Sermon:  The Truth about Life and Death

Summary:  The definition for life and death comes not from the unbelieving biologists, 
philosophers of the world, but from our Lord, who is the author of life and the victor 
over death.  Death is not natural but an enemy that our Lord defeated.  Life comes from 
him and no one else.  More than biology, life is found in the Word of life, which helps 
us to know God when we accept it and live by it.  The result is transformation into the 
character of God, which is summed up in love, which is connected to life.

Know:  True life is not biological existence, but is connected to the Word of God, Love 
of God, and Knowing God.

Feel:  Contentment for the gift of "real" life

Do:  Reflect on your view of what it means to "really be living."  Compare your view to 
the view of abundant life in scripture.  Identify ways the scriptural view of life should 
affect your activities, attitudes, and choices.  Contrast this to your own activities, 
attitudes and choices and highlight the areas where you fall short.  Share some possible 
ideas of how you could work on the areas you fall short.

Text:  Selected texts from John and 1 John

Scripture Reading:  1 Jn 3:14-16

Intro:
1.  Seems the older we get, the more people we say goodbye to
	a.  Things have changed - Telgren family reunions used to be at Grandma's
	b.  Grandma is gone, and now we meet in a motel
	c.  Last week, said farewell to a long time member
2.  Got me to thinking about life, death, and what it means to live
	a.  There are many opinions about these sorts of things
	b.  The scientist, philosopher, politician, social reformer all have opinions
	c.  Not going to talk about their opinions, instead, will go to the authority on this
3.  What does it tell us?

I.  Death is not natural
	A.  A lot of people say death is a natural part of life
		1. I understand why, want to comfort people
		2. So we tell them that it is a normal part of life, don't fret
	B.  Nothing could be farther from the truth
		1.  IF death was natural, Jesus would not have reacted the way he did to it 
     	    	    (Jn 11:33, 38)
			a. His friend, Lazarus had died
			b. Family and friends were broken hearted, wailing, weeping
			c. Text says Jesus is "deeply moved" - Grk: embriaomai
				- Originally meant to "snort" like a horse would snort
					= Sometimes means to scold, act indignantly, censure
					= Word that expresses indignation or anger
				- v.35 - "Jesus wept" - Means these were tears of anger
				- Jesus does not say, "It's okay, death is normal part of life" 
				- Jesus sees the destruction of death and is angry, indignant
			d. Jesus came to destroy the power of sin and death, not accept it 
                  	   as normal
		2.  (1 Cor 15:20-26) - The last enemy to be destroyed is death
			a. Death is our universal enemy
			b. Not matter who you are, death is your enemy
				- If American, Russian, Middle Eastern, African, South 
  		  		  American, death is your enemy
				- If Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Scientist
			c.  Death is our universal enemy
	C.  ILL:  Sometimes we forget
		1.  People try to tone it down
			a. Use euphemisms - He "passed away"
			b. They build beautiful coffins, mausoleums, cemeteries
			c. They try to tone down the offensiveness of death
			d. This can make you forget that death is an enemy
		2.  Throughout history, how have people thought of oppressive tyrants?
			a. Might put up with them for a little while
			b. But eventually, they will do something about it
			c. They usually do not say, "This oppression is a natural part of life, 
 		 	   so just accept it"
			d. Sooner or later, they will do something to end the oppression
	D.  This is what Jesus did
		1.  He didn't just accept death as normal
		2.  In his indignation towards death, he raised Lazarus from the grave
		3.  In fact, he will raise everyone from the grave (Jn 5:28-29)
			a. All in the graves will hear his voice
			b. Some will raise to live, others to judgment
			c. Strange - Would expect life vs. death, not life vs. judgment
			d. Opposite of life not non-existence, but judgment, which is death
		4.  *Brings us to our next point...

