The Resurrection and the Life

I told you last week a little bit about my grandmother and her legacy of faith.

On Wednesday, it was a privilege of mine to preside over the graveside portion of her funeral service.

And as is my routine in situations like this, as many of you have witnessed me do in the past,

I like to read from this particular passage in John 11

and challenge those who are gathered in that moment to focus briefly on what comes after death.

Burials in particular, they have a way of forcing us to consider our own mortality.

We stood in West Virginia, in Logan County, West Virginia, on Wednesday in the middle of a graveyard

and we looked around, thousands and thousands of graves all around us on this hillside in the mountains.

And you can't stand there in that moment with a hole in the ground in front of you about to bury someone

and not be confronted with the fact that your day is coming.

It may have been my grandmother in that box that was buried this week,

but each of us are going to have our turn.

And we stand there, we look around and we see how death reigns in this life

and we can't help but ask certain questions.

Is this really all there is?

Is this it?

We live, we do the best we can, we try to leave a better world than what we came into,

which never actually happens, but we try.

And then we just die and that's it?

Is this really all that there is?

Is there any part of us that lives on?

And if there is, what is the nature of that existence?

That's what moments like that force us to think about and to ask.

How does any of this affect the way that we should live now?

Is another question that we might ask.

These are all important questions.

I actually believe that the Bible gives us answers to those questions

that are not only intellectually credible,

but are actually existentially satisfying, joyful, and hopeful.

Unfortunately, it often takes the passing of someone that we love or know

for us to think about death and what may come after it.

Even as Christians, we have resurrection and life at the very heart of our belief system,

of our entire worldview, of all that we believe.

At the very heart of it is resurrection and life,

and yet we don't often talk about the hope of resurrection,

at least not as often as you might think we would.

Perhaps even the extent of your thoughts of resurrection and life

are limited to moments like that.

Maybe funerals, maybe the annual Easter service.

But beyond that, we do our best to put it out of our minds, don't we?

I want to challenge you to not do that now.

That just for a few minutes this morning,

that you would consider these things with me.

There are promises in this text that Jesus makes

that can bring unimaginable hope to those who are trying to sort this out,

that are trying to sort out what death is like

and if anything actually comes after.

There's also fresh encouragement here for believers

who are moving ever closer to that day.

There's joy to those who are burdened by life,

suffering in a fallen world in which we live.

So this text, it gives us hope,

it gives us encouragement,

it gives us joy.

And my prayer is that as we work through it together,

that the Spirit of God would bring an abundant supply

of all three of those things, okay?

So that's why we're doing this this morning.

First thing I want you to see is a tragic circumstance.

A tragic circumstance.

Look with me again at verse 17.

Now when Jesus came,

he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

Bethany was near Jerusalem about two miles off

and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary

to console them concerning their brother.

Have you ever heard of auto-resuscitation?

Those of you who are in the medical community

certainly know if you like to watch murder mysteries,

you probably know about this as well.

Auto-resuscitation is a medical term

that refers to a patient who within a few minutes

after being declared dead due to cardiac arrest,

suddenly shows signs of life.

It's a rare phenomenon.

It doesn't happen very often,

but when it does happen, it's unique.

And it would cause you to think

that though this person was dead,

now they have suddenly been brought back to life.

When in reality, they were never truly dead.

They're on the line of death,

but their reviving is not really the result of a death.

But it's just that they haven't died all the way.

And unfortunately, when this happens,

even this auto-resuscitation,

typically the patients that experience this

don't live beyond that moment for very long.

There's another name that this phenomenon is referred to.

It's called the Lazarus effect.

And it's called that based on the story

that we read in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

But what happens to these patients

who experience this phenomenon

and what happened to Lazarus in John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

are not at all the same.

What we find in John 11

is that by the time Jesus arrived in Bethany

where Lazarus and his sisters lived,

Lazarus had been dead and entombed for four days.

We're not talking about a few minutes after CPR has ended

and now suddenly there's signs of life.

We're talking about dead, wrapped, buried for four days.

His was not a pseudo death.

It was an actual death.

In fact, Jesus is, if you read earlier in the passage,

you'll find that Jesus' delay in coming to Bethany,

even after he knew that Lazarus was sick,

was for this very purpose.

It was to emphasize the fact

that Lazarus was actually dead,

which is further confirmed by the fact

that many of the Jews who had traveled from Jerusalem

to comfort Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary.

So you can imagine with me

exactly the way that this works now with our own families.

