The Heaton File

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:1)

Paul’s Tombstone

As Paul penned his letter to Timothy, he knew he had a short time to live. His ministry in the kingdom of Heaven had taken him to countless cities over many years, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The souls he led to Christ were without number. His travels had covered untold miles of long and arduous journeys. He had suffered a lot but enjoyed many blessings. At the end of his third missionary journey, he was arrested and, through an appeal to Caesar, brought to Rome for trial. He was released for a time and then arrested again. This time, the sentence of death would be carried out when the executioner removed his head with a sword.

Timothy was very dear to Paul. His letter to Timothy was filled with courage and faith, encouraging him to continue preaching the gospel. The church would suffer much under the heavy hand of persecution. Paul was not afraid of dying. He had fought the long fight of righteousness for his Lord, Jesus Christ. His faith was stronger than ever, but his race was ending. How a man faces death says a lot about his character. Paul’s view of death defined who he was, what he was, and what he lived for. If Paul were given a tombstone and asked what to inscribe on the marble face, it would be that he served the Lord as an apostle of Jesus Christ and lived for the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus.

Two things defined his life: who he was and to whom he lived. Paul considered himself the worst sinner, but he knew that was impossible. All men sin and fall short of the glory of God. Paul’s view of his life was the damage he did to the early church as he sought to destroy every visage of the kingdom of God. He was a blasphemer and insolent man. His life was directed to destroy those who followed the Way. And he was good at what he was doing. But Paul could not resist the grace of God. Of all the people chosen to be a mouthpiece for the gospel of Jesus Christ, Saul of Tarsus was not on the list. God saw him and showed him grace.

Paul knew the grace of God saved him and put him to work as an apostle. He cherished the many years he worked tirelessly in the kingdom. He was beaten five times by his fellow countrymen. On one occasion, he was stoned and left for dead. He suffered three shipwrecks in his life, spending more than 24 hours in the sea adrift. His life was a perilous journey of toil, travail, danger, and false accusations against his character. He suffered these things because he was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Those times of peril were trying, but Paul exalted in the glory of the Father to suffer for Christ. Paul never gave a quarter to fighting and defending the gospel as an apostle.

Why would anyone live with such depravities? Paul came from a wealthy and influential family of Tarsus. When he became a Christian, he gave all that up for the life of a servant. The heart of Paul endured all the trials of life because of one thing: the promise of life in Christ Jesus. His goal was to live for the promise God made to him. Eternal salvation defined the life of Paul. He lived it every day, longing for the reality. There was nothing in this life that appealed to him. He wanted eternal life. When he writes to Timothy, he tells him a crown is waiting for him with his name on it. A crown was inscribed with the name “Paul.”

What a person puts on their tombstone says a lot about their life. Paul exalted in two things that mattered to him. He served the Lord as an apostle and was faithful to death. The promise of eternal life measured his life. Nothing else mattered to Paul. Just those two things. What do you want on your tombstone? So many people waste their lives for glory on a piece of marble. Paul lived to have his tombstone show Christ.

• Kent Heaton

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Creating the world was an incredible feat perfectly designed by the greatest architect to show His glory and power. The stars remain unnumbered by the hand of the One who placed each one in an exact position. Planets fill the universe along with stars and galaxies without number. The world is a perfect machine of incredible design from the atmosphere, seas, mountains, rivers, and valleys that form a rock circling the Sun in a constant and perfect pattern. Adam and Eve were formed from perfection. The human body is the blueprint of the anatomic precision of a body only the Lord God could have formed. There is nothing that can match its beauty, design, and function. When God created the world and everything in it, He established His handiwork as the eternal power of the divine.

Jesus was part of creation. The world was formed by the Son of God. Through His power, everything was established. He came to earth as a man to live among His creation. Through signs, wonders, and miracles, Jesus proved He was the Son of God. Jesus healed every disease, cured blindness, walked on water, cast out demons, and raised the dead. No man on earth was as powerful and mighty as Jesus of Nazareth. Satan trembled at the presence of God’s Son. And one of the greatest acts of divine power was demonstrated when the Lord took little children in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. Jesus loved the little children.

