Such Ones are Greatly to be Envied!
The Dead which Die in the Lord
By Dean E. Boelt
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto
me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do
follow them” (Rev. 14:13).
Death is a subject that many people avoid
talking or thinking about. For such ones there is fear and apprehension
associated with death. The best approach to this subject, however, is to think
of it and to properly prepare for it. The Scripture speaks clearly on this
matter from different perspectives: for example, how that with death is
directly associated the matter of accountability. “It is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). While, in men’s
thinking, death is often connected with irresponsibility and recklessness, yet
in the Scriptures, death is consistently associated with men giving a strict
account to God (cf. Acts 10:42; II Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:18).
From another perspective the Spirit also gives
assurance that those who die in the Lord are, in fact, blessed (i.e., to be
envied above all others, fortunate, happy). Jesus said to the church
at Smyrna: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of
life” (Rev. 2:10). “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death”
(v. 11). We would have you then ponder the following vital considerations
regarding death, as it pertains to those in Christ Jesus.
The Matter of Being Dead with Christ. Let us consider the matter of being dead
with Christ. The Scriptures are very clear about this; if we die with Christ
(cf. Rom. 6:8; Col. 2:20; II Tim. 2:11), having obeyed the gospel, we
will not be hurt by the second death. Notice how secure the saints of God (the
ones who had died with Christ) are represented to be (cf. Rev 14:6-12). “Here
is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God”
(Rev. 14:12). Death has no dominion over Christ in that He died unto sin once
(cf. Rom. 6:9). And if we are in Him, being crucified with Him (cf. Rom. 6:6;
Gal. 2:20), death shall have no dominion over us. We shall no longer live in
bondage to the fear of death.
Paul said, “death is ours.” “For all things
are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or
death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are
Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (I Cor.3:21-22).
When the gospel is preached and received into
the hearts of men, and where men are obedient to the call and the commandments
of God, continuing strong in the faith, they will possess the necessary
patience to endure the trials and vexations of this life. “The trying of
your faith worketh patience,” James declared (Jas. 1:3). Those living by faith
in the Son of God have full assurance regarding the outcome of the present
conflict. Rom 8:28-39 is speaking of those who are patient in tribulation. Such
ones are secure in Christ. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”
(Rom. 8:35).
The answer is “nothing,” if we keep the
commandments of God and faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 12:17; 14:12). These
that are spoken of as being obedient and who keep the faith are “the elect of
God” (Col. 3:12). They were foreknown of God (cf. Rom. 8:29-30) because God is
all-knowing, with nothing at all being hid from Him that is is either past,
present, or future. By the exercise of their will, which God gave them, being
energized by the Holy Spirit from God and the Word of God, they overcame.
The Voice from Heaven. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto
me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth (that is,
from this time on): Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
labors; and their works do follow them” (Rev. 14:13).
The Holy Spirit is quick and ready to offer
assurance to those in the battle. A great blessing is spoken of here for those
in the fight of faith, in that the Spirit adds this word of comfort and
assurance “that they may rest from their labors.” With the wicked this is not
so. They shall have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image,
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name (Rev. 14:11). And “the wicked are
like the troubled sea, when it can not rest, whose waters cast up mire and
dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isa. 57:20-21). And who
can forget this word of Job, speaking of the future abode of the righteous:
“There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest” (Job
3:17).
On the Anticipation of Death. The last enemy, death, has lost its sting!
Death is swallowed up in victory O death where is thy sting? O grave where is
thy victory? (I Cor. 15:54-55). Those secure in Christ need not fear the second
death. For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He (that
is, Christ) also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He
might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil; and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage
(Heb. 2:14-15). Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin
once; but in that He liveth He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord (Rom. 6:9-11).
Those who reason like men of the the world
would reason that death is a terrible thing; there is great fear in death.
Death is anticipated with gloom and doom. From their perspective, death is
final. There is no optimism in growing old and facing the finality of
death. The very consideration of Scripture speaking of death as a
blessing is foreign to their thoughts. But for those who are dead with Christ,
the future is bright and it is faced with great anticipation and optimism.
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15).
“Know ye not that so many of as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with
Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom.
6:3-4). As God reckons things, when we come into Christ, and are baptized into
Him, we are dead and buried. We must reckon as God reckons! “Ye are dead, and
your life is hid with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). “And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin: but the spirit is life because of
righteousness” (Rom. 8:10). “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up
for me” (Gal. 2:20, NASB).
“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to
ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the
using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?” (Col. 2:20-22).
Three-fold Involvement of Being Dead with
Christ. If we are dead
what are we dead too? We are dead to the law (Rom. 7:1-4). Also Paul
writes in Galatians: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might
live unto God” (Gal.2: 19). We are dead unto sin, as previously mentioned.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). Men are either dead in sin or
dead unto sin. As Paul declared, “even when we were dead in sins,” God
“quickened us together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5).
We are dead to the world. “But God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6: 14). “Set your affection
on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is
hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3: 2-3).
Our primary text, (Revelation 14: 13), also is
applicable to those living in the flesh, who are dead with Christ; they do rest
now from their labor. No spiritual blessing can be possessed except we are
united together with Christ in His death. We must die with Him in order to live
with Him. The resurrected Lord does not minister spiritual benefits to dead
sinners. Our text states that the dead rests from their labors, and that is
also true as we are dead with Christ.
We cease from our own meritorious works as a
means of acceptance by God. “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did from His” (Heb. 4: 10). “There remaineth
therefore a rest to the people of God” (v. 9). The only rest we have now is
rest from meritorious works. The life we live now by faith involves rigorous
work that requires total commitment, focus, single-mindedness (cf. Jas. 4:8)
and a single eye (cf. Mt. 6:22). Paul said: “The life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal. 2: 20), and that requires
alertness and diligence. “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with Him,
we shall also live with Him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we
deny Him, He also will deny us: If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He
cannot deny Himself” (II Tim. 2:11-12; cf. Phil.3: 7-11). In another place he
said: “I die daily” (I Cor 15:31). And again, “always bearing about in our body
the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake,
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (II Cor.
4: 10-11).
No comments:
Post a Comment