93-29 – Do You Know Your Spiritual Birth Line? – From Eternity Past to Eternity Future...Glorification

In this scripture-packed series, Dr. Betters discusses regeneration, effectual calling, conversion, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance and glorification. Come along on this journey and find great joy in discovering many treasures in your journey along your spiritual birthline. Peter’s spiritual journey is a clear picture of a man intrigued by the Messiah, but not converted. In this message we watch as God removes Peter’s spiritual blindness. Peter’s journey helps us see our own spiritual birthlines unfold.

Transcript

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Welcome to In His Grip with Dr. Chuck F. Betters, produced by Mark Ink Ministries. Each in his grip message is designed to help turn your hearts toward Jesus and equip you to walk by faith. Let's join Dr. Betters as he preaches the series, Do You Know Your Spiritual Birth Line?

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Take your Bibles, please, and turn with me to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. You ought to have in your bulletins an outline of where we have been in the past several weeks. We've been working through the birth line. And quite appropriately, we come today to talk about the last aspect of the birth line, which is glorification. I'd like to just quickly review where we have been. We believe in this church that the scriptures teach that before the foundation of the world God chose to himself a people. Eternally, he decreed that a people that he would come specifically to redeem would also one day be glorified. And so you cannot study the birth line without also seeing how God in eternity past is going to climax what God will do in eternity future. The application of our salvation has to be done in time, for we are finite creatures. We live in a finite world. And as finite creatures, we're bound by space and time and matter. So although, although God has eternally decreed our salvation, and one day we'll consummate our salvation with our glorification, he must work within the context of time. And so we've called this the birth line. And it's interesting that in John chapter 3, Jesus in talking to Nicodemus, compares our spiritual birth to our physical birth. And just as one is physically conceived, when the Yag and the sperm come together, so we are spiritually conceived at the point of regeneration. The Holy Spirit comes into the spirit of all who are the elect at some point in their life. And it is imperceptible for the most part to the one who is being regenerated. You are passive in the process. You have nothing to do with that process. It is by God's grace that he takes his spirit and unites it to your spirit. The fathers of our faith used to call this the Union Mistaca, the mystical union. That is, when the Spirit of God takes up residence in my depraved, wicked spirit, I am quickened, I am brought to life. That which was spiritually dead is now made alive, so that it can be effectually called. That is, God in time can work through circumstances, through troubles, through tribulations, through pain, through suffering, through a whole host, through a whole variety of things and circumstances to bring me to understand that I need to be converted. And that's the point X. I need to come in faith, believing that Jesus Christ is God's provision for my sins. That He died on the cross and that He rose from the dead. And in faith I must repent of my sins and turn from my sins and trust in Christ and Christ alone for my salvation. That is when my spiritual birth takes place. That is when I am truly converted. That's when the baby is born. At that point, God justifies us. That is, he acquits us according to law. That he measures us against the backdrop of law and imparts his righteousness and imputes his righteousness to us so that we can stand before God, although guilty sinners, acquitted of those sins, not because of anything we have done, but because of the righteousness that is ours in Christ Jesus. At that point of conversion, he also adopts us into his family and seals us either there or somewhere later, seals us with assurance of our salvation and gives us that wonderful sense that we are the true sons and daughters of the living God. All of this is predicated on the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. I must have had three or four of you wonder whether or not I've seen that article. I can't remember the exact headline, but it says something to the effect of debate arises concerning the resurrection of Christ. What struck me was the word arises. It's like it's something new. You can go all the way back to 1 Corinthians 15, and the Apostle Paul in that first century church, just a few years after Christ rose from the dead, said to the Corinthians, How is it that some of you say there is no resurrection? One of the Gospels records for us the fact that Jesus, after rising from the dead, appeared to his disciples. There he was, nail prints in his hands inside, physically and visibly standing right there in front of them, and the gospel makes this interesting comment. Face to face with Jesus, looking him straight in the eye, watching him as he's about to ascend into heaven. What does the Bible say? Some of his disciples still refuse to believe. Can you imagine that? But our theologians and our pastors and our teachers today are standing up and saying, Well, we need to talk about whether or not he really did physically rise from the dead. How