Being the Creator and the Son of God did not make Jesus aloof from the precious children of His Father’s world. When the parents brought their children to Jesus for the Lord to touch them, the disciples decided Jesus was too important for such a menial task. They scolded the people for bothering Jesus. When Jesus saw what the disciples were doing, He was moved with indignation and anger. Jesus wanted the children to be around Him. The disciples’ hardened hearts could not see the value in taking time with the little children. Jesus often used them as object lessons to show the true nature of the child of God.

There are important lessons with the children being brought to Jesus. Parents need to see the importance of bringing their children to Jesus. The knowledge of God begins at the home, where the family altar is surrounded by the reading and study of God’s word. If the home does not establish the love of Jesus in the children’s hearts, it will make it difficult for the home to know Jesus. Parents must take their children to worship. Jesus grew up with the custom of going to synagogue regularly and constantly. Children never need to wonder where they will be when it is time to worship. They will know where their parents are taking them.

Jesus spent time with children to bless them and encourage them. He did not teach them a great mystery hidden from the foundation of the world. When He placed His hands on them, He taught them love. Adults must show love to children and how important the love of God is for their lives. A child’s early life forms the foundation of a spiritual life. What they see from adults will form much of their view of God, the Bible, and the church. Bless the little children with the love of God. Jesus loved the children to show them His Father. Can we do any less?

This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. (Genesis 5:1-3)

In the Likeness Of God

Man is created in the image of God. The creation bears the image of the Creator. What sets humankind apart from the animal kingdom is that one has an eternal spirit, and the other does not. God formed the birds, fish, and land creatures on the fifth and sixth day of creation. On the fifth day, the waters abounded with life, and the skies were filled with fowls, but there were no land creatures, and Adam and Eve had yet to be created. The sixth day, God created all the land animals. He took the dust of the ground and formed the man, calling him Adam. It was not good that man should be alone, and God took a rib from Adam to create the woman. The creation was complete.

God gave Adam and Eve law. He did not give the animals law. The two trees in the midst of the garden were put there for the creature formed in the image of God. Adam and Eve had a consciousness to obey God’s command or disobey. None of the animals were under the law established by God, as they were not made in the image of God. Satan deceived the woman because she was made in the image of the eternal. He did not try to deceive the animals because they have no eternal spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned, they felt guilt and shame. Sin affects the soul of an eternal creature. Animals cannot feel the guilt and shame of sin. They have no eternal consciousness.

Adam was created an eternal creature with the power to create an eternal creature. The act of procreation is the grace of the Creator allowing man to bring into the world an eternal creature. God created Adam in His image, and Adam brought forth his children in his image. Cain and Abel were eternal creatures. When Cain killed Abel, it was an abomination to the creation of God. Cain sinned in killing Abel because he killed a creature made in the image of God. When Abel offered the firstborn of his flock for a sacrifice to God, he did not murder the animal because it was not an eternal creature made in the image of God. After the death of Abel, Adam brought forth a son in his image and named him Seth.

Parents must realize the eternal consequences of procreation. A soul is formed by the hand of God that will never cease from existing. The mortal body will die, but the immortal will never die. Man is formed in God’s image to show God’s glory. Each soul will find itself in an eternal world that never ends. That will either be a time of great joy or dark terror. Being made in the likeness of God has eternal consequences. You are an eternal creature who will never cease to exist. Where will you spend eternity?

If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds? (Proverbs 24:12)

The Incredible Knowledge Of God

When God created humankind, He did not bestow on them the ability to know the thoughts of one another. The knowledge of what another is thinking and what is in his heart is too great a burden for a man to bear. There would be a multitude of consequences if this power were given to mortal man. No man can know what is in the heart of another until that thought is expressed. While God limited man’s heart, He did not restrict His ability to understand what is in the heart of all men.

The knowledge possessed by God is unfathomable. If the world’s population hovers around eight billion souls, how does the Lord retain such information from each individual on a day-to-day, year-to-year basis? Isaiah said that God has a name for every star, and the number of stars is unnumerable. His power is far beyond the puny efforts of human wisdom to contain an atom-sized molecule of knowledge. Yet, God weighs the hearts of every person. He gives life to every person. Not only does God know the hearts of every soul on earth (from time beginning), but He recounts and renders to each man according to his deeds.

A man who lived for eighty years would have filled 29,200 days of busy activity. In those days, the Lord God will recount 700,800 hours of a man’s life with every second being noted; 2,524,556,160 to be exact. Every one of those seconds was weighed by the hand of God. Each minute that became an hour of life was rendered in the book of memory of the Lord God. He knows and watches what every soul on the American continents is thinking while simultaneously processing the thoughts and motives of those on the European, Asian, African, and Australian continents and even desolate Antarctica. No one is left out, whether living in a sprawling metropolis or the deepest reaches of the Amazon jungle.

