Romans Series # 35 April 24, 2002
Title: The Certainty of Eternal Life
email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
website: www.palmcitynewlife.org
Introduction: Welcome to New Life in Christ. Tonight we are continuing with message #35 of our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Romans. We are currently in Chapter 8 which, as I noted two weeks age, is primarily focused on giving assurances to the Christian about life’s most important issues. We have already discussed two of those certainties in Chapter 8 verses 1-9.
First: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Are Forgiven.
Second: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Are Accepted and Approved by God. (Expound briefly from last week.)
This brings us to Romans 8:10.
Read Romans 8:10,11
Opening Prayer
Most of us want and need to have some assurances or certainties about important areas of our lives: Our Marriage, Retirement Funds, Our Health, etc. Of all the areas where we desire certainty, probably the most important is on our future after death. What will happen to us when we die? I want a definite answer to that question. People, in general, fear death because they are uncertain as to the answer to that question. Some people joke about death in order to avoid any serious discussion about a matter they are so unsure about.
Quote: Woody Allen, "I do not fear death, I just do not want to be there when it happens."
Quote: The Comedian W. C. Fields, who was known for his immoral behavior and atheistic beliefs, was on his death bed when a friend came to visit him and was astonished to find him reading the Bible. The friend asked, "What in the world are you doing reading the Bible?" W.C. Fields said, “I’m looking for loopholes.”
Some people may joke about death and eternity but that does not change the seriousness of the subject or the fact that even those who joke about the situation often do so because of have internal concerns and uncertainties. I personally have seen the abject terror that some go through because of their concerns and fears of death. Many people will not talk about the subject in any manner, growing angry if the subject is broached, because of their fear. Many others, out of that same fear, go to great extremes to avoid death, but of course silence about the issue or strenuous efforts to avoid death will not stop a person from dying.
Many people in the world they fear death or are uncertain as to their future beyond the grave but you should not be one of those people. The Christian need never have any fear or uncertainty about this issue. This is one of the areas in which we have God given assurance of eternal life and physical resurrection. One place in the Bible that we receive this assurance concerning death and eternal life is in our Scripture verses tonight. I can summarize the main point of vs. 10,11 as follows:
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
Why can Christians have this certainty? Because as it says in verse 10, "Christ is in you." All believers have the Holy Spirit living in them as verse 9 emphatically and logically asserts. In verse 10 "Christ" is used interchangeably with "Spirit” because the two are so closely related. To have Christ in you is synonymous or nearly synonymous with having the Spirit of God in you. This is one of the texts that are supportive of the doctrine of the Trinity. You can be certain that you will live eternally and that your body will be resurrected because “Christ or the Holy Spirit is in you.” How is the presence of Christ or the Holy Spirit logically connected to the resurrection of our bodies and life after death? In other words, what is the connection between “Christ in you (the believer)” and eternal life?
To answer those questions and to understand the connection we have to understand the cause of death. When a person dies, the family is issued a death certificate and on that certificate there is listed a cause of death. It may list cancer, heart failure, or some other means. In reality, this death certificate is not completely accurate. While cancer or heart failure may be the immediate cause of death, they are not the ultimate cause of death.
People do not ultimately die of cancer or heart failure but the ultimate cause of death is sin. All people die physical deaths because they are guilty of sin and as the Bible says, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3: 23) As God told our human parent - Adam, “You shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Death is the consequence and the punishment for sin. Disease and physical deterioration are just the means of death; they are not the cause of death.
So to have real certainty about eternal life we have got to deal with death’s cause, which is sin. Christ’s presence in us through the Holy Spirit does that. His presence means that the "righteous requirements of the law have been fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:4) We are no longer guilty of sin therefore we do not need to fear the punishment or consequences of sin, which is death.
We do not need to fear death because God dealt with the ultimate cause of physical and spiritual death. Jesus took care of the sin problem and His presence in us through the Spirit attest to that fact. As it says in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15:54, “Death has been swallowed up an in victory…” How is this so? Well verse 56 of that same chapter tell us “the sting of death is sin…” In other words death has been defeated because the ultimate cause or sting of death, which is sin, has been dealt with.
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
Now you may say, "If all this is true why do all people, including Christians, still die?" The answer is that Christians do not die spiritually but only physically as Paul says in verse 10, "Your body is dead because of sin." "Your body" stands for your physical self as opposed to your spiritual self that is your inner person. Your spirit has already begun to experience the consequences of being righteous (redeemed), but your physical self does not experience this immediately.
