Already Dead

 Read John 3:36

John 5:24

Most of the time when you hear me talk, I talk about God’s love.  We are to love God and love one another as the mainstay of our discipleship. God is love.

Sure, there are other things that we should do.  You will find most to be rooted in love.

Jesus told us that we are wise to put his words into practice.  In fact, he compared those who practice what he taught as to one who built their house on solid rock instead of shifting sand, the latter would wash away in the storm.

Today, I want to talk to you about life and death.  It’s sort of a heavy subject—life and death.  It’s an important topic.

We know life, though few live it fully.  We sometimes sleep through much of life.  I’m not talking about restful sleep that we all need.  I mean being in a slumber when we should be fully awake. I didn’t say woke.

Being woke—and that’s not what we are here to talk about is like building your house on shifting and sinking sand.  It seems right for a while, but then it comes crashing down.  Again, that’s not our topic for right now.

We are talking about life and death. 

You know what death is too.  Most of you have lost a loved one at some point.  Maybe you were too young to remember much.

Most of you have lost a pet to death.  You live in Oklahoma.  You have seen road kill.  I would bet to say that you have seen more dead armadillos than live ones.

I had to go see the doctor in Elk City last Thursday.  That was a three-skunk Thursday. That drive took on an atmosphere of its own.

We have seen death.  Do you know what the Bible says?

It says that you are already dead.  How can that be?  I’m sitting here breathing and wanting to be on my phone.  I can’t be dead.  Listen to the words of Jesus

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

If you truly believe in the Son—that’s Jesus—then you have life now and for eternity.  But if you don’t believe, you are already dead. When your body wears out or you get struck by lightning or snake bit and die, it’s GAME OVER!

And you have no reset button.

Who has heard that the wages of sin is death? You were dead in your sin and all have sinned.

Do you know the second half of that verse?

But the gift of God is eternal life.

There is a discussion to be had about the innocence of the young, but we must know that sin has touched us all, even the child.  Why do you think the counsel to parents is to bring up a child in the way he should go?

If you can understand what I am saying, the innocence excuse is not valid for you.  We have all missed the target at some point. You are accountable for your life.

So what am I getting at?  Life and death.  They are real.  You have seen death.  While we can celebrate the death of a believer for only this physical body has perished; the same cannot be said of the one who rejects God.

They are dead already!

In some congregations, maybe you have gone to some of them, the preacher wants to scare you into walking the aisle and professing Jesus as Lord out of fear.

There is nothing wrong with the fear of the Lord.  In fact we are counseled that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. It’s a good place to start.

What I am talking about is the fear of hell.  Hell is real.  You don’t want to go there.  It’s not where God designed you to go.  It is not your predestination, but you can get there by rejecting God.

Don’t profess Jesus is Lord because you fear hell.  Profess Jesus is Lord because you seek God.  You want to know God.  You want to know the life and eternal life that God has in store for you.

Profess Jesus is Lord because you believe that God is love.  It’s ok to fear the Lord.  You can fear hell if you want to, but if that is how you live your life, you are missing out on the living part.

You might think that there is no difference in professing Jesus is Lord out of fear and out of love.  There is!

For those who profess Jesus is Lord out of the fear of hell, you think that you reached the finish line.  You think, I’ve won.  I’m not going to hell.

You think it’s game over and you have won.  You just have to wait out the rest of your life to get to heaven.

For the one who receives Jesus as Lord out of the love of God over the love of the world, you realize that you are just in the starting blocks.

Life—real life, abundant life—begins now.  It’s time to really live.  What does the Bible say?

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

When does eternal life begin?  It begins now when you have professed Jesus is Lord.  There is a better part to come, but eternal life begins in the moment you truly believe in God through his son Christ Jesus.

You have passed from death to life!

Remember that salvation is the free gift of God, but you must receive it.  Here’s a good Bible word—Woe.  Woe to those who reject it.  Death remains upon them.  You are already dead!

But you can live now and forever in Christ Jesus.  The moment you truly believe, you pass from death to life.

But how do I know that I really believe?

That’s an excellent question.  It is an essential question.  How do you know?

You will know when you are ready to give up the sinful ways of the world and receive the ways of the Lord.

It is called repentance.  You must not only turn away from the ways of the world, but leave all of that worldly baggage behind so you are free to take the yoke of your Master—that’s Jesus—and learn from him.

You will be ready to put his words into practice.  The word is practice.  You might not get everything right the first time or the first thousand times, but you have committed to following Jesus.

You have passed from death to life.

Amen.