Life is given by the hand of God. He breathes into each human being the breath of life. Man is an eternal creature made in the image of God for His glory. Adam and Eve were the first two people on the face of the earth. From Adam and Eve, all humanity evolved through many thousands of years and will continue for as long as the Lord wills. Whatever number of souls make up the timeline of the history of yesterday or the history yet to be made, God knows every heart. Nothing is hidden from His mind. This is the most reassuring feeling for the child of God to know the Father cares about His children. To those who refuse to accept the will of God in their lives, the understanding of God’s knowledge should be frightening. Nothing escapes His notice, and He will not miss any moment of a person’s life. God knows your life. What does He see and hear?

And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. (Mark 6:34)

Jesus Was First A Teacher

The feeding of five thousand men (not counting women and children) is one of the many incredible miracles Jesus did. He began with five barley loaves and two fishes before feeding the five thousand and gathered twelve baskets full of fragments and the fish when finished. Feeding the five thousand was not what Jesus set out to do. It was a byproduct of the event that happened before the feeding.

After Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, He left in a boat to a quiet place to be alone as He grieved. The multitudes saw Jesus and His disciples going to a deserted place and running from all the cities on foot. Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion for them. He healed many who were sick and then began to teach them many things. The Holy Spirit does not say how long Jesus taught them, but the day was far spent when Jesus finished. At this time, the disciples thought the people needed to find something to eat in the neighboring villages to buy bread for themselves. Jesus used the need to feed the people as a teaching moment to teach them a higher lesson.

Jesus came to teach people. He healed untold numbers of people of every disease but did not come to eradicate the disease. After Jesus returned to the Father, disease continued to plague humankind. Feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fishes filled the bellies of the hungry for a fleeting time. The next day, they were hungry again. When they sought Jesus, He rebuked them for seeking the manna of this world rather than the manna that came from above. Jesus did not wipe out hunger when He came.

The purpose of Jesus coming to the earth was to teach men the way of salvation. Food is necessary, but it will not save. Miracles were signs to prove the word, but no one could be saved individually by a miracle. The miracles of healing were to draw men to the teaching of Jesus. God sent His Son into the world to teach the world, to give the world the Word, the message of salvation, and the hope of eternal life. Faith comes from hearing the word of God, not from food or healing. The main work of Jesus was to teach men the will of the Father because salvation cannot come if a man does not hear the word and obey.

Knowledge is where man finds the hope of salvation. From the beginning of time, God has given men His commandments, laws, testimonies, statutes, and judgments to teach them His will. The Holy Spirit affirmed the creation of the canon that would become known as the Bible, through which all men could read and understand the mysteries of God. No other book can measure the validity, form, design, and ageless application than the word of God from Genesis to the Revelation.

Jesus came to teach. He was the perfect teacher. Using divine wisdom to weave stories of parables, pronounce curses upon the hypocrites of Jewish law, challenge the traditions of human wisdom, and explain the heavier judgments of men, Jesus shows the need for teaching, learning, and application. Feeding five thousand was a mighty miracle that filled the bellies of many a man, woman, and child. That bread did not last. Feasting upon the manna of God’s word will fill the soul for an eternity. Embrace the purpose of Jesus to teach all men the divine truths of God’s word. The Bible is not just a book – it is the full teaching of Jesus Christ.

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” (Luke 22:31-33)

Big Words From A Weak Heart

Peter is a contradiction of terms. He is a bold and faithful servant willing to go to prison for Jesus and die for the Lord. Peter is also a man of great weakness at the moment of trial to swear he does not know Jesus and reacts with angry cursing when pressed. To compound the misery of his denial, Jesus sees and hears Peter’s disowning of his association with the Lord. Peter had big words sitting at the table with Jesus, but his words came from a weak heart. The apostle had too much pride in his faithfulness. In front of the other apostles, Peter wanted them to see him as a courageous disciple willing to endure the hardship of prison. His faith was bragged before the others to the point of being killed for knowing Jesus of Nazareth. Big words. Weak heart.