II. Life is more than Biology
	A.  People have different views of life
		1.  Atheist - Life is a result chemicals
			a. Life in the zoo, in the greenhouse, among humans - all the same
			b. Life is strictly from naturalistic causes, evolutionary process
			c. Man is just another animal
			d. Our thoughts, ethics, etc. are just chemical impulses
		2.  Really?  Even the atheist knows intuitively he is more than biology
	B.  ILL:  Let's take a trip
		1.  Past the zoo, teeming with animals of all kind
		2.  Past the greenhouse, teaming with all kinds of plants
		3.  To the man house
			a. In the man house we find a man who suffered a bad accident
			b. He is breathing, eyes are open, but completely unresponsive
			c. They are saying he is a "vegetable," like the plants in the 
 			    greenhouse
		4.  He is alive, he is breathing, but is this what we would call "life?"
	C.  What is life if it is not merely biology?
		1.  (Jn 6:60-68) - Life is in the words of Christ
			a. Context:  Image of the Bread of Life
				- If you "eat" it, you will never die
				- Ingest it, read it, know it
				- Not just read it, but it becomes a part of you
			b.  ILL: Like when you eat good food vs. junk food
				- Can tell what you eat, it transforms you
				- Picture of health, or sickly
				- That is how word of God is 
				- No good to just look at it, need to make it part of you
			c.  Jn 12:50 - His commandment is eternal life
			d. Not just read it, but believing/accepting it, thinking it, doing it
		2.  (Jn 17:1-3) - Knowing God is eternal life
			a. What does it mean to know Him?
			b.  (Prov 3:5-12) - v.2 - Will gain years of "life" through this...
				- v.6 - In all your ways acknowledge (lit: know) him
				- v.5 - Trust him, do not lean on your own insight
				- v.7 - Fear him, turn away from evil
				- v.9, 11 - Honor him, do not despise his fatherly discipline
			c.  (1 Jn 2:3) - Knowing and doing go hand in hand
				- If you know him and do not obey his word, you are a liar
				- Knowing what is in the Bible does not mean you know God
				- Knowing God and doing what pleases him go hand in hand
		3.  (1 Jn 3:14-18) - Loving is Life
			a.  Love is a "test" of whether someone has "life" from God
				- 1 Jn is not just some warm fuzzy writing about love
				- 1 Jn dealing with things like false teachers and anti-Christs
				- One of the tests for false teachers is the love of God
				-  If you have the love of God in you, you have life of God 
			b.  (1 Jn 4:7-8) - Love is a "test" of knowing God
				- If you do not love, then you do not know God
				- If you love, you know God
				- Not only do you have life, but also know God
			c.  (1 Jn 1:6-7) - Walking in the light is knowing God
				- What is walking in the light?  
				-  (1 Jn 2:9-10) - Walking in the light is love, hate is darkness
		4.  Everything is tied together
			a.  Like an electrical circuit, part missing nothing works
			b.  All of it needs to be there
				- Life in the words of Christ, he is bread of life
					= He is the way, truth, and life
					= He is life
				- This is eternal life, to know God
				- He who loves, knows God & is in the light
				- Word of God, knowing God, word of God, love of God, and 
 				  life, and lighty are all connected together
			c.  (Jn 10:10) - "I have come that they may have life abundantly"
	D.  So, life is much more that what many people think
		1.  It is much more than biology
			a.  Jesus is not satisfied for you to be a vegetable, that is not life
			b.  Jesus didn't come merely to cure diseases
			c.  Jesus didn't come merely to feed the hungry
			d.  Jesus came to give you true life
				- Fill your inner hunger
				- Cure the disease of your spirit
				- To bring you eternal life
		2.  It doesn't merely mean existing forever
			a.  Found in the words of life from our Lord
			b.  It is in knowing God
			c.  It is found in love
		3.   Word, knowing God, love, life, light, all interconnected
		4.  Truly, life is more than just biology

Concl:
1.  Something "threatens" this life -- Death
	a.  If life is not simply existing, then death is not non-existence
	b.  Death is the opposite of life
		- Not living in the Word is death
		- Not knowing God is death
		- Not loving is death
		- Death is existence apart from God
	c.  What causes this death?  
		- 1 Cor 15:56 - Sting of death is sin
		- Rom 3:23; 6:23 - All of us have sinned
		- Sin traps you in guilt
			= Guilt is real, not just a feeling
			= Whether you feel guilty or not, we are all guilty of sin
		- Result?  Is death, which ultimately leads to existing in hell eternally
2.  Jesus defeated sin and death
	a.  At the cross, he defeated sin, died for our sin
	b.  Rose from the tomb, he defeated death
	c.  Sting of death is sin, but Jesus took away the sting of sin
3.  ILL:  Like the child allergic to bees, if stung, it would kill her
	a.  Bee got in the car with them, she went crazy with panic
	b.  Dad calmed cupped the bee in his hand, tried to console her after
	c.  Daughter, listen, the bee cannot hurt you...
		- Showed her the bee
		- The bee has already stung me
		- Bee no longer has a stinger, I took the sting, it can't hurt you
		- Be is now dying
	d.  That is what Jesus did
		- In his indignation he took the sting of sin upon himself
		- Jesus killed sin
		- Sin need no longer separate us from God (inv)
4.  Jesus gives us Christians life, abundantly, now and in eternity
	a.  Death is not natural, but Jesus defeated it
	b.  He gives us life, which is more than biology
	c.  He has the words of life, we need to live in them
		- We grow in relation to God, which is life
		- Learn what it means to love with the love of God, which is life
	d.  It is just a foretaste of what is to come, life in eternity
5.  Are you living in the Word of life?
	- Are you doing, thinking, making choices according to his word?


================================

 
Small Group Notes:  The Truth about Life and Death

Summary:  The definition for life and death comes not from the unbelieving biologists, 
philosophers of the world, but from our Lord, who is the author of life and the victor 
over death.  Death is not natural but an enemy that our Lord defeated.  Life comes 
from him and no one else.  More than biology, life is found in the Word of life, which 
helps us to know God when we accept it and live by it.  The result is transformation 
into the character of God, which is summed up in love, which is connected to life.        


Open:  (choose one)
- When have you been most angry or deeply moved?
- What seems to you to be the way many people try to make life better?


Explore: 

1.  (Jn 11:33-38) Twice, the text tells us that Jesus was "deeply moved."  The Greek word 
here typically expresses strong emotions of indignation or even anger.  What does this 
suggest to you about how "Jesus wept?"  

2.  Why did Jesus react so negatively to death when it appears to be such a regular part 
of life? 

3.  (Jn 6:60-68; 17:1-3; 1 Jn 3:14-18) Discuss what eternal life, or simply "life" is 
according to the scriptures.  How is it more than biology?

4.  How is death more than biology?  (Note: If death is the opposite of life, then how 
would these passages help you define death?)

5.  How do these compare to various worldly views of life and death?


Apply:

6.  Reflect on how these compare to what you typically think of what it means to "really be 
living."  

7.  How should this view of life affect your activities, attitudes, and choices?  List as 
many specific activities, attitudes and choices as you can that this should affect.

8.  Share some possible ideas of how you could work on the areas you fall short.


Prayer: