Proverbs 12:28, The Great Divide!
June 23, Proverbs 12:28
John 11:24-26; 1 Cor. 15:51-58 “We have a building of God; eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1).
The Great Divide!
At the funeral of David Livingstone, a man who appeared to be a derelict of humanity was seen to be weeping bitterly. When someone asked if he was a near relative of the great missionary. “No,” he replied, “but we were in the same class at school and worked at the same loom in the mill in Blantyre. Only I took the wrong road, and have become a useless drunkard.”
3. The Separation Way is the Triumph Way. It is the way of no death (v.28b). It is the Way of immortality, of life here and hereafter. There is no decay (2 Cor. 4:17-18), no waning of hopes (Rom. 5:5; Tit. 2:13), no loss of true friendships (Jn. 15:14), no more curse (Rev. 22:3). Life and immortality are both realised through the Gospel (2 Tm. 1:10; 1 Th. 4:14). O death where is thy sting? “Sheathed in the body of Jesus” (Bridges). Well might old Trapp say, “This is the boldest and bravest challenge that man ever rang in the ears of death. Death is here out braved, called craven to its face, and bidden do his worst. The battle has been fought and the victory gained by the crucified One.”
a. The Sinner’s Gloomy Ruin: Job, at the dawn of time, asked this puzzling question, Man dies and wastes away: yea, man gives up the ghost, and where is he (14:10)? Man is a dying creature. Before death, he dies daily. In death, the soul returns to God who gave it, but after death, Where is he? He is not where he was, but is he nowhere? Yes, he is somewhere! Then Job asks, If a man die, shall he live again? His final word is a resounding affirmation, I know that my redeemer lives; I shall see God (19:25-27). Men of every race have raised this question ever since? How contradictory are their answers! The Agnostic answers, “I don’t know, and neither does anyone else.” The Evolutionist answers, “He goes to dust and ashes.” The Spiritualist answers, “His spirit exists in a world of spirits.” Eastern Religions answer, “His soul goes to be reincarnated in another form.” Jesus declared the sinner’s separation: Depart from me into everlasting fire.
b. The Saint’s Glory Reign: Paul said, To die is gain. The Christian affirms, Absent from the body, present with the Lord. The Christian’s assurance is based on the revelation of the God of the Bible. It is confirmed by the distinctiveness of man. God breathed into man the breath of life, a life that can never die. It is secured in the Person and Work of Christ. In the very presence of death, He triumphantly declared, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. To the dying thief, who in faith cried, Lord, remember me! Jesus responded, Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise. That thief saw in Christ the Lord of life and death! By his death, Christ destroyed death, and delivered all believers from the fear of death, to be with Him forever (Heb. 2:14-15).
Thought: Here indeed, is the great divide; on which side of that divide are you?
Prayer: “Show me Thy way, O Lord. Lead me in a plain (upright) path.”