Courage is easy when the day is bright and calm. Little did Peter know where Jesus would take him in the next few hours. After the feast, Jesus took the eleven to Gethsemane to wait for Judas. Peter was with James and John as Jesus spent time alone in prayer. When the mob came, Peter took a sword in hand to defend Jesus. His action was more an act of fear than courage. He sliced the ear of Malchus off. Jesus healed the servant’s ear, and the mob put Jesus in chains and led him away. Peter did nothing. He followed at a distance. His courage was gone. The big words that filled the upper room were lost in a heart weakened with fear.

The detachment of troops and officers of the Jews took Jesus to the house of the high priest, Annas. Peter stood outside with John. When John brought Peter into the courtyard, someone asked Peter if he was a follower of Jesus. He denied knowing the man. His courage was gone, and he was unwilling to go to prison or die for Jesus. Peter is asked two more times if he is a disciple of Jesus. He denies knowing Jesus, cursing and swearing he is not one of His disciples. The rooster’s crowing drowns out the big words of Peter.

It is easy to have courage on Sunday morning when the church family is assembled in a common hall, praising the Lord with gladness of heart. The challenge comes when the days of the week are busy with life and living in a crooked and perverse generation. Identifying oneself with Jesus Christ becomes a greater struggle when standing for truth and righteousness. The world can be unkind to those who profess a moral compass based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Coworkers will ridicule and laugh at the Christians. Family members will shun those who seek to live pure lives. The world is against the church of Christ on every level. Persecutions are coming because the gospel demands it. As the world draws farther away from godliness, the Christian stands increasingly more alone. What will become of the big words of faith and courage?

Peter denied the Lord three times, crushing the heart of Jesus. Joy would return to Peter when Jesus rose from the dead. Hope comes in the power of the resurrection. Peter resurrected himself when he reaffirmed his heart to serve the Lord. It was a bumpy ride for the apostle, but church history suggests Peter died a martyr’s death. He lived up to his words. When Peter’ returned to the Lord,’ he came all the way. Death was not the end for Peter; it was his beginning. Faith can be difficult. Do not give up. Let the light of Christ shine in your heart to show the world the glory of the Father. It’s not big words that save. Faith made perfect – that’s what is needed.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead … You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:1,4)

Living In A Dead Church

The letters to the seven churches of Asia found in the book written by John are a telling commentary on the condition of a local congregation. Seven churches near one another are used by the Lord to describe the varied conditions of what can be found in any local church family. Ephesus was an amazing church with many good things to say about their work. However, they had lost their first love and needed to refocus their attention on serving the Lord. Smyrna was commended for the persecution they faced and did not waver in their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pergamos was a good work, but it had a spirit of compromise that tainted their efforts. There were internal problems the Lord demanded needed to be corrected. Thyatira was known for their works, love, service, faith, and patience. With all these good things to say about the brethren, they had corrupted the truth of the gospel by allowing an evil influence to overcome the church. Philadelphia was a beacon of faithfulness in their love for the Lord to not deny the name of Christ in the midst of persecution. Laodicea was a church like so many. They were neither hot nor cold in their work of the Lord and languished in lukewarm apathy. Their view of themselves was misguided by their conceit of what they were doing.

The church at Sardis was unique among the seven. They had a name for themselves for all their works, but according to the judgment of Jesus Christ, the church family was dead spiritually. It is hard to imagine worshipping at a church the Lord deems “without life.” There are many things from the divine standpoint that can dictate why a church family is dead. From the view of the brotherhood, Sardis had a name for themselves. Jesus shows that having a good name among the brethren does not suggest a good name with the Father. There were severe problems at Sardis that needed to be corrected.

Jesus warns the church to be watchful and strengthen the things that remain. It seems not a lot of life was left in the congregation. The change that needed to take place was clear. Repentance was the order of the day. Judgment was coming. Jesus stood in the midst of the seven golden lampstands representing each of the seven churches. The lampstands are placed there by God, and by His will, the lampstand is removed. As long as the lampstand remained, Sardis was still a church of God, but it was on perilous ground.

With the sentence of death pronounced on the church at Sardis, the Lord made a remarkable observation. In the congregation of God’s people that have been called by the One who stands in the midst of the golden lampstand a dead church, some who had not defiled their garments and remained faithful to the Lord. A few names in Sardis would walk with the Lord in white because they were worthy. Sardis was not a flat-line church yet because of the faithful few names that remained. The faithful few were the leavening influence of God in the midst of death.