Your physical person or “body” is (note present tense) dead. Paul uses the present tense because the words “death” or “dead” in the Bible do not only mean to cease breathing or to cease brain activity. "Dead" in the Bible refers to the corruption and condemnation that comes from sin, which ultimately leads to what we call physical death.
Your physical self (Body) is corrupted and condemned to death "because of sin." (Vs. 10) The "sin" referred to here may be Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12) or to everyone’s personal sin but in either case the point is that our physical bodies are dead in one sense and are dying in another sense. Therefore, no matter how spiritual you are or how much faith you have, your body will cease to function one day and is presently subject to the corruption of this world, including disease and physical deterioration. Nevertheless you can be hopeful about eternal life and the resurrection of your bodies because as it says in verse 10, “your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Just like Adam first died spiritually and later died physically, so you first live spiritually and later live physically.
Your inner person that is your spirit is not under penalty of death and condemnation because by the blood of Jesus and the inward work of the Holy Spirit you are righteous. The sin problem, which is the cause of spiritual and physical death, has been dealt with and defeated. Since your spiritual self is alive because of the work of the Holy Spirit, even though your spirit was once dead, then it is only logical to expect your physical self (body) to one day to experience that same kind of Resurrection Power.
This hope for physical resurrection is not just wishful thinking but rather is a certified hope guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus, as verse 11 will make clear.
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
Read Verse 11
We have not been left guessing about our eternal future or bodily resurrection. We have a perfect example of the power of the Holy Spirit to resurrect our physical bodies. Who is that perfect example? Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Jesus resurrection was "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20) This is another way of saying that His physical resurrection was evidence of the future physical resurrection to come. He was the first (as in first fruits of a harvest) of many to come. We know what to expect concerning the resurrection of our bodies because God has already given us a picture of what is to come through Jesus Christ in his resurrection.
The very euphemism “fallen asleep”, which is used of Christians who die physically in the previous verse and throughout the New Testament, is informative. Christians are said to "fall asleep" rather than to die because death was seen as permanent but those who fall asleep also wake up. Physical death is a temporary condition.
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
In verse 11 Paul points out that "The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you...” In other words, the same Spirit is in you as in Jesus so you should expect and be certain of the same results. Since the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead then you can be certain that He will raise the Christian from the dead.
Keep in mind; Paul is talking about our physical selves or bodies being resurrected and not our spiritual selves. Our spiritual selves are already alive. We have already been spiritually resurrected, as verse 10 said, “your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Therefore when our physical bodies cease to function our living spirits leave our bodies and go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ awaiting physical resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:22,23).
I pointed out a moment ago that since the same Holy Spirit who physically raised Jesus from the dead resides in us we should expect the same results. Paul declares this truth very clearly and unmistakably in verse 11b where he says, “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” Your bodies are "mortal” that is weak, corrupted, perishable, and dying but the Holy Spirit is present and He brings life where there is death.
This has always been the case. In the beginning the world was “formless, dark and empty (like our decaying bodies after death) but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." He was present and He brought life. The same life-giving power of the Spirit is seen in Ezekiel 37 in the Vision of the Dry Bones, where it was the Spirit of God that brought life to a lifeless nation. Wherever the Holy Spirit is He brings life, both physical and spiritual, and since the Holy Spirit resides in us we can be certain that God “will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit.” (Vs. 11)
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
Conclusion: The terrorist attacks, anthrax scare, etc. have reminded us all of something that has always been true. Life is very uncertain. We have seen in the past few years that life can be quickly taken even in what used to be considered the safest places. The Columbine massacre in a High School, the shooting in the Texas Church, and the collapse of the Twin Towers should show us that there is only one safe place to be and that is "in Christ." At any moment you or I could be taking our last breath but as Christians we do not need to have any fear or uncertainty concerning death. We have received assurance about eternal life and physical resurrection for ourselves and all of our Christian loved ones. The ultimate cause of death has been removed. We can have this certainty about everlasting life and bodily resurrection because Jesus Christ has now made us righteous and the powerful life-giving Holy Spirit resides in us. God has resurrected our spiritual selves and He will resurrect our bodies. You can be sure of it!
Summary Sentence: When You Are Trusting In Christ You Can Be Certain That You Will Live Eternally With God.
