Mortality and Immortality.
HOW does the apostle Paul speak of the dead? "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." 1 Thess. 4:13. He represents the dead as in a condition of unconscious sleep. 2. With what words does the apostle proceed to dispel the ignorance concerning those asleep in death? "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." 1 Thess. 4:14. The believer in Christ is so fully connected with the Master that sin can not hold him in this sleep of death. Just as Jesus was brought from the tomb by the power of His Father—even so will all who sleep in Jesus be brought forth to immortality. 3. Do the righteous dead—those who fall asleep in Christ—go to heaven as soon as they die? "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen asleep." 1 Thess. 4:15. Those living on the earth when the Lord comes the second time will not precede, or go to heaven in advance of, those who have fallen asleep. This is the plain statement of the text. And since there is this possibility clear down at the end of time for the good among the last generation of men to go to heaven before those who have died, it is plain that the dead are not yet passed to their reward. 4. In what manner will both the living and the dead go to their eternal home? "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 5. Is there any remembrance in death? "In death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. 6. Do the dead praise the Lord? "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Ps. 115:17. The dead go down into "silence;" they do not go to an abode of bliss, where they are praising the Lord, neither do they go to a place of torture, where they are cursing Him. They are "asleep;" they are "silent." 7. In praising the Lord for sparing his life, what did Hezekiah say of his soul? "Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. For the grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit can not hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day." Isa. 38:17-19. Then, Hezekiah's soul was in danger of corruption in the "pit" or grave. Observe the text closely, for it declares it plainly. 8. Are you ready to ask, "Do you believe that all our dead friends are lying in the cold and gloomy grave?" The grave may seem cold and gloomy to us who are alive and conscious, but to those who are both dead and unconscious, it is a peaceful sleeping room. Sentimental questionings may keep you from seeing truth, but the fact that you do not see it does not change the truth one whit. 1. What is the wages of sin? God gives the answer: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23. Then sinful man has only death for his portion. 2. Who only can have eternal life? "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24. Hearing Christ's word, and believing on the divine Father, causes the sinful man to pass from death to life. 3. Where is immortality or eternal life to be found? "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12. Eternal life is a free gift to all who will receive it, but the sinful man who refuses this gift shall not see life. 4. Then, since sinful man does not possess life beyond this mortal existence, can he be in possession of an immortal soul? "Which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting." 1 Tim. 6:15, 16. 5. What is the effect upon the sinful man to teach him that he has an immortal soul that lives beyond the grave, whether he repents or not? "Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life." Eze. 13:22. Then it is not only a falsehood to tell the wicked that they have any hope of life while rejecting Christ, it hardens them against turning from their wicked way. 6. It is true that the wicked man has a soul, but will it not die unless saved from the sinful condition? "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." James 5:20. Then the conversion of the sinner saves his "soul" from death. Thus do the Scriptures make it perfectly plain that in Christ and His pardon is the only way of life. O, that every sinful man may sense the enormity of the doom that hangs over him, and turn to the only Source of pardon.