Sardis had a name among brethren. Churches have reputations and are known for various things that distinguish their work. When people try to find the perfect church, they show their lack of understanding of the nature of the family of God. People get upset about things that go on in this church family and that church family about issues that divide. Sardis had those who walked in white, and it was dead, according to the Lord. Would a faithful Christian worship at the church of God in Corinth? The apostle Paul would. Church families have problems. Running off to the “perfect” church will never solve anything. I’m thankful for the faithful at Sardis. They worshipped in a difficult congregation, but they worshipped God in truth. Can we do any less?

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:11-12)

The Way That We Live

Early Christians suffered a lot under the heavy hand of persecution. First is the attack against the church by Saul of Tarsus. The Jews constantly harassed Paul and the early disciples. When the Romans began to persecute the people of God, it would last for nearly two hundred years with little respite. Peter writes his epistles during the reign of Nero, Roman Emperor. The early disciples suffered for wearing the name of Christ. In the midst of this oppression by the world, the aged apostle implores his readers to maintain a good example of righteousness and godliness. He wants them to have honorable conduct in the world that is persecuting them.

Peter reminds the Christians why they can endure the persecution. Life is transitory, brief, like a vapor that appears for a little while and vanishes away. The suffering from the world is only temporary because, as the nation of God, life is a sojourn and a pilgrimage. There is nothing last about life, whether good or evil. Having the mind of a sojourner or pilgrim places things in proper perspective. Nothing is permanent. The lusts of the flesh are temporary. All of the evil things said about the Christians were empty. Peter wants the people of God to give an example of faith and courage to a cruel world so they can see God living in their hearts and minds.

How a person lives defines the kind of person he is. When the Christian shows a forgiving heart, he manifests the character of the forgiveness of God. Refusing the lusts of the flesh to seek the nobility of godliness mirrors the godliness of the Father. Refusing to deny Christ instills in the eyes of the world a determination built upon faith and courage in the Son of God. The greatest tool a person has to show Jesus Christ to the world is the example of Christ living in the way they live.

As a man and woman, the Christian is devoted to prayer and examining the scriptures. This makes them a better person as an individual, a spouse, a parent, a citizen, a friend, and an example of how God can change the lives of anyone. The Jews killed Jesus, knowing He had done nothing wrong. Peter wants Christians to live in such a way that no charge of deceit, malice, or ungodliness can be found in the example of God’s people. How a person lives can determine how the world sees Christ. If a man professes to be a Christian and lives like the world, the wisdom of the world shows him to be a hypocrite. The church is damaged in reputation by those who act one way on Sunday and live like the devil the other six days of the week.

A Christian is a pilgrim seeking another home. While he abides in this realm, he will avoid worldly desires that compromise his relationship with God. His life is set to live a proper example of Jesus Christ among the unbelieving people of the world. When the enemies of Christ accuse a Christian of wrong, no evidence can be found because of their faithfulness to Jesus Christ. What the world sees in the Christian’s life is God’s glory. When they see God, they see truth.

But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5)

Shall We Keep The Law Of Moses?

The struggles in the early church revolved around establishing the doctrines and commandments of the kingdom of God. Jesus promised the apostles the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. During the early days of the church, the only scriptures available were the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. It would be fourteen years after Pentecost, and the first book of what is now known as the New Testament would be written (James). For the next fifty years, many more letters would be written to become the divine canon of God’s word.

Before the completion of the perfect word of God, the apostles helped to establish the will and commands of the Lord. The first converts of the gospel were Jews with the Gentiles being added a few years later. During this time of early growth, the doctrines of the church were being established. One of the greatest challenges of the church was to show the Jews how God had fulfilled His promises to Abraham through the Law, but under Christ, the Law of Moses was abolished for a better covenant. All of the laws and commandments of the Law of Moses were taken away through the Son of God’s death, burial, and resurrection. The church would not be governed by the Law of Moses.

An early problem for devout Jews belonging to the sect of the Pharisees was giving up circumcision. The covenant of circumcision was from the days of Abraham and the foundation of the relationship of God and the Jews. On the Day of Pentecost, devout Jews from every nation gathered in Jerusalem. When three thousand Jews heard the preaching of the twelve apostles, they were baptized into Christ, and the Lord added them to the church. Many of the practices of the Jews remained intact. Peter and John went to the temple to pray. Paul kept a vow. While many of the practices found in the Law of Moses were inconsequential to salvation, one key element of the Law of Moses remained in the eyes of many Jews: circumcision.

