Download or read: http://www.unlockingthebible.org/with-christ/ Unlocking the Bible Podcast: http://www.unlockingthebible.com/podcasts/ January 21st / 22nd 2012 by Pastor Colin S. Smith For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1 Today as we continue our series about your future life, we're going to focus on three questions... 1. What is death? What actually happens when a person dies? 2. What happens to a believer immediately after death? All of us have loved ones who have died. What are they experiencing now? What will it be like for you? 3. How can a believer face death with confidence and with courage? As Christians we have to face our fears in life, and we have to face our fears in death. How do we do that? What will help us? What is Death? Death is a temporary separating of the soul from the body. The union of the soul and the body tells you who you are. Back in the garden when God created Adam, He made a corpse from the dust of the ground. Then He breathed life, spirit into it, "The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living creature" (Genesis 2:7). God created a corpse and He breathed life into it. This is how God has made you. You are a body and soul union, uniquely created by God. So death is the separating of what God has joined together. That is why death is such a fearful thing to us. Death is the undoing of our nature. It is the dismantling of what God has put together. This is why the Bible calls death an enemy. Jesus wept when He saw its effect. He was outraged, and He came to destroy it. But death is the last enemy to be destroyed. Until Christ returns, all of us go through it. Death is the last effect of sin and it is the surest evidence that this deadly disease is in us all. Nothing shows more clearly that we are all sinners, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Nothing shows more powerfully that we all need a Savior. If you should be at my funeral and you happened to see my body lying in a casket, you could say, "There you go, my pastor was a sinner," as if you didn't already know that. The Bible uses various pictures to teach us about the soul and the body, "Remember Him; before the silver cord is severed" (Ecclesiastes 12:6). Solomon is saying, "Think of it like this: It is as if there is a silver cord that ties your soul to your body. Death is the cutting of that cord. When that happens your soul and body separate—without the life of your soul, your body is lifeless—like a puppet when the hand is no longer inside. Think about Soldier Field here in Chicago. On game day, the whole place is full of life. The Bears are on the field, and the fans pack the stands. The whole place is alive! Soldier Field was made for this! But suppose you take a tour of the stadium during the week. The stands are empty, and nobody is on the field. A strange quiet surrounds the whole place; the only noise is the cars and the city outside. You feel a kind of awe for the stadium. After all, this is a place where great things have happened in the past, and great things will happen in the future. That's a statement of faith! But right now it rests silent. The fans are the life of the stadium, and without that life, the stadium is just an empty shell. And there is something unnatural about that. The stadium was not made to be empty. It was made to be filled with life. What Happens to a Believer After Death? After death, believers are at home with the Lord We know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1 After death, believers consciously enjoy the life of heaven Consciously—the Bible often refers to death as falling asleep. For example, Paul says, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). And when Lazarus died, Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep" (John 11:11). After death, believers anticipate the resurrection
