Apostles' Creed Sermon - 15

Lars Janssen

Apostles' Creed Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Apostles’ Creed – The Life Everlasting

John 3:16

1. Introduction – Like all the previous statements in the Apostles’ Creed, this last line of the Creed is an important aspect of our faith.

a. This journey through the Creed has been everything that I had hoped. It has gotten a lot of you thinking about what we believe as Christians and why we believe it.

i. I’ve had a lot of conversations with you before and after services about the content of my sermons and about the Creed, I’ve seen you willing to engage in theological conversations.

1. I’ve seen areas of your faith bulked up that had previously been weak or misunderstood.

a. It has really has been a wonderful journey back in time to ancient document, in order to help our faith in the present and the future. It’s almost a shame to stop. But we are running out of lines to study, but know that we will never exhaust the content.

i. In all honesty, we’ve only really scratched the surface of each line.

1. This could be a half year, a whole year, maybe even a multiple year study as we make our way through the basic theological foundations of our faith. But we won’t, we’ll wrap up next week.

b. In a way, the life everlasting is the climax, not only of the Creed, but it is also the ultimate hope of the Christian faith.

i. This morning we are going to carefully examine this line and the concept of everlasting life. I’m probably going to use the terms life everlasting, everlasting life and eternal life interchangeably.

1. We’ll look at what this phrase means, we’ll study what everlasting life will look like, and we’ll that that life everlasting is a wonderful conclusion, not only to the Apostles’ Creed, but to life as we know.

2. Life Everlasting – But I want to start out this morning in a bit of a weird place. I want to begin this morning by answer the question “What happens when I die?”

a. Last week we were introduced to the topic of resurrection and we learned that the eternal life we spend with God will not be a weird bodiless state; we learned that we will receive new, perfected and resurrected bodies – that will most likely bear the marks and wounds of our earthly journeys.

b. But before we answer the question ‘what happens when we die’ I want to make something blatantly clear…everyone receives eternal life.

i. Now in order to answer the question, “What happens when I die?” we’re going to need to put together a few weeks’ worth of sermons.

c. For those of you who were here, remember back a couple months ago, we studied the line from the Creed that states, “He descended to hell”? We changed it to more accurately reflect the intent to ‘he descended to the dead.’

i. In that sermon, I explained what the ancients believed about death, and what the Bible actually teaches about death. If you weren’t here, it’s on the website and it’s brilliant, go listen to it!

d. What happens when I die? Well, I came up with this chart to help clear things up.

i. When we die, our soul immediately separates from our body. And, if you made a decision for Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour and if your life bore the fruit of that decision – your soul immediately goes into the presence of God in a place called paradise – heaven. Getting back to our chart, it looks like this.

1. However, if you rejected Jesus as Saviour and Lord of your life in this lifetime, your soul goes to a place called Gehenna – a place of separation from God; a place of torment.

e. But, as we learned last week – we don’t stay in a disembodied state for all of eternity. We believe in the resurrection of the body – that on the day of Jesus’ return, the dead will rise, and along with those who are still living will be caught up to meet and welcome Jesus back to earth.

i. We believe that the dead will be resurrected and receive new bodies, the Bible is clear on this.

1. Everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected on that day and everyone who has ever lived will receive eternal life.

a. The question is where will that everlasting life be lived?

f. For those who accepted Jesus in this life, whose soul enjoyed God’s presence in Paradise, they will be judged, given a new body and they will enjoy God’s presence on the new earth.

i. And for those who rejected Jesus in this lifetime, those whose souls went to Gehenna, hear me on this, they too will be resurrected, they too will receive everlasting life – but there’s no second chance for salvation.

1. There’s no such thing as a post-mortem or post life opportunity for salvation.

g. Those who reject Jesus will be rejected by Jesus, they will be raised to judgment, and then they will be thrown into a newly created place called hell – where they will spend eternity consciously aware of their rejection and separation from God.

