteered to be thrown overboard to appease the raging storm.  Out of sheer desperation, the sailors agreed and threw Jonah overboard.

4.         Thoughts of a dying man

Jonah 2: 2-10 recorded the thoughts of a dying man who refused to obey God and chose to run away from Him.  In verse 7, Jonah said, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you.”  Even as he was dying, Jonah remembered God. He could not verbally pray but he must have thought out his prayers and God heard him.

Jonah sank to the bottom of the sea (verse 6) as he died.  But God in His mercy saved Jonah because with his last thought, Jonah remembered God who raised him back to life (verse 10).  Incidentally, Jesus referred to Jonah being in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights as being similar to His own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40).

5.         Pray for God’s mercy

This story reminds us that it is God who decides who is saved.  Since we all can’t be there to hear a dying man’s words or know his thoughts, it is better that we not judge whether someone who died is saved or not.  God is the one who decides and we should pray that He will have mercy over the deceased just as He did with Jonah.

Suicide

One key question which many Christians ask is “If a christian commits suicide, will he go to Heaven? ” Some Christians adopt the view that the taking of your life is a sin. Therefore, you can’t go to Heaven. I think such a view is too simplistic. It is based on the premise that if you had sinned and had not confessed that sin before you pass on into death, then you cannot go to Heaven. Such a simplistic view leaves out the grace and compassion of God. It assumes that if you have not sorted out your sins just before you die, then you cannot go to Heaven.

I find it hard to accept this simplistic view that you need to have ‘ cleared ‘  your sins just before you die. What if you could not clear your sins before your death? What happens to the old faithful christian who has dementia and is no longer mentally conscious of Jesus? What about the christian who had just quarrelled with his colleague and was stll harbouring the angry thoughts when he accidentally drove into a tree and died. In this instance, both of them have no opportunity to clear their sins before they died. Can they go to Heaven?

Whether someone goes to Heaven or not depends on God and not on whether he had ’ cleared ‘ his sins before he died. Your acceptance is not based on what you do. It is based on  what Jesus did for you at Calvary. He who believes in the Son of God has eternal life. Jesus had said that He will lose none of those whom the Father gives to Him. It is God’s  will that those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life ( John 6:39-40 ). Let God decide if the person who commits suicide will go to Heaven.

As mentioned in my blog dated 5th May 2008 entitled  ”Did You Hear His Last Words ? “, we are often not around when the person who commits suicide passes on. Before the thief crucified next to Jesus passed on into death, he asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. These last words revealed a heart that had turned back to the Lord. Due to the thief ‘s acknowledgement of Jesus just before he died , Jesus accepted him into Paradise. If we are not around to hear a person’s last words( or even his last thoughts ) then it is better not to judge whether the person who committed suicide will go to Heaven. Instead, commit the person to the grace and mercy of God. Our Father is a loving and compassionate God and desires that none should perish.

Did You Hear His Last Words?

A lady told me she shared the gospel with her grandmother. She was very close to her. She shared the gospel and thought her grandmother was very receptive. But her grandmother did not pray the sinner’s prayer.  One day, while she was not at home, her grandma died.  Because the lady’s parents were Buddhist, her grandma had a Buddhist funeral.

The lady was very upset and concluded that she was an ineffective witness. She could not convert her grandma to believe in Jesus.

I told her, “Don’t judge whether your grandma accepted Christ based on the type of funeral she had.” Christian funerals do not make the deceased a Christian. Similarly, Buddhist funerals do not make the deceased a Buddhist. She asked me what do I mean.

I told her that in Matthew 27:44, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He was subjected to continual abuse by those passing by. They mocked Him and they insulted Him. “The criminals crucified with Jesus shouted the same insults at Him.”. From this passage it appeared that  both the criminals did not believe in Jesus and were not saved.

But if we look at the passage from Luke 23:42-43, we read that one of the criminals had a change of heart. He asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. Jesus told him that he would be with Jesus in paradise. As a result of the criminal’s last words to Jesus  just before he died , he was saved.

What’s the difference between the passages from Matthew and Luke? In Luke’s passage, we get closer and we hear the last words spoken by someone before he died. You will never know what someone said just before he/she died. Don’t try to judge whether someone is saved or not. It is God who decides whether someone is saved or not. Instead it is our role to make sure we share the gospel so that our hearers will know how to accept the Lord. Then we leave it to the Lord to convert. Our job is to converse. God’s job is to convert.

Because you were not there to hear a person’s last words, don’t conclude that the person is not saved.Instead, commit the person to the grace and mercy of God. Then move on with your life.

Jesus said ” I shall lose none of all that ( God ) has given to me. It is God’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and ( Jesus ) will raise him up at the last day ( John 6:39-40)