The Jews, they didn't embalm their dead,

which would be the reason for a very quick burial

or an entombment of Lazarus' body.

But for days following that, friends, family, loved ones,

sometimes maybe even professional mourners,

they make their way to Martha and Mary

and they grieve with them over the death of their brother,

just like you've experienced before.

For days, sometimes weeks,

we experience this process of grief.

Well, that's exactly what they're going through.

And when Jesus arrived,

he found his dear friends, many others,

mourning as every other family does.

They lose a loved one.

That's why we say this was a tragic circumstance,

a grieving circumstance.

The truth is that death is always a tragedy, always.

It's always a tragedy that must be mourned

by those who understand why it happens.

It doesn't matter what the circumstances are

surrounding a person's death.

It's not the circumstances themselves

that dictate the level of tragedy that exists in death.

It is the death itself that is tragic.

Even when it's expected or even painless,

it's still tragic.

And the reason for that is that death

is an aberration of God's good design in creation.

We think of death as a natural part of life.

But according to the scripture,

death is the most unnatural part of life.

And to understand that,

we go all the way back to the beginning.

Adam and Eve were created to live.

They were created to not only live a quantity of life,

they were created to live a quality of life.

They were to enjoy intimate fellowship

with their creator.

They were to bear his image.

They were to rule over his creation.

They were created for life.

But God made it clear to them

that disobedience would result in death.

We find it in Genesis chapter two.

The Lord God took the man

and put him in the garden of Eden

to work it and keep it.

And the Lord God commanded the man saying,

you may surely eat of every tree in the garden,

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

you shall not eat.

For in the day that you eat of it,

you shall surely die.

We're introduced to death through disobedience.

It wasn't that the tree in the midst of the garden

had a poisonous fruit.

That is not what it was.

Everything that God created was good.

Very good, he says at the end of creation.

It's not that there was a defect in the creation.

It was a problem simply because God said,

don't eat of this one.

Because when you eat of this one,

you will be in disobedience to me.

And if you disobey,

that is the moment that you will be introduced to death.

That's our introduction to death.

They weren't created for that.

It came as a result of their sin.

And as a result of Adam and Eve's sin,

the Bible tells us that the good world

that God created was plunged into fallenness,

a state in which death instead of life now reigns.

Think about it.

There's wonderful beauty in creation,

but even the cycles of the seasons

are representative of the fact that death reigns.

And it is only of God's grace

that life continues to be reproduced

even through the death

that will come in a few moments

through the fall season and into winter.

God graciously brings life again.

But isn't that just a reminder?

Death reigns here.

Things die.

People die.

And there's nothing we can do to stop it.

Death exists because of sin.

And we all die because we're all sinners.

There's two aspects of this that the Bible talks about.

Two aspects of the reason that sin brings death.

First, death continues in this life and in this world

because of Adam's original sin.

All of humanity is guilty in Adam

so that by our very nature,

we rebel against God.

It's not just our behavior

that needs to be redeemed or modified.

It is our very nature

that has to be redeemed by God for life.

This is what the book of Romans tells us.

Romans chapter five.

Sin came into the world through one man

and death through sin.

So death has spread to all men because all sin.

It goes on to say,

because of one man's trespass,

that being Adam,

death reigned through that one man.

Again, he says,

one trespass led to condemnation for all men.

And again,

by the one man's disobedience,

the many were made sinners.

So there's this one dynamic

where the Bible talks about sin and death,

death continuing to reign

because of Adam's original sin.

But that's not the only way that it talks about it.

Second, death continues because sin continues.

Though we're all guilty in Adam,

each of us bears his or own personal guilt.

Because we are sinners in Adam,

we all continue in sin of our own volition,

of our own choice.

Romans three.

All have sinned.

Every person.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Do you see this?

Death reigns because of Adam.

Death also reigns because of you.

Because of me.

Sin always brings it.

Death is a tragedy because,

that must be mourned

because it is the result of our sin against God.

It's not just a biological process.

It's the ultimate consequence of our sinfulness.

It's also our greatest enemy.

None of us can overcome it.

No matter how clean we eat,

no matter how often we exercise,

no matter how morally we live,

we cannot defeat death.

It's inevitable.

And it's inevitable

because it is God's judgment

against sinful creatures.

So as Jesus comes to Bethany,

as he sees Mary and Martha

and those of the Jews from Jerusalem

who are mourning the loss of Lazarus,

their friend and their brother,

the mourning on one hand

comes from the fact that they lost someone

that they love,

but there is a deeper kind of mourning

that acknowledges that death reigns

and we can't defeat it.

So Jesus comes upon this tragic circumstance

in Bethany,

but it was for this very tragedy

that he came into the world to begin with,

which brings us to our next point.

We see a tragic circumstance,

but then second,

we see a hopeful exchange,

a hopeful exchange.

Look at verse 20.

20.

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming,

she went and met him,

but Mary remained seated in the house.

Martha said to Jesus,

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died,

but even now I know

that whatever you ask from God,

God will give you.

Jesus said to her,

your brother will rise again.

And Martha said,

I know that he will rise again

in the resurrection on the last day.

This is a hopeful exchange, isn't it?

Lazarus and Martha and Mary,

they were dear friends of the Lord Jesus.

Martha wastes no time getting to Jesus

when she finds that he is nearby.

And what is evident in her exchange with Jesus

is that she was full of faith.

And as a result of her faith,

she was given tremendous hope.

She found amazing hope

in Jesus Christ.

Look just a little closer

at what she said in verse 21.

Martha said to Jesus,

Lord, if you'd been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know

that whatever you ask from God,

God will give you.

You know, living in a text-dominant society

has its pros and its cons.

And one of the cons is

it is so hard sometimes

to discern tone

and mood

and intention

when somebody sends you a text message

or an email

or a letter, right?

Sometimes you may be able

to make certain assumptions

that are generally accurate,

but how many of you

have ever gotten yourself in a mess

because you made certain assumptions

about somebody's motives

or tones in a text message

that weren't true,

but it's just hard to figure that out.

I think that's what has happened

in some places

with this particular text.

We read on the page

what Martha says.

We're not told a lot about her tone

or the motive behind it.

And I think what that has produced

in some places

is some assumptions

that are unhelpful.

Some suppose that

Martha was rebuking the Lord here,

that she believed Jesus

should have been there

to prevent Lazarus' death.

And by not being there,

that there was an injustice in Jesus,

that there was a problem

with his care

and his friendship to them,

and that as she runs to Jesus

when he's nearby,

they take this statement

by Martha as a complaint,

as a rebuke.

Lord, if you had been here,

this would not have happened to me.

We read it with that kind of tone.

I'm not persuaded

that that's actually

what Martha intends

to communicate here.

I don't think that's

what she was doing at all.

I don't think she was

rebuking the Lord.

I think she was finding comfort

in the Lord in this moment.

I think she was expressing her faith

in what Christ would have done

had he been in Bethany

at the time of Lazarus' death.

No doubt she had seen Jesus heal

miraculously many, many times before.

She knew who he was.

She knew what he was capable of.

And I think in this moment

as she runs to him for comfort,

she acknowledges in this moment

that Jesus, I know that if you'd been here,

he wouldn't be dead.

You would have healed him

because you're the Christ.

You're the son of God.

You have the power over sickness.

I know you would have done this.

I think that's probably

what she's saying here.

And I think that's further indicated

in her second statement.

But even though you weren't here then,

you're here now,

and I know that since you're here now,

you're gonna pray

and God's gonna do something good here.

He's gonna bring something good about this

because that's what you do, Jesus.

You bring good things.

This is a sign of faith.

This is comfort.

This is hope.

Though she was hurting,

she knew that Jesus would bring something good

through her trial.

I don't think she had any idea

of what he would do.

I don't think she has resurrection in mind here.

I think that's pretty clear.

But she did believe that he would do something.

And how Jesus responded to her

was so unbelievable

that she completely missed it.

Look at verse 23,

what Jesus says.

Jesus said to her,

your brother will rise again.

And notice how she responds.

She misses it.

Notice how she responds.

By the way,

we probably would have missed it too.

She said,

yeah, Lord,

I know there's a great resurrection

coming on the last day

and he's gonna be raised then.

That's not what Jesus has in mind.

Jesus knew what he was there to do.

He was there to bring Lazarus back to life

in that moment,

in front of those people.

And in this exchange,

as Martha trustingly confessed her hope in Christ,

Jesus gave her a hope that she had not even,

up to that point,

imagined.

A physical resurrection

was not anywhere on Martha's radar here.

But that's what Jesus promised.

It's amazing, isn't it?

Jesus always brings hope to our distress.

And the hope that he brings

is often greater than what we ever expect

or anticipate or imagine

so that when that offer is pronounced,

often we miss it.

What comfort this would have been to Martha

if she had realized in that moment

what Jesus was actually saying.

