Are We Living With The Dead?

ARE WE LIVING WITH THE DEAD?

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

Luke 24:5 “And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

Last Sunday night on television, CBS ran a movie that the title intrigued me.

The Title Was, “Living With The Dead!”

However I did not see the program other than looking at the commercials for it. The more I saw and thought about it the more that the spirit of God began to move on my heart to prepare a message from the title of this movie.

First of for us to answer are we living with the dead, we must all see what death really is.

I. Let Us Look At The basic Meaning Of Death.

The Bible speaks of three types deaths.

A. Physical death: the separation of a man’s spirit or life from the body.

This is what men commonly call death. It is when a person ceases to exist on this earth and is buried

1 Cor.15:21-22 “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”

B. Spiritual death: This is the separation of man’s spirit from God while he is still living and

walking upon earth, and yet God sees him as a dead man.

If you are without Christ, this picture of death is the natural state of a man on earth. To God, Man is seen as still in his sins and he is dead to God.

Ephes. 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

Do you get the picture here, Spiritual death speaks of a person who is dead while he still lives. He is a natural man that is living in this present world, but he is said to be dead to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God and to spiritual matters.

Listen to what Jesus said to the religious crowd of His day!

Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

All because of Adam sin we are separated from God and considered as dead men.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The Bible Shows those who are spiritually dead.

1. A person who wastes his life in riotous living is spiritually dead.

“It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32).

2. A person who has not partaken of Christ is spiritually dead.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53).

3. A person who does not have the spirit of Christ is said to be spiritually dead.

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).

4. A person who lives in sin is said to be spiritually dead.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephes. 2:1).

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13).

5. A person who is alienated from God is said to be spiritually dead.

“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephes. 4:18 - 19).

6. A person who sleeps in sin is spiritually dead.

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephes. 5:14).

7. A person who lives in sinful pleasure is dead while he lives.

“But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6).

8. A person who does not have the Son of God is dead.

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).