54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is a message that has been in the works almost all week. As soon as we left church last Sunday, I felt the Holy Spirit inspire this idea. Paul gives us some wonderful words this morning. But for some of you these words might be empty or they might be unfulfilling. Little did I know when I gave that testimony last week that we would be facing Shirley’s funeral this week. The last 48 hours have been filled with emotion. There have been times of joy – there have been times of tears – there have been times of peace. Friday night before we went to bed the scripture I just read came to mind. For the believer who is walking with Christ and following in his ways – who is serving Christ with all of their heart, with all of their mind, and with all of their strength – there is no reason to fear death. Death is just part of the journey for the Christian. Why do I say that?
Our spiritual journey begins at conception – David tells us “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! You workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born.”
God desires to be part of your life. He cares about you. He loves you. He even likes you. God is pursuing you. God desires that not one person should die without having a relationship with Christ. This idea of God pursuing us is called prevenient grace. That is the grace that comes before salvation. One way to think of this grace is a preventing grace. This means that we don’t get what we deserve even before we become Christians. This grace is the grace that comes before the blood of Jesus washes away our sins. This is the grace that is spoken of in John 3:16: “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 3:23 tells us, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Jesus didn’t die for us when we deserved it, no, he died because we didn’t deserve it – he died when we were still sinners. Paul writes, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” God cares about us and desires a relationship with us.
Then there is the grace that brings us into salvation. This is called justifying grace. I love the word justify. What does the word justifying mean? It simply means just as if I had never sinned. The blood of Christ washes away our sins. 1 Peter 1:18 tells us, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began…” The blood of Christ erases the sin in our life. It is only through the cross of Jesus Christ that we can have new life.
And as we mentioned last week, the resurrection plays an important part – without the resurrection as Paul says, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” The resurrection took place. The question becomes again, “Would you die for a lie?” Everyone one of the 11 disciples remaining after the resurrection except for John died for their witness that Christ died and then rose again. So the cross and the resurrection make us right in God’s sight.
Then there is sanctifying grace. This is the grace that allows us to be more and more like the Christ we serve. This happens at the point that we give everything we have – when God calls us to surrender all to him – when we begin to love God with all of our heart, mind, and strength – when we love our neighbor as ourselves. God gives us grace for our spiritual journey. He even gives us dying grace. One of the things that I have become more and more aware is that God gives us the grace that we need only when we need it – not before. We call this dying grace glorification. This is the final step in our spiritual life – when we move from this body – this mortal, perishable body – to the perfected, immortal, imperishable body that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15.
Just a few moments ago, we sang these wonderful words.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
My prayer is that you can really sing these words. Where are you in your spiritual journey? Are you still under God’s prevenient grace? Have your sins been washed away by the blood of Christ? This has really been tugging on my heart of late. I want to make sure that each one in this congregation knows without a doubt that Christ has saved them and has washed their sins away. This morning could be that critical time.
Maybe today you are a believer, but you are not serving God with everything you have – you have not surrendered every part of your life to him. Today, could be that day. Would you surrender your life to the One who saved you from your sins?
Thos are my two challenges for you today – I want you to know without a doubt – I want you to be able to sing the words of Blessed assurance, without any doubts – that you know what it means to be washed in the blood of Christ. Perhaps you’ve been in the church your whole life and you don’t understand – I encourage you to come talk to me – I would love to share with you more. Before we participate in communion together, let me share a few words from 1 Peter 1:
21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
Today as we go to communion, I want to know that each one who is part of this congregation has a relationship with Christ. Christ has died for each one of us and our sins. He was raised from the dead to give us victory over sin. The wonderful thing is that we can know without a doubt that we are saved. There are three things that we remember during communion.
- First, we observe that Christ died on the cross for our sins — that his blood was shed to pay the price for our sins – that is body was beaten and broken for us. Jesus paid our ransom.
- Second, we celebrate that Christ has risen from the dead. It was his resurrection from the dead that frees us from the power of sin.
- Third, we celebrate that Jesus will be coming back again for his church. He told us to observe this meal together in his remembrance until he returns.
My question for you is do you know without a doubt that you are in Christ. Do you have the assurance that Christ has died for your sins and that you are free from the power of sin in your life? Today is the day of decision!
