Life after Death?

Today on Renewing Your Mind does seem at times as though life gives to us more failures and successes more unhappiness than happiness. And yet we see how people will claw and fight tooth and nail to hang on to whatever it is that we call life for another five minutes. Is that is because they're not quite sure what lies on the other side or are they assigning too much value to this life and not the next. This week Dr. RC Sproul is providing us with a biblical perspective to the problem of pain and suffering and today takes a careful look at the reality of life after death. Where am I going to be 100 years I've ever asked yourself the question as soon as we extend the calendar beyond the immediate future and roll it out into 100 years from now, we are asking the question that Job asked if a man dies, will he live again. It's a question that the human race seems to be preoccupied with this, not simply a question raised by religious people, but in our own culture we are seeing the attention that the media has given to people like Shirley McClain who speculates about reincarnation in previous incarnations of trees and we see as we drive to the towns of America that the symbol of the hand in somebody's yard were Mme. so and so will offer for a fee to read your palm and tell you what your history is going to be I have ever noticed these little places that have them sign the Palm out there that they seem to be in rundown sections of the neighborhood with dilapidated homes there and I thought I wonder why Mme. so-and-so doesn't apply her art to the start market is fixed so she really has this ability to read the future, but people will pay money for that they will watch their horoscopes every day to try and find out what the future will mean to them in every culture there is some sense of expectancy of life after death, whether it's the Norse Valhalla or whether it is the Indian happy hunting ground or the Judeo-Christian concept of heaven, that it seems to be built into our humanity to embrace this hope that after we die.

There is something that goes on some continuity of personal existence in a poetic way and dramatic way.

We remember the famous words of hamlets in his soliloquy. Remember when he begins by that dilemma to be or not to be recent that's the question what does he mean when he says to be or not to get a sense for me to live to continue to exist to carry on this life to be, or rather to not date the end that suicide is what is on the mind of Hamlet and that speak as is. Considering the alternatives of life and death and swinging between the two points he experiences conflicting feelings last night after our seminar. I had a member of our board sit down with me and looked me straight in the eyes of former cancer patient. He said are saying is what is worse, the meaning of life, thought he was getting when he was the meeting of life's note is that you are Pontius Pilate asking Jesus what is truth. What is the meaning of last we mean what is the meaning of like a civil look at what life is all about. He said we experience so much pain so much tragedy that sometimes I wonder where would be better off if we remember boarding all we began to talk about resident does seem at times as though life gives to us more failures than successes, more pain and pleasure, more unhappiness than happiness, more of a sense of loss than a sense of gain. That's what seems to be and yet, in spite of all of that we see how people will claw and fight tooth and nail to hang on to whatever it is that we call life for another five minutes so that in spite of the pain that attends life we somehow still value it enough that we want to keep experiencing, but that's what Hamlet was experiencing hey not to live to die to die to sleep perchance to dream is I don't know what's on the other side. He said that's all land from who was born no traveler returns and he said because the other side is shrouded in darkness and we've never been there to see what the other side is really like.

He said we would rather bear those ills that we have them fly to others that we know less conscience, said Beth make powers of us all. Rather hang on to the pain of this world and step across the threshold into a world that we know little or nothing about. As soon as we approach death seems to be an accentuation of fear not so much for those who are prepared to die themselves but for those who journey with them to the side of the gray if you've ever read the dialogues of Plato and you reamed the dialogue that includes the best thing of Socrates, all Socrates students and friends are gathered around the prison as he is been sentenced to death, and even on this day is been appointed to drink the fatal Hemlock as his manner of execution of his friends were allowed to visit him one last and they come in and they have this pall of gloom over their heads and as they come to the sound of Socrates. They find call.