sad. You know, I was going to greet you this morning and say to you, welcome to Easter service, but this is our 14th Easter service this year. Every Sunday morning on the first day of the week, we gather for Easter. The whole purpose in us coming together here is because we believe that Jesus Christ physically and literally arose from the dead, and that apart from that physical resurrection, this birth line is a bunch of junk. It can't happen. You can't be saved, and we'll talk about that a little later on. Well, after you're converted, what has to happen? You have to be readied for glory. You have to be prepared for glory. And so we've talked for the last few weeks about our battle with the flesh. That we indeed struggle against the flesh, even with new natures. The Westminster Confession, which is our standard confession, makes three comments about sanctification. I thought it'd be interesting to read them to you. They who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified really and personally through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection. By his word and spirit dwelling in them, the dominion of the whole body is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all-saving graces to the practice of true holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Secondly, this sanctification is throughout the whole man, yet imperfect in this life, there abideth still some remnants of corruption in every part, whence arises a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. Now that's what I've been telling you for the past few weeks. That you will war in your still unredeemed corrupted flesh. Now, there are some key principles I've tried to outline for you on sanctification. Let me review them for you. First of all, personhood precedes power. Who you are precedes the power to overcome. Secondly, you must engage your will. You cannot stand against sin unless, as a believer, you engage actively your will to resist the flesh. And thirdly, you need the power of the Holy Spirit or God's grace, the empowerment of God's Spirit, and apart from God's grace, you cannot overcome. Now, here's where we are. We believe that you and I, as believers, as Christians, still remain in the flesh. The flesh still remains corrupt. And that flesh one day is going to die. It's going to go into the ground. It's going to turn to dust. Dust we were created from, to dust we shall return. This flesh has been corrupted and stained by my sin nature from the day I was born. When I received a new nature, a new spirit, the flesh and its remnants remained. That is why you die. That is why the body goes to the grave. When Jesus died on the cross, he physically died. His body physically gave up its life. He hungered, he sweat, he labored, his physical body was restricted by the same things that your physical body is restricted by, time and space and matter. But now as we continue to move toward the end times, as we continue to move toward the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, some of us will be alive when he comes back, perhaps. Some of us will die before he comes back. The question is, when are we glorified? What is this doctrine of glorification? Let me see if I can express it in a few words. Glorification brings to an end the process of salvation that began in eternity past when we were elected to salvation by the grace of God. It is to that end, our glorification, that the children of God have been predestined in grace. That is the whole objective of why God elected us in the first place. We are moving from eternity past to eternity future. We are going to spend eternity somewhere, either in heaven or in hell. And God has chosen to Himself a people from eternity past and elected them to salvation and glorification in the future. The means by which that's going to happen is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now listen, if I were to say to you, when does your glorification occur? A lot of you would answer that question this way. You would say, Well, I'm glorified when I die. And I want to suggest to you that that's not what the scriptures teach. You are not glorified when you die. You see, at death, the dismembered soul of the elect person enters into the blessed state of heaven, but it is not yet glorified. When we die, our soul's spirit is removed from the body, the body of flesh, which is corrupt and must go to the grave. The soul's spirit goes into the presence of God, into the blessed state of heaven, but we're not yet glorified. Now you have Philippians chapter 1. I want you to look at verses 20 through 23. I eagerly, verse 20, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed. Now Paul's writing this from prison. He says, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted where? In my body. How? Whether by life or by death. For me to live is what? Is Christ. And to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I don't know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far. You see what Paul's talking about here? He's talking about the dismemberment of his soul. That his soul and his body are at death going to be dismembered. They're going to be separated at death. He says, Well, now, if I'm going to live, my spirit is going to master that body. I am going to bring that body under my spirit's subjection. That's sanctification. And while I'm in that process, Paul says, I am going to live my life for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is for Christ. But now if he chooses to take me in death, then my soul is going to be dismembered from my body. My body is going to go to the grave. But notice what he says, for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain. It is to my advantage to die. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 8, you don't have to turn to it. He says, We are confident. I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So what is he saying here? He is saying that the dismemberment of the soul from the body happens when you die. But that is not your glorification. Go over to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Let's find out when our glorification does indeed occur. Revelation chapter 21. I want to begin with verse 22. This is the blessed hope of the church. This is why we exist as Christians. This is our goal. This is our objective. Not just to die, not just to die and go to heaven, but to be glorified, because you see the salvation process is not complete until glorification happens. Revelation 21, verse 22. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. For the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The next chapter, chapter 22, verse 3. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. You have this picture? This is the picture of Christ in all of his glory. And where are we? Serving him. When does this happen? After the coming of Jesus Christ. Our glorification does not occur until after the second coming of Jesus Christ. You say why? Because something has to happen at the second coming in order for us to be fully and completely glorified. And what is that? The body that has been put into the grave has to be brought out of that grave and glorified. And that will not happen until Christ comes back the second time. You see, what went into the grave was corrupt. What's going to come out of the grave is incorrupt. What went into the grave is mortal. What comes out of the grave is going to be immortal. What went into the grave is perishable. What's going to come out of the grave is imperishable. And at the second coming of Jesus Christ, he will come back. And the graves will be opened, and the dead in Christ will be raised. He will bring with him the soul spirits of those who have departed before us. And out of the grave, physically and literally, you heard it first here. Physically and literally, God will bring out of the graves the bodies of those who departed in glory. He will glorify them, metamorphosize, change them. You heard the choir sing about it. Changed. How quick will this happen? In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, with a burst of divine energy, and that soul spirit that comes from heaven, and that body that comes out of the grave will be joined together in the power of Jesus Christ, and we will be like him. Now, what if you're alive when all this happens? Guess what's going to happen? Your body will be glorified. That flesh you have been struggling against, that corrupt flesh that at times becomes your master will be glorified. And you will be caught up in the air. Am I giving you some foreign doctrine? Have you not heard this before? If you haven't, you've been in the wrong churches. This is the great blessed hope of the church. This is what the church ought to be yearning for: the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to consummate his salvation plan and to bring us into eternal glory. But now here's the part we don't like. Go over to 2 Timothy chapter 1. Our glorification will occur at the second coming of Christ. It is the blessed hope of the church, but here's something we don't like. 2 Timothy 1, beginning with verse 8. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed of me, his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel. We don't like that part. Well, Lord, uh just kind of hope that wasn't in there. Join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God who has saved us and called us to a holy life. Not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus when? Before the beginning of time, you got a problem with that, you got a problem with what I'm saying. You gotta have to have a problem with this here, too. God's grace was shown before time began. That's the eternal decree. You don't like that? It's there, you deal with it. But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. We can see it. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. Now watch this. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed. Get yourself into this man's mind for a second. I am suffering. I was appointed, but I am not ashamed. Here's why. Yet I am not ashamed. Why? Because I know whom I Have believed, and I'm convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. Now, what's he talking about here? What has Paul entrusted to him for that day? What day is he referring to? What is he talking about? Well, go over to First Peter chapter 4. Let's see what Peter has to say. 1 Peter chapter 4. Because you know, Peter says almost the same thing. 