When Peter told the Jews at Pentecost what to do to be saved, he never mentioned circumcision. Philip preached Jesus to the man from Ethiopia and never suggested the need to be circumcised. Peter taught Cornelius and his household the gospel of Christ without requiring circumcision. None of the examples of conversion or teachings of the early church required circumcision to be saved. This bothered some Christians who were of the sect of the Pharisees. They demanded that circumcision be taught as essential for salvation, and recipients of the gospel must be commanded to be circumcised. Some teachers taught salvation through circumcision in many churches and commanded the Christians to keep the Law of Moses.

Jesus died to take away the Law of Moses. The Law did not save the Gentiles. They were a law to themselves. The Jews did a terrible job at keeping the Law. When the church was dealing with Jews (Hebrews) who wanted to return to the Law of Moses, the writer of Hebrews explained in great detail the fallacies of the Law and how it had been abandoned for the good news in Jesus Christ. Circumcision has nothing to do with salvation, and keeping the Law of Moses cannot save. There is nothing sinful about circumcision, but to bind it as Law is sin. Jesus died to bring the Jews to Him through His blood. A Jew cannot be saved by circumcision or keeping the Law of Moses. Peter told the Jews what to do to be saved. He told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. This answer is the same for Gentiles. Salvation is not in the Law of Moses or the nation of Israel. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the only way, truth, and life.

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good. (Psalm 14:1)

I’m Certain Life Ends At Death

The preponderance of a fool’s wisdom heightens how ignorant his position will be. Many things are certain in life, but many are filled with uncertainty. There is a body of facts that can be quickly established without doubt compared to known factors. Each day begins with the rising of the sun, and the day ends when the sun disappears over the western horizon. This is a certainty that is repeated every day with fail. Jumping out of an airplane without a parachute will end in death because the law of gravity does not change. A person can be certain of that. When a man suggests he knows something with certainty, he admits he has ample proof to verify his claim.

In a recent post about religion, an individual made the bold statement, “I am not religious. I’m actually certain life ends at death.” The first part of his remark is a fact, and the second part of his conclusion is foolish. It takes little evidence for a man to show that he is not religious. Unbelievers exhibit the characteristics of a hedonistic view of life, namely that man is no more than an animal, guided by animal instincts, to do things like an animal. He does not believe in God because that would require accountability to the word of God. All unbelievers must admit the universe is a vast tapestry of incredible design that demands a designer. The biggest fools are those who say the orderly universe of immense design was created from nothing.

The remarkable statement that a man can be “actually certain life ends at death” shows how ignorant fools argue their positions for the impossible. A ten-pound sack of potatoes is determined by weighing the sack with an accurate scale to reach a precise conclusion. For a man to say he is certain life ends at death is to testify he has died, entered whatever world there is beyond death, and returned to say there is no life after death. This is an impossibility if life ends at death. That means no one can traverse the expanse of the realm of the dead to determine if life is there or not. If life does not exist after death – who can tell the story? Where do empirical facts come that give a man the certainty life ends at death?

A fool does not believe in life after death because he lives like an animal. An animal lives and dies, which is all there is to the animal’s existence. Only man has an eternal nature because God created man in His image and likeness. Animals were not made in the image of God (non-eternal), and when they die, there is nothing. Believers in God know they are eternal creatures that will never cease to exist. Death is real, and while life ends in death from a mortal view, every person who dies continues to exist in an eternal nature. The truth is that belief in life after death comes from faith in the word of God, which becomes the factual belief that life is more than the here and now.

Contrary to popular culture, it is impossible for someone to die and return to tell the story. Resurrection ended two thousand years ago. When a man dies, he cannot return to the realm of the living to tell the story. An unbeliever will look at life as the final event, and when a man dies, he will cease to exist. The sad part of the story is how surprised they will be when they awaken in eternity and realize – there is life after death. A greater tragedy is to rise in eternity to realize there is a God who told him there was life after death, and now he will experience death after life – for an eternity. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God!” That’s a fact because when a man thinks life ends in death, he is a fool. The believer knows and believes through faith in the promises of God that there is incredible life after death. Praise God. Lord Jesus, come quickly.