The Death Of Death

The Death of Death

1Corinthians 15:20-26

I want to tell you something that you may or may not be aware of: people die. That’s right, everyone dies. Every person in this room today, every person who was born of a woman has an appointment they must keep. There’s no earthly way out of it. One day we all will fall victim to the great enemy, death. Every second, every tick on the clock, someone, somewhere dies. It is the horrible truth of life that death follows close behind, but there is one exception to this truth: if Jesus returns before we meet death face to face, then those of us who are Christians will not die. The Scriptures tell us 1Co 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—

The Bible also tells us that 1Sa 20:3 …there is but a step between me and death. It is so close, but we feel so secure. But our hearts beat day in and day out—thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump—it’s like a muffled drum beating a funeral march to the grave. One day, we are going to die. That continuous thumping in our breast will simply stop and we will be no more. And you know, people talk about dying a “natural” death, but death isn’t natural. Death is unnatural because it is the root and the fruit of sin.

In our verses today, Paul wrote 1Co 15:20-21 But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For since by man came death… You see, that’s why I say that death isn’t natural. It wasn’t part of God’s intent us. It came about because of man’s sin. God created man to fellowship with Him forever. That was supposed to be our natural state—fellowship with God, but when man sinned, death came upon all mankind.

Now, Paul goes on to say 1Co 15:21-26 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (23) But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (24) Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. (25) For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

Death is unnatural, but one day, death itself will die. It is that last enemy of mankind and it will be destroyed at the end of the ages when Jesus puts all enemies under His feet. Death will die, which obviously is why I titled this sermon “The Death of Death.”

You know, we don’t normally like to talk about death, and if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I don’t blame you for that one bit. When you talk to an unsaved man about death, he’ll typically change the subject. Like changing channels on the radio, he’ll flip it over to another station. Man is the only creature who knows he’s going to die, and he tries desperately to forget it. Death is that big elephant in the room that everyone sees but everyone tries to ignore until it steps on us or someone we know.

Death is a fact of life, and it is our greatest foe, but I’m telling you right now that death is a defeated foe because if you know Jesus Christ, or better said, if you are known by Jesus Christ, then you can stare death in the eye and laugh in his face because Jesus conquered death—it couldn’t hold Him!

I. Christ’s Resurrection Defeated Death’s Hold

Ever since the Garden, death has held us in its grip. It has had the power to keep us in its grip. In other words, the dead stayed dead, but when Jesus laid down His life for us, death couldn’t keep Him. He willingly gave Himself up for us. He said Joh 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. Jesus Christ was the only person who ever decided to die. Now, you might think that a person who commits suicide decides to die, but he really doesn’t. Like everyone else, he’s going to die anyway, so all he did was to decide the time and the method of his death.

You see, Jesus was sinless. He wasn’t subject to the penalty of sin. He never sinned, so the seed of death wasn’t in Him. He decided to lay down His sinless life so that all who believe in Him would be saved and have eternal life. So, when He died for us, death probably thought he won just like he had always won, but after 3 days, Jesus rose from His resting place—He got up from that stone slap He was lying on and calmly removed the napkin that had been placed over His face, folded it up and laid it on that slab with His other linen wrappings and left it there.