Tragically, sadly...
All those who die without a relationship with the Father through his sinless son, Christ, will never R.I.P.
I mean Rest in Peace.
That peace that transcends all human understanding.. that can actually be enjoyed today. Yes, right now.. before you reach room temperature.
That refreshing rest when freely forgiven in a right relationship vertically with the One that designed and made you.
Pause and think about this.
The most compelling thing that the real God of Christianity has to offer to people is this (Bible) person of Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever -- this knowable historical Jesus. The Lord of life.
The fact that he doesn't come across as someone created by a committee or some clever charlatan deceiver. The wisdom and sterling moral character of Christ is so transcendent.
I say read the Bible. The ring of Truth in it just resonates soundly with people who now have no challenge or with those who have any kind of challenge everywhere.
Sure, their old life, their pet-sins, and their fleshly nature will fight against what they are taking in, but let the Bible defend itself. It'll be okay like a male lion out of its cage. There is something in the heart of people that totally resonates with this pure Jesus, his honesty and holy biblical morality. He confronted false religion, hypocrisy and even the irreligion in no uncertain terms. He quoted Scripture like it was all true.. because it actually is.
Yes, that's what got him killed on a tree and it was the Father's will to allow it all. They didn't murder him for being merely some kind and tolerant pacifist as many US leaders call him today. Spiritual compromise was not at all a part of who He was and is today.
Christ's ministry exposed the evil, yes, all wrongdoings around him. He exposed what was in the heart and motives of people. He, in unselfish agape love, basically said to people that he genuinely cared about.. you will either humbly come to the Father on his terms instead of on your own terms.. in true repentance in saving faith or you will experience Divine judgment. You will either humble yourself with honesty or cling to your ego at your own expense. Go study it, is His way about pride or humility?
They couldn't handle the truth of His words. Many today can't either. What's not to love about him, His character or his message? Zip! Yes, in only one of two places we each can choose to have our own sins fully dealt with:
1.) The Father's holy judgment of man's sin on Christ's cross at Calvary (past. Let's pray! I'll go with Him and that), or..2.) Later on at the Great White Throne Judgment Seat. in the near future. Will happen, Don't want to be in that one.
Sayin' “Rest in peace” could have been a good wish or prayer for lost friends. I want all my friends to rest in peace with Christ forever. But this saying today is framed as a prayer after people have died and are now gone. In Latin, it is literally “May he begin to rest in peace.” Of course, praying for the dead is unbiblical. At the moment of death, a person’s fate is sealed.
Jesus taught that there are only two options for every human being: heaven and hell (Matthew 10:28; 25:46; Mark 9:43;). He gave a vivid picture of those two options in the story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19–31.
In this account, the rich man, who had given no thought of God during his earthly life, went to hell when he died. Lazarus, who possessed nothing on earth but a pure heart, was taken to paradise. Hell is described as a place of torment (verse 23), not a place of rest. According to Scripture, a person who dies without Christ is not “resting in peace” (see John 3:18). “‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 57:21).
Man!!..why does God hate sin so much when it can be so fun for a season of time?
John said, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 Jn. 5:13).
God wants all readers to “know” they have eternal life, so John provided a test of faith that we each can use to examine whether or not we are truly saved (reborn, forgiven, regenerated inside, in right standing with God).
In 1 John are various descriptions of the genuine believer. If a person knows Christ and is growing in grace, he or she will generally be marked by the following traits:
In 1 John are various descriptions of the genuine believer. If a person knows Christ and is growing in grace, he or she will generally be marked by the following traits:
1. The believer enjoys fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people (1 John 1:3).2. The believer walks in the light, not in the darkness (1 John 1:6–7).3. The believer admits and confesses his sin (1 John 1:8).4. The believer obeys God’s Word (1 John 2:3–5).5. The believer loves God rather than the world (1 John 2:15).6. The believer’s life is characterized by “doing what is right” (1 John 2:29).7. The believer seeks to maintain a pure life (1 John 3:3).8. The believer sees a decreasing pattern of sin in his life (1 John 3:5–6; 5:18).9. The believer demonstrates love for other Christians (1 John 3:14).10. The believer “walks the walk,” versus just “talking the talk” (1 John 3:18–19).11. The believer maintains a clear conscience (1 John 3:21).12. The believer experiences victory in his Christian walk (1 John 5:4).
Number 8 in the list above is that the believer will evidnce a decreasing pattern of sin in his or her life. Here is what John says:
“No one who lives in [Christ] keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6) and..
“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (1 John 5:18).
There is a reason why believers do not continue to sin: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God” (1 John 3:9). A genuine Christian will not “deliberately, knowingly, and habitually” sin. It’s just not in their “spiritual DNA.”
Death is entirely different for those who are “in Christ” (Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30). Physical death is merely a door for us to enter into unending life with loved ones.