1 Peter 4, verse 12. This is the part we don't like. Dear friends, by the way, Peter's letter was written as an encyclical to suffering Christians. People who were being ripped apart by lions, and their children were being sent into lions' dens with sheepskins on, and horrible, horrible persecution in the first century. So Peter writes this encyclical and he says, Hey, guess what? Don't be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you are participating in the sufferings of Christ so that, here's the purpose of your sufferings, so that you may be overjoyed when his what? His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the spirit of what glory and of God rest on you. Now, two times in that passage, he talks about the glory that is to be yours, the glory of God. Suffering, here's the principle: suffering is a part of the process by which God prepares you for glory. That's the part we don't like. Every act of suffering as a Christian is a stepping stone to glorification. You know, I thought about this. I said, you know, to myself, I said, self, I want you to think about something for a minute. How many people have you ministered to in suffering? And I go back over 24 years or so of ministry and I realize that probably thousands of people have suffered right in front of my very eyes. And I've learned a few things not to say to people who are suffering. And a few things that I don't think we can compromise on. A few things that I have said to people that I really wish I had never said before is, well, maybe God is trying to teach you something. I want you to be very careful about saying that. Well, maybe God is trying to teach you something. Unless you're prepared to tell them what that something is. But I don't think you should also back off from that. Because if we believe what the scriptures are teaching us here, that suffering is a stepping stone for glorification, then God is teaching something through the suffering. We just have to be careful not to become Job's comforters. And that means we have to frame certain principles of suffering that will allow us to see why God does indeed allow Christians to suffer if He is truly preparing them for glory. I've come up with ten. Now there's probably ten hundred, but I've come up with ten. I'm going to just name them for you. I'm not going to comment on them. Maybe just a word or two here or there. But number one, suffering makes us understand more perfectly the love of God. Ask anybody who has suffered as a Christian how they have understood the love of God. Two, suffering is the means by which God channels sanctifying grace. You see, that sanctifying process that gets us ready for glory is done and accomplished through the grace of God. Suffering is a means or a channel by which that grace can flow. Thirdly, suffering, I don't know about you, suffering makes us yearn for glory. You ever get tired of suffering? Huh? You ever say, Lord, when's this all gonna end? Well, either end at your death or end when he comes again. So it makes us yearn. It makes us yearn for the moment when Christ will come again and bring an end to all of this. Not a pie in the sky, but a faith that is rooted in an eternal plan that began all the way back in eternity past. Fourthly, suffering gives us an opportunity to master the flesh. Isn't that the sanctification process? Isn't that what it's all about? We are in the process of struggling against the flesh. Suffering allows the real me, the one who has been united to Christ, to become the master over the flesh and to subdue the flesh in holiness to ready myself for glory. You know what else suffering does fifthly? It opens up doors of opportunity, which we call divine appointments. Others are observing our suffering. Others are watching what we're going through. And they're wondering, I hope in your case, how you are being sustained. How could you possibly be sustained when you're going through what you're going through unless the grace of God is actively engaged in your life? And so it will cause others to ask you, why do you have such hope? By the way, parenthetically, a lot of us have no idea what suffering is. We just think we're suffering. We just think we're suffering. We think we're hurting, but we're not really hurting, not relatively speaking. I don't know of too many people, at least living in this country, where their faith has cost them their lives. Do you? And that's kind of what the book of Hebrews says in chapter 12. You have not yet resisted unto blood in your striving against sin. I haven't seen any of you go to any crosses in your struggle against sin. I don't see any blood dripping out of any veins because of your faith in Christ. Another parentheses, and this is a whole new sermon. I think those days are coming to a close worldwide. I think we will see unleashed terrible tribulation within the church. And it may indeed cost you your life to hold to the beliefs that you hold to. That's a whole new sermon. Suffering next brings to light the hope of the gospel. We call this good news, don't we? This is good news. The good news of Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners. We call that good news. But what do we walk around looking like? Bad news. This is bad news. I've told this story before. Martin Luther used to suffer from Great Depression. Came home one day after preaching, I don't know, five or six sermons. Those guys used to preach five, six times a day. I don't know how they did it, but they used to do it. Came home one day and his wife was dressed in black. Black from head to toe. He says, Who died? God died. What do you mean God died? Well, God had to die. Based on the way you're performing, Martin, based on your depression, based on the way you look, based on the way you feel, based on the way you're acting, God has to be dead. Now that's some wife. Spurgeon's wife used to write scripture verses on the ceiling above his bed. Because every time after he preached, Satan would attack him and he'd go into severe depression. And she'd write the promises of God. When he would come home and lay in bed, he'd have to read the promises of God. That's some wife. We call it good news, but we walk around like it's bad news. You see, suffering allows us to tap into that good news and to show people hope. And you know what? Overcoming suffering will bring you an indescribable joy. When you've come through and you've been faithful. When you come out on the other side and you can turn around and look back and say, Lord, thank you that you sustained me to be faithful through this suffering. Thank you, as Job said. How can I curse God and die? How can I do that? Or like Joseph, who was about to be imprisoned when Potiphar's wife was ripping off his coat and trying to have sex with him. How can I commit such a sin against my God? And the man had to go to prison for something he didn't do. And yet he's able to come out on the other side and say, You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Do you know there's an absolute indescribable joy that belongs to every believer when you come through suffering and have remained faithful to God? You know what that's doing? Getting you ready for glory. Because that's what glory is. All the suffering is put away, and you're able to rest in the glory of God. And that's indescribable joy. I want to give you an eighth principle, and this one you're not going to hear too many places. I believe that the scriptures teach, now, again, another new sermon, I don't have time to develop it, but challenge me on it later. Suffering is allotted in the world in a cup of sorrow. You know what I mean by that? I mean that God has allotted a certain amount of suffering to occur within his body throughout the course of history. And when that cup of suffering has been filled, and the last person to be converted is converted, Christ will come again. But now here's the principle. In certain Christians, a greater cup of suffering has been allotted in order to shoulder the responsibility of the sufferings of Christ to a greater degree in behalf of others who cannot shoulder such suffering. In other words, the Apostle Paul suffered a lot greater suffering than I will ever suffer because the Apostle Paul was shouldering some of my suffering. Some Christians suffer more than other Christians. Some Christians suffer greater pain than other Christians. Why? Because God has, and you're not going to like this either, God has entrusted to some greater suffering to be greater channels of greater grace. So what you're going through, it may be relative. You may not be suffering like those who are sitting in some sort of persecution camp somewhere, but you may be suffering more than the average Joe Shmo is. And all of that is a part of this overall plan of God that the cup of sorrow needs to be filled. Ninth, suffering provides us with the armor of faith that will enable us, enable us to stand when the great tribulation hits. In case you don't know this by now, I don't believe there's one single shred of scriptural evidence anywhere in this book that somehow raptures the church out before the tribulation. The church will go through the tribulation. Different rumors coming around now that I don't believe that the second coming of Christ is literal. I believe the whole book of Revelation is in some sort of scriptic, cryptic code or something like that, that I don't believe in a literal coming. Friends, I want to tell you something. If I don't believe in a literal coming, there was no literal resurrection, Christ will physically and literally return to this earth. What I do not believe is that when he comes, it'll be a secret. I don't believe when he comes that we're going to be secretly raptured. I believe when he comes, the lost people of this earth are going to cry to the mountains to fall on them. Because when he comes, that is the end. But prior to that, the church will have to go through tribulation. And your suffering may be a preparation process if Christ were to tarry, and in your lifetime, you have to go through the tribulation. And finally, suffering sharpens my prayer life and my discipline in the word. You know how many people I talk to when all of a sudden the suffering hits, you know what happens? The dust comes off this book. Wipe it off. See what the Lord has to say. All of a sudden we begin doing something that we hadn't done in years. We begin to pray. We begin to talk to God. Begin to ask questions. And you know, suffering may be the very tool that God is using to hone in on that and to sharpen that. You see, glorification will occur at the second coming of Christ. But suffering is the process by which we get there. Suffering is the stepping stone getting us ready to be glorified. You see, glorification is the birthright of every believer. Turn over to Romans chapter 8. Every believer individually and the church corporately has a birthright. I want you to listen to it. Romans 8 28. And we know, Romans 8.28, and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Watch this now. For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son. Now, how's that going to happen? Now here you go. In one sentence there, he said, God foreknew, he predestined. That's that eternal decree. To be conform to the likeness of his son, that's not going to happen until glory day. Now there he spans all of eternity. Eternity past, eternity future. Now he fills in the specifics. That he might be the firstborn among many brothers, that's the resurrection. And those he predestined, he called. Those he called, he justified. Those he justified, he also glorified. Aorist verbs, every one of them. You know what an aorist verb is? Point action, never to be repeated, accomplished fact. Snapshot verbs. Do you notice what's included in the snapshot verb there? Your glorification. That's past tense. You say, wait a minute, I haven't been glorified yet. How can that be past tense? You see, God is outlining for you the salvation plan. And what he's saying is that those whom he foreknew and predestined, he called, he justified, and he glorified, it's an accomplished fact in the mind and heart of God. And nothing, nothing is going to change that. Look at verse 17 of the same chapter. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory. You share in the sufferings of Christ, you share in the glory of Christ. And what are you heirs to? You're heirs to his glory. You're co-heirs with Christ. Go over the 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. I've already alluded to this verse. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Not only individually are we co-heirs with Christ, but corporately. I want you to notice something in 1 Thessalonians 4 16. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven. I love that verse. With a loud command. With the voice of the archangel, verse 16, verse 17, 1 Thessalonians 4. The Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ first. Isn't that what I just told you? After that, we who are still alive, if he comes in the next five minutes, I think that's most of you. A few of you look a little dead. But in the next five minutes, if he were to come, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up. What's that next word? Together. You see, it's not only an individual glorification, it's a corporate glorification. We will be caught up together with them. Who's the them? The ones who have died before. Abraham is still waiting for his glorification. Moses is still waiting for his glorification. David is still waiting for his glorification. So is Matthew, so is Paul. They're all waiting for their glorification. We'll be caught up and we'll meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with him forever. And Revelation 19, 17, you don't have to turn to it, it says, and I saw an angel standing in the sun. What a picture. Who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid-air, come, gather together for the great supper of God. And when Paul gives us instructions about how we're to celebrate the Lord's Supper, you know what he tells us? He says, This is my body, do this in remembrance of me. He took the cup, this is the cup in my blood. Whenever you drink, you do it in remembrance of me. Now notice what Paul says when he's referencing the Lord's Supper. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. You see, the Lord's table is a temporary sacrament. You know what the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is? It is a preparation for glory. Every time you celebrate the Lord's Supper, you know what you're saying? I am looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb, when corporately all the children of God, from all of those ages past and ages future, all whom God has chosen to Himself, will gather together to meet the Lord at the marriage supper when our redeemed bodies and our redeemed souls will sit down together at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Every time we celebrate the Lord's table, we're saying, we're getting ready for that. I want to tell you there's nothing more humiliating than dying. How many of you ever had major surgery? Guess what you lose in the hospital? All your dignity. I had major surgery recently, and I walked out of that hospital, and I looked at those nurses, lovely nurses. I became good friends with some of those nurses. I said, I want to tell you something. You're nice people, but I'm glad to leave you. You now know things about me that a lot of other people don't know about me. I've lost all my dignity in this place. I've sat at the bedside and I've watched people die. There's nothing beautiful about it. There's something nauseating about hearing people stand before a casket and say, doesn't she look nice? She doesn't look nice at all. She looks dead. She looks dead. There's nothing beautiful or dignified about dying. But friends, when we come to that great, great, great passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I'd like you to turn to it and we're gonna close with this. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I want to show you something. There are some facts that you need to know if there is no resurrection from the dead. You see, our glorification is directly associated with the resurrection of Christ from the dead. If Christ doesn't rise from the dead, there is no glory to come. And no matter how ugly and undignified it is, death in all of its humiliation is your final lot if there is no resurrection from the dead. Notice what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. He says in verse 12, if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? See how old it is? Verse 13. Fact number one: if there's no resurrection, Christ did not rise from the dead. Notice he uses the word Christ, Messiah. All of those Old Testament promises are meaningless. All of what the Old Testament pointed to when it talked about the coming of Messiah. Jesus then becomes what? A hoax, a liar, and an imposter. And we don't have any Messiah. Secondly, the preaching of the gospel is useless, verse 14. If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless. That word useless means devoid of truth, having no effect, achieving no purpose. Some say, well, you know, there's more to the Christian faith than the