"Comfort For Christians In Death"

Sermon on Isaiah 57:1-2

Weekend of November 16, 1997

Pastor Karl Walther

Saint Mark's, Watertown

The Bible says: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting? -- The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Word of the Lord for our consideration this morning is Isaiah chapter fifty-seven, verses one and two:

The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

This is God's Word.

Introduction: End Times Season of Year Leads Us To Ponder Death

Dear fellow Christians-- surrounded by the evils of the earth, longing for the peace of paradise:

Each year, autumn brings the End Times Season of the Christian Church Year. This year that season began for us three weeks ago, when Pastor Werner's sermon asked: "Why do the wicked always seem to prosper?" Then we interrupted this year's End Times Season for that big restoration celebration we had a couple weeks back and for our autumn mission festival last week. This week, though, the party's over, and we're back to pondering a more traditional theme for this time of year: the theme of death.

Actually, I think we can be very thankful for the yearly reminder of death that we get in this End Times Season. You see, if you're anything like me, each day is filled with so much activity that you don't have time to contemplate anything like death. But just when you least expect it, a relative of yours dies, or a friend of yours dies, or an acquaintance of yours dies-- or you yourself develop an ache or a pain or an ailment or worse, and all of a sudden death doesn't seem so far away.

Theme: Comfort For Christians In Death

It all serves to remind us that (sooner or later, should the Lord not first return) we will all face death. And we'd better be ready. That's why it's my pleasure today to offer to you: COMFORT FOR CHRISTIANS IN DEATH. According to God's Word to us today, there is considerable comfort for Christians in death: because for them DEATH MEANS THE ABSENCE OF THE EVILS OF EARTH, and for them DEATH MEANS THE PRESENCE OF THE PEACE OF PARADISE.

Part One: Death Means the Absence of the Evils of Earth

In this morning's Word of the Lord to us, the Prophet Isaiah is writing to God's kingdom of Judah about seven hundred fifty years before the time of Christ. But what he wrote to them then he writes just as well to us now.

He says: The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.

In other words, when it comes to righteous people, people who are right in God's sight through faith in Jesus Christ-- when it comes to righteous people, God's goal in their death is that they now avoid the evils of the earth.

Application One:

Description of the Evils of the Earth From Which Death Will Deliver Us

And my friend, despite all the bountiful blessings the Lord has given us on this earth, this earth is very evil. I'd like you to consider with me for a few moments five of the evils of the earth from which death will someday deliver you.

• The first of these is pain. Babies scream out in pain-- when they get their vaccinations. Children experience growing pains-- and the pain of a bruise on the arm here and a scrape on the leg there. Young men and women experience pains-- sometimes when they overdo their work, and sometimes for no reason at all. And you older men and women: pain and weakness is your constant companion-- isn't it?

Well my friend, death will deliver you from pain. The Bible assures us that for a Christian in heaven: There is no more death or ... pain. Never a morning headache, never an afternoon stomach ache, never an evening back ache; never again a trip to the emergency room, never again a trip to the surgery room; never again a trip to the morgue -- death means, for a Christian, no more pain.

• The second evil of the earth from which death will someday deliver you is sadness. Babies suffer sadness, when they're not fed on time. Children suffer sadness, when their parents fail to keep their promises. Young men and women suffer sadness, when a friend or a girlfriend or a boyfriend or a spouse fails them. Older men and women suffer sadness, when they live far from loved ones (or simply outlive them).

But my friend, death will deliver you from sadness. The Bible assures us that for a Christian in heaven: There is no more ... mourning or crying. Never a need unmet, never a disappointment, never a serious separation from one truly loved; no sobbing, no crying, not even a tear shed-- death means for a Christian, no more sadness.

• A third evil of the earth from which death will someday deliver you is frustration. Babies are frustrated that they can't reach what they want. Children are frustrated that they can't do what they want. Young men and women are frustrated that they have to "pay their dues" before they're listened to. And older men and women are frustrated that they're not listened to-- and then when somebody does listen, it seems like some of that wisdom has mysteriously slipped away.

But my friend, death will deliver you from frustration. The Bible tells us that here: Creation itself was subjected to frustration, but this will end when: God's glory is revealed in us. Death means never an inability to reach what we want, never an inability to do what we want, never an inability to know what we want: because our desires will be God's desires and he will enable us to do what he wants-- death means for a Christian, no more frustration.