3. Explaining it Further – So for the Creed to state, and for us to affirm that we believe in the life everlasting means 2 things.

a. First, it means that we believe those who accepted Jesus, no matter if they spent a lifetime serving him or accepted him on their deathbed… although the former is preferable.

i. Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour will be accepted by their Lord and Saviour for all eternity.

1. But, the other side of professing life everlasting is this…we also believe that the unrighteous will also receive life everlasting.

a. Only theirs will be an everlasting existence of eternal conscious torment, knowing that they have been rejected by God once and for all eternity.

b. I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll take this opportunity to say it again.

i. The return of Jesus, the resurrection of the body, heaven and hell, these are not subjects that should be debated or reimagined for our 21st century world.

1. These subjects are a call to action for Christians. This is reality. One day our resurrected and victorious Lord is going to come back to earth.

a. He will judge the living and the dead. There’s no escaping it.

c. The righteous go to be with God, the unrighteous are thrown in hell.

i. And if we truly believed this, it would greatly affect our efforts in evangelism.

1. If we truly believed our unsaved friends and family members – husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents…

a. If we truly believed that they are in danger of spending eternity, everlasting life, separated from God, then that should be our greatest motivation to share the gospel with them and see them come into the kingdom and family of God.

i. Not to guilt them into salvation, not to provide them with the fire insurance of escaping hell…

1. But our goal is to introduction them, and even the stranger on the street, to a loving, merciful and gracious Father, who is lovingly pursuing them already.

a. Our goal is to our friends, family members and strangers on the street to the God who loves them more than they will ever know – who loved them so much he sent is only begotten Son into the world to die for them.

d. Look at me…eternity is coming – everlasting life is a reality…it will happen. And it should motivate us to see as many people come into God’s kingdom while we still have time to do it.

i. Everyone receives everlasting life – it’s just a question of where that everlasting life will be spent.

4. What is Everlasting Life? – Now, I want to shift your attention to looking at what exactly life everlasting is and what it will look like to live that life in the presence of God.

a. We’ve spent a lot of time already looking at the reality of eternal punishment, but this is Easter Sunday after all, so let’s give ourselves a glimpse of the victory that Jesus has won for us. Let’s kick it up a notch and give ourselves some good news.

i. So, what will everlasting life look like? Listen to these words from Revelation 21. The words will not be on the screen, I actually don’t even want you to look verses up in your Bibles.

1. I want you to close your eyes and picture this happening. If you are a Christian, this is your future.

a. This is your belief, your hope. Listen to these words and picture this happening all around you.

b. What will the life everlasting look like? Well, it is not eternal sameness. It is not life as we know it on earth – played out for all of eternity. It is not more of the same.

i. Boredom will cease. The life everlasting isn’t this passive place, where we become angels and sit on clouds all day playing our harps. That is absolute rubbish. A farce of what life in eternity will be.

c. The life everlasting isn’t guilt-free laziness or slothfulness for all eternity.

d. What will it look like? Well, Revelation 21 says that God will dwell on earth with his people.

i. God himself will wipe every tear away. Imagine a place with no crying or mourning or pain.

1. And it’s not like we won’t have tear ducts or anything like that – but it’s because we won’t have any reason to cry.

a. The morning we experience here, the grief we have here on earth will not be present.

e. Death will be no more – no more funerals. In the life everlasting, there won’t be any breaking news about a shooting at this school or a bombing in that city.

i. No longer will we read the obituaries.

f. No more pain or crying. Those things that cause us pain, whether it is suffering we experience, watching other people suffer; whether it is physical pain, emotional pain…Listen to what Revelation 21 says – It’s gone. The former things that cause us pain and suffering – have passed away.

i. What is life everlasting like? It is a return to the perfection of the Garden of Eden.

1. All the effects of the curse of sin are removed and the greatest enemy – death itself, is fully and finally defeated.

g. And in Revelation 21:6 Gods says these amazing words – “It is done!” the project is completed – the plan has worked itself out.

i. You know the feeling of satisfaction you get from completing a project – that’s what is going on in Revelation 21.