They find it relaxed. They find them, even in the state of eager anticipation. I can't figure out they say to their teacher. How was it possible that you can be in the state of joyous anticipation when you know this is your last day of life, and then Socrates begins to teach them philosophically off this speculation of all that is learned in the study of nature from the study of science that has convinced him that this is not the last day of his life that it is the beginning of an eternal existence that is far better than what he experiences here. Now I find comfort in reading this speculation applied. I find comfort in reading the philosophical musing of Immanuel Kant when he says, for all practical purposes, we've got to believe in life after death. Because if there is no life after death, then this life is meaningless.

Somebody asked me a question last night about the Holocaust sleep, systematic extinction of 6 million people Genesis World War II. The question was where was God in all of that and really say what was going through my but I've heard people look at that tragedy and they say how can there be a God at the same time genocides take place. I think that I turn around in the city if there is not a God, there can't possibly be a Holocaust say what and why, because if there is no God. Ladies and gentlemen that human life doesn't matter, and we can't really protest about the loss of life in 6 million undifferentiated cases protoplasm emerged by accident from the slime and are now just returning to the abyss from which they gratuitously came forth to: a Holocaust because for something to be tragic. The first has to be value their first test be a foundation for ultimate me and that's what Congress saying but again all of that gives me a secondary measure of comfort remains at the level of sheer speculation, the greatest comfort that I have ever found with respect to the question of life after death comes from two sources. One source is the teaching of Jesus. The words Jesus. The other source is the example of Jesus, the work of Jesus.

Not too long ago, a poll was taken among American church members when they were asked to identify their favorite chapter of the Bible. Not everybody I'm sure is heard of first Corinthians 13, the love chapter, first Corinthians 13 came in second.

The chapter that came in in first place.

In terms of popularity among American church people was the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John the stake. A couple minutes to look at that familiar record of Jesus words you understand the same Jesus is with his disciples now in the upper room the night before he is to die. Chapter 14 begins with these words left not your hearts be troubled you believe in God you believe also in me.

In my father's house are many mansions and so on all heard of that text.

If you haven't heard it by going to church averted at the cemetery because this text is read it almost every funeral in America. Let not your hearts be troubled. He doesn't just come out on the stage and say here's the beginning of my talks. Let not your hearts be troubled.

As I said there is a context of those were those words of exhortation take place in the midst of the very poignant discussion that Jesus is having with his friends and understand. I think the thrust of his teachings. I just call your attention to the 21st verse of John chapter 13 where it says this after he had said this, Jesus is was troubled in his own spirit.

Interesting that these is not standing there aloof as the preacher admonishing his congregation not I want you all to be troubled, but he is speaking about there being troubled out of the midst of his own trouble in chapter 13, where said that Jesus began to be trouble. What was it was troubling he was troubling the spirit and they said I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me. Then he went on an event, find the traitor is Judas, and he dismissed Judas angry and what you were about to do, do quickly and then he went on to predict the subsequent denial of Peter and then at the end of this discussion, he says in verse 33. My children, I will be with you only a little longer and you will look for me and just as I told the Jews so I tell you now that where I am going, you cannot come. This was startling to his disciples that Jesus was now talking about separation. I will most difficult things that ever takes place with the experience of the death of a loved one is the moment of separation. If you go back to the Old Testament we read the story of the prophet Elijah, who was housed in this poor widow's on the windows are about in the wood observed Beth had a son who was taken ill and he died and when Elijah came on the scene. This woman was clutching the body of her son and she was rebuking the prophet and in her hysteria and anger.

No site if you hadn't come here if you hadn't been here this wouldn't happen. And Elijah is prepared now to bring this dead son back to life. He says to the woman let go and give him that he might live, how difficult it was for that mother to let go. You visit her in the hospital at the side of one who was passing and when death occurred. Usually people standard or the do you know what to say until somebody will inevitably say is gone or she's gone, and we must take our leave the whole ceremony and process of the funeral is to mark that time separation. Jesus is preparing his friends for this event in their lives, and he said in a little while.

