Since we dwell in Christ, the purpose of our lives from the outset is the Resurrection. This world is tinged with sin and we will not always live here. We will leave and go to the eternal and blessed kingdom of God. But how firm is our faith regarding this? Are we not carrying vague expectation about the Resurrection? Are we not yearning for the next world simply because life on earth is hard?
We should believe Jesus’ promise about the Resurrection. Even in Old Testament times, God said that the Resurrection exists and said it would appear. When the time arrived, Jesus came and promised the Resurrection, and He personally oversees our course to the Resurrection. Since the news of the Resurrection was preached to us, we should actively respond to it. The Lord considers such people as worthy of the Resurrection.
Unfortunately, many believers think refining themselves to be greater than others and perfecting themselves is the way to be worthy of the Resurrection. But the root of this attitude is selfishness, and this is the base of mankind’s sinfulness. If we want to gain the Resurrection, we should show the Lord our unwillingness to yield to sin any longer. We should watch out for sin, and especially give up our attitude of freely accepting it. We should set our hearts on the Lord. We should offer ourselves to the church and share in the Lord’s work, for He wants to lead more people to the Resurrection.
When the Pharisees’ plan to accuse Jesus ended in failure, the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question about the Resurrection. They did not acknowledge any scripture except the writings of Moses and asserted that there was no Resurrection. They believed they could do away with Jesus with a certain method, as this method overwhelmed the Pharisees who believe in the age to come. They tested Jesus with a passage from Moses. It stated that if a man’s brother dies, he must marry the widow and produce offspring. Jesus said, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
The Lord replied to the Sadducees with a passage from Moses (they believed Moses wrote nothing about the Resurrection), “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” God said this hundreds of years after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died. Yet the God of the living did not say, “I was their God”, but said, “I am their God” using the present tense. This tells us that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still alive, and presumes there will be a Resurrection. The Sadducees also did not know the power of God. In the world after the Resurrection - God can forever sustain His Kingdom as He desires, even if we do not marry or have children.
If we want to enter the Kingdom, we must be considered worthy of the Resurrection. Those who do not believe the age to come like the Sadducees and those who reject the Lord’s guidance are not worthy of it. Setting your heart on this world yet believing you will automatically enter heaven is vague expectation. Let’s believe and follow the Lord (who promises us the Resurrection). Since the Lord leads us through the church, let’s follow His path. Let’s dedicate our present lives and convince the Lord that we are worthy of the Resurrection.
(Lord’s Day Service on November 21, 2021)
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