physical resurrection of Christ from the dead. I mean, his teachings, his example, the ethics, self-sacrifice, etc. The problem is if you take away the resurrection, there is no power to ascend to such lofty teachings and self-sacrifice. Take away the resurrection and you're empty. And guess what I'm doing up here? This is useless. Now, some of you may think it is in the first place. This is useless. I'm making a fool out of myself up here talking about a resurrection. But guess what? Not only is the preacher useless, look at the next phrase. So is your faith. So is your faith. Why gather in churches? Why follow a dead prophet? The pessimism and despair of the Birch and Russell's of the world ought to be our lot. They were right and we were wrong. And you're sitting there just as foolish as I am. Fourthly, verse 15, the church has propagated the greatest lie in all of history. He says, there more than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead, but he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. Truly, truly, the church is then filled with hypocrites. Because we're liars. Fifthly, we are still in our sins and must pay for them ourselves. If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. You know what that means? You've got to stand before God someday and somehow claim the right to eternal life without any justification from Him. Your works then have to save you. And guess what? A whole lot of us would be cast into hell. Sixthly, there is no eternal salvation for our dead believing relatives. Guess what happened when you buried them? That's the end. Verse 18. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. That is, they're perished, they're damned, they're condemned. Even the ones who died for their belief in this Messiah, they're gone, they're lost, they're perished, they're condemned forever. And finally, verse 19, the church is to be pitied and not followed. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. If there is no resurrection. But guess what? My faith says Jesus physically rose from the dead and will come again to consummate my glorification. Otherwise, we have no message. We have no mission. We have no right to evangelize. We have no purpose for existing. Why not just close the doors? Why sacrifice any longer? Why sing? Why spend all this time playing church? Why battle the flesh? Just give in. Why preach? Why believe? What do you believe this morning, friends? What do you believe? You see, I'm looking forward to glory day. I've told my whole family, I've told you, I hope I die preaching. If I do, if I drop dead in front of you, rest assured he died doing what he really wanted to do. I hope God takes me while I'm preaching. There's nothing I would rather do than preach about him and be taken into glory. I hope he condescends to my wishes. I don't know if he will, but I hope he does, because I am looking forward to that day in glory. Would you bow in prayer with me, please? With so many of you here this morning, I am certain that in our midst there must be one who has never come to understand faith in Jesus Christ. You may be sitting here this morning and you may be saying to yourself, I don't understand this. I don't understand what you're talking about. I want to ask you one very simple question. If you were to die tonight and stand before God, are you sure that you have eternal life? Friends, please don't leave this sanctuary today without making sure. Would you put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ right now, right where you sit, right in the quietness of this moment, right as you sit here before God, would you pray and ask Christ to come into your life, to forgive your sins, to give you the free gift of eternal life? Would you repent of your sins now? Would you pray with me, Father? I am a sinner and I need Christ. And I thank you that he died on the cross for me. I thank you that he rose from the dead for me. And right here and right now, I trust in him and him alone for my salvation. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that without him I will perish. Lord, send your Holy Spirit into my life to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Friends, would you pray that prayer right now, right where you sit? We serve a God who reigns. He reigns over all the earth. Please invite him into your life right now. Lord, may there not be one person who leaves here today doubting who they believe. May they truly embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ in all of its radiance. May they give themselves completely to Him to be Lord over all.

SPEAKER_01 51:23

Now may the grace of God, the love of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus the Christ, the very presence, person, and power of his Holy Spirit, abide with each of you now until Christ comes again and forevermore. And all God's people said it.

SPEAKER_03 51:45

You have been listening to In His Grip featuring the preaching and teaching ministry of Dr. Chuck F. Betters and produced by Mark Keith Ministries. Mark East Ministries exist to offer help and hope to hurting people by pointing them to the promises of God and the comfort of his word. Through in his script, ask Dr. Better's Daily Treasure and Help and Hope. We provide free, faith-based resources for those walking through suffering, grief, confusion, and seizures of deep needs. To learn more about Dr. Better's explore resources or contact us, visit F-A-R-K-I-M-C.org. Make you rest today in the assurance that God can be trusted, even when you do not understand his plan.