I'm going to go and I'm going to go where you can't come. They set a new command I give you to love one another. And as I have loved you, so you must love one another in all men will know that you are my disciples, if you want love one another not. Here's one the most important discourses about love the Jesus of Nazareth ever preached an urban million sermons preached in that text. Love one another to know what Peter says. Next in the text facilities that Peter asked the Lord where you going, he missed the whole discourse on logs all the hardware Jesus said I'm leaving and Peter's mind checked out. He didn't want to hear any little sermon that about love. He just got the message Jesus was laid.

Peter said Lord where you going again. Jesus replied Peter where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later where I'm going. You cannot follow.

Do you know what those words must've done the Peter's is mine my flashback to the Galilean seashore where his whole life had been turned upside down by two were follow me and for the past three years that's all that Simon Peter did was he follow Jesus.

If Jesus went to Capernaum, Peter went to Capernaum and Jesus went to Canaan. Peter went the cane Jesus went to the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter went to the Mount of Transfiguration followed Christ literally wasn't simply a spiritual pilgrimage steamrolled in Jesus rabbinic school as a disciple. Now Jesus said where I'm going. You can follow me anymore. But Jesus put a temporal limit to that prohibition. They said you cannot follow me now, but afterwords you will follow that I want to do that in your mind because that's the previous part of the discussion. That's not mentioned once.

Chapter 14 begins and let's go back now to chapter 14 where Jesus says don't let your hearts be troubled you trust in God you believe in God believe also in me.

In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would've told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am your cheeses assign the same mechanic following but I'm going to my father's house and I'm going there to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you can be also. And there's going to come a moment when I'm going to bring you to that place where I of the thing that gives me the most comfort about these words of Jesus. Is this in the middle of this promise, for he said I'm going to prepare a place for you to gives a parenthetical statement. The comforts myself.

He said if it were not so I would've told you know you come to a place like MD Anderson that concentrates on human suffering and pain on disease terminal illness on death in one of the biggest problems that the physicians and the staff of this place have to deal with is the problem. As we are creatures who want to hope in times hoping against hope, which can be a very healthy thing at times, but there comes that moment in some people's pilgrimage for the hope Lanza and then they are vulnerable to the charlatans into the exploiters who will offer them some kind of that really has no substance to the thing that is so sober about what Jesus says to his disciples is busy Sedlock. I'm at the church. I'm committed for the troops my whole vocation my whole mission is to bear witness to the truth. I am a rabbi of Israel. I understand the sanctity of truth and I say to you that there's nothing that I teach you except what I have learned from my father. And if this were not so, I would. I would not allow you to indulge in superstitious. I like the fact that Jesus didn't say if it was not so I would've told you he said were not so, that's condition, contrary to fact even in the Greek language the conditional statement that he uses indicates a condition contrary to fact, if it were not so I would've told you I would've corrected your air. I wouldn't allowed you to titillate yourself and build up false hopes and false expectations only to be embarrassed and ashamed and profoundly disappointed at some later time. But what Jesus is saying here, ladies and gentlemen, is this it is. I know where I'm going and I'm going there to prepare a place for you, and you can't follow me there right now. You still have some time to live out you still have a vocation of will bill you may still have to fill up the suffering that is lacking in the mission that I have been given to but there is a moment when you will join in my father's therefore let not your heart. What great comfort. God knows about our suffering and we can be confident that he is sovereign over all of the challenges we face in life this week were featuring Dr. RC Sproul series surprised by suffering to help us see God's purposes in our common experiences of pain. We like to send you the full series.

There are six messages on an MP3 CD and you can request it with your donation of any amount to look at your ministries you can give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us at 800-435-4343 in the series. RC assures us that God allows us, and he is promised to be with us and comfort us during every trial. If you or someone you love is in the midst of one of those trials right now. Let me recommend this series to you our number again is 800-435-4343 in our web address is Renewing Your Mind.org the question what happens to us after we die is a source of fear.

For many, but there is a clear answer to that question that is full of hope, I hope you'll join us tomorrow for renewing my weaker doctors bills message.

The resurrection of Christ