1. God’s plan of salvation and restoration that started after the first in in Genesis 3, is finally completed.

a. God’s planned that started with a promised – continued through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; a promise that was given to David, through the kings and the prophets.

i. God’s plan reached its climax in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God’s plan includes an extended period of time where people are called back to God.

1. And it’s a plan that reaches its end in the coming back of Jesus, the resurrection of the body, a new heaven and new earth and the restoration of all things.

a. It’s a plan that ends with eternity. Eternal bliss for God’s people and eternal punishment for those who reject him.

h. But there’s one last aspect of life everlasting that I want us to look at. Look at John 17:3.

i. The context of this verse is in Jesus’ last prayer before his crucifixion. And the amazing thing about this prayer is that he is praying for you and me.

1. We don’t have time to read the whole chapter, but I would encourage to take some time later to ready. Listen to John 17:3.

i. Did you hear it? This is eternal life…what did Jesus say? To know God.

j. And here’s the last aspect of the life everlasting – it is a now, but not yet concept.

i. This verse tells us that life everlasting is something to be longed for, hoped, something we eagerly anticipated…

1. But, the life everlasting is also something that we can enjoy and experience now.

k. We’ve spent a lot of time this morning looking at the ‘not yet’ future aspect of life everlasting, but look at what Jesus said – this is eternal life, to know God.

i. And we can know God now. We don’t have to wait for eternity to know him.

1. And this word ‘know’ isn’t simply knowing about God or knowing facts or stats about him.

a. This knowledge of God is a word of intimacy. It means being in a continuing and ongoing relationship with God.

l. So, this is the present aspect of eternal life – it is being in a relationship with God. That way, the life everlasting we look forward to in the future is the furthering and realization of the relationship we had with God on earth.

5. No Distractions – Often we get distracted by thinking about the timing of everlasting life. Forever, that’s a long time.

a. But the biblical concept of everlasting life isn’t really concerned with chronology. Yes, there is a timing aspect to it, but ultimately eternal life isn’t a way to delineate time.

i. Life everlasting speaks about the quality of living, the quality of our relationship with God. Life everlasting is about deepening our experience of and our relationship with God – free of the distractions we experienced in this lifetime.

b. We will spend our days in ever increasing Jesus-like-ness, an ever-increasing knowledge and joy of God, that will drive us to join the ongoing praise and worship that is already taking place.

c. But there’s a catch. Yes, this everlasting life will be lived in God’s presence, and yes, it is available to all.

i. But as John 17:3 says, we have to know God first.

1. And as John 14:6 says, the only way to know God is through Jesus – the way, the truth and the life.

a. And as John 3:16 says, in order to be saved by God, we have to believe in his only begotten Son, Jesus. We have to believe that his sacrifice paid the price for our sins so that we can be put into a right relationship with God.

d. Everlasting life really is the culmination of the Creed and the ultimate hope of the Christian life.

i. We look forward to Jesus’ return, to our new resurrected bodies.

1. We look forward to finally seeing God face to face, and we long, not for more of the same – not for eternal sameness.

a. But we long for an everlasting quality of life, free from distractions where we fully experience the love, grace and mercy of God our Father and we see Jesus as he really is.

ii. We look forward to life free of crying, pain, suffering. We look forward to the death of death.

1. We look forward to life to the fullest.

a. We can start enjoy life everlasting in this lifetime, but we look forward to eternity where life will be lived without an end in sight.

6. Conclusion – Next week, we are going to put the finishing touches on this series on the Apostles’ Creed.

a. We’ll review a lot of what we’ve looked at, we’ll wrap up how this ancient document can help us with our Christian faith in the present.

i. And we’ll see that the last word isn’t just a throw away word, it’s not a word to be mindlessly repeated or thrown out, even though its short, even though its familiar, next week we’ll see that the word “Amen” is the perfect way to end this Creed.

1. That’s next week.