• A fourth evil of the earth from which death will someday deliver you is apathy. Babies are apathetic toward learning something difficult. Children are apathetic toward pleasing their parents. Men and women, young and old, are apathetic toward pleasing other people. And why is that so? Well, it's largely because we have limited resources, limited energy, limited abilities-- and especially limited time.

But my friend, death will deliver you from that. The Bible tells us that Jesus' sheep will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We will have unlimited time to learn something difficult. We will have unlimited time to please other people. We will have unlimited time to obey God. We'll never have to hurry to please God and please people in order to have time to ourselves: because at the other end of our time pleasing God and pleasing others there will still be an eternity remaining.

• A final evil of the earth from which death will someday deliver you is guilt. Babies inherit the guilt of their parents (Remember the Bible says: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.) Children are guilty when they mistreat each other. Young men and women rightly feel guilty when they look back on their dirty little secrets: some theft they committed, some sinful sexual relationship they had, some drunkenness or drug abuse. Older men and women feel guilty when they look back on a life spent to gain possessions that are no permanent possessions at all.

But my friend, death will deliver you from guilt. The Bible encourages us: Let us draw near to God..., having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. When death delivers us into heavenly glory, then even the guilt of our transgressions will be gone everlastingly.

Part Two: Death Means the Presence of the Peace of Paradise

So you see, there is comfort for a Christian in death. For you death means the absence of all the evils of the earth. Not only so, my fellow Christians, but for you death also means the presence of the peace of paradise.

It's as Isaiah concludes: Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.

In other words, when it comes to upright people, people who are right in God's sight through faith in Jesus Christ-- when it comes to upright people, God's goal in their death is that they now experience the peace of paradise.

Application Two:

Description of the Peace of Paradise To Which Death Will Deliver Us

And my friend, despite all the bountiful blessings the Lord has given us on this earth, we live our lives surrounded by strife, rather than peace. So, I'd like you to consider with me for a moment three exhibitions of the peace of paradise to which death will someday deliver you.

• The first of these is the peace with yourself that you will experience. You see, on earth we are at war with ourselves. It's true! It probably starts in the morning, doesn't it? We wake up, and the old sinful nature within us says, "Forget your responsibilities; stay in bed!" and the new nature God has given us says, "You've got to get up; it's time to serve the Savior!" That's a war! And that war goes on all day. You're at school or at work; your old sinful nature says, "Goof off!" and your new Christian nature says, "Get going!" You get home in the evening; your old sinful nature says, "Either holler at your family or ignore them!" and your new Christian nature says, "Love them!"

It's as the Apostle Paul once said: The good I want to do I do not do, and the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. And that war goes on: until death delivers you into the peace of paradise. Paul went on to say, Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! In death, Christ will bury our old sinful nature permanently. We'll never struggle again to serve our Savior.

• A second blessing of paradise you will experience is peace with others. You see, on earth we are at war with others-- and especially those nearest and dearest to us. No one can harm a wife as deeply as a husband can. No one can irritate a husband as well as a wife. Children are the targets of their parents' impatience. And parents are the targets of their children's disobedience.

But as the Apostle John once said: How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! You see, when death delivers us into the peace of paradise, we will really function as one family: all brothers and sisters united together with Jesus underneath one Father-- and we will be at peace.

• A final blessing of paradise you will experience is peace with God. You see on earth, all too often, we are at war with God. Rather than trusting his promises to rescue us, we doubt them. Rather than trusting his promises to protect us, we doubt them. Rather than trusting his promises to energize us, we doubt them.

And this goes on until death delivers us into the peace of paradise, where (as the Scriptures say): God himself will be with us and be our God. Salvation accomplished, protection certain, energy assured-- under God that's what our death means to us.

Conclusion: It's Jesus' Death That Makes Our Death a Blessing To Us

Now to conclude, we might very well ask, "How can all of this be?" How can dirty, destructive death be the doorway through which we are delivered from pain and sadness, frustration, apathy, and guilt? How can dirty, destructive death be the doorway through which we are delivered into peace with ourselves, with others, and with our Lord?

And the answer is easy. It's Jesus' death that makes our death a blessing to us. Jesus' death, where God suffered pain and sadness in our place; Jesus' death, where God suffered for our guilt; Jesus' death, where God put to death our sinful nature, where God united us into a single family with him at its head-- Jesus' death has made our death a blessing to us.

That's why we Christians spend our lives -- not in fear over death, but rather -- preparing ourselves and others for real life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Bible says: Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Amen.