No, you will be reunited with Lazarus today.

It's amazing, isn't it?

It's hopeful.

In the context of giving us hope

in the face of death,

the fact is that many people just believe

that Jesus' offer is just too good to be true.

We often think that skeptics of Christianity

and of our faith

always have a whole list of reasons

as to why they don't believe.

And honestly, that's just not always the case.

It's not often the case

as much as we might think.

I'm convinced that there are many people

who just have a hard time believing

that something so good could be true.

Why?

We're immersed in a world where death reigns,

where suffering rules,

where life is hard,

where good news is scarce.

And to come across this kind of news,

this kind of hopefulness,

is hard to believe.

Jesus always comes through on his promises, doesn't he?

With him alone, there actually is real hope for you.

There's real hope,

lasting hope for life.

But let's think for just a moment

about how Martha responded to Jesus' promise.

Again, she missed what he meant to say.

She would understand it soon enough.

But she did acknowledge a theological truth

that I think is good for us to remember.

Immediate resurrection was not on her mind,

but she did believe that there would be a future resurrection

in which the souls of believers

that have gone on to be with the Lord

will be reunited with a body

and will be transformed to a glorified body.

This was rabbinic teaching.

This was common beliefs among the Jews at the time.

But it was also what Jesus taught.

Think about this from John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus says,

Now let's pause for just a second.

Jesus is speaking of life and resurrection and death here

in a spiritual sense.

In verse 25, when he says,

An hour is coming and is now here

when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God

and will live.

He's speaking about spiritual death,

that in our sins, as Ephesians 1 says,

that we are dead in our trespasses and sin.

We're in bondage to sin.

We're not dying.

We're dead.

Jesus is alluding to that here in this passage

and he says that it's even here now

that as he preaches his gospel,

he is bringing dead people to life,

spiritually speaking.

But then he goes on in the passage

and he moves on to a different kind of resurrection.

He continues,

And he has given him authority to execute judgment

because he's the Son of Man.

Do not marvel at this.

For an hour is coming.

Notice he doesn't say at this point and is now here

because he's speaking of something different now.

He says that an hour is coming

when all who are in the tombs

will hear his voice and come out.

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life,

those who have done evil

to the resurrection of judgment.

This was Jesus' teaching too.

This is what Martha is referring to.

The Bible teaches that one day,

all of us,

believers and non-believers alike,

will be raised from the dead.

Our souls will be reunited with a body

and we will stand before God in judgment.

Those who do not repent and trust Christ

will be cast into eternal hell.

You can read about that

in Revelation chapter 20 verses 13 through 15.

Revelation 20:13–15

But those whom Jesus has saved will be transformed,

given a body that will never die again,

and they will forever be with the Lord.

You can read about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

But think about it as a promise from Jesus in John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

And this is the will of him who sent me,

that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me,

but I will raise them up on the last day.

Now I told you at the beginning,

this passage, it contains hope

for those who are trying to sort out the reality of death

and the possibility of life thereafter.

But it also brings encouragement and joy

to those of us who have already received Christ

as Lord and Savior.

Think about what this means.

Jesus promises with an amazing hope in John chapter 6

John 6 · chapter mention

that he will not lose any of us,

that no amount of sin in your life,

no amount of fallenness in you

will ever cause Jesus to say,

you know what, I think I'm gonna lose that one

because they just haven't met the mark

the way that I want them to meet the mark.

That will never happen.

He will never accidentally leave you behind.

He says, all that the Father has given me,

I won't lose any of them,

but I will, on the last day,

raise them up to an embodied eternity with me.

This is an amazing hope that we cling to

when we acknowledge that death reigns around us.

The Christian worldview looks through the pages

of the scripture and says,

oh, but Jesus has paid the price for my death

and he will raise me up

and he will not leave me behind.

What a glorious hope that is.

For it not to be true

would mean that either Jesus is incapable of doing it,

which we know is not true,

because he himself conquered death

and his own resurrection.

So we know he's capable.

He has power over death.

Or it means that he is unwilling.

But he's the one who came to us.

He's the one who promises

not to leave one believer behind

that belongs to him.

Scripture proves that both of those statements

are untrue.

Jesus is capable.

And he is willing.

And we cling to that in hope, don't we?

It's a hopeful exchange.

A wonderful hope that Martha believed

was true for her brother,

but Jesus had an even greater promise

for her to hear,

which brings us to the final point of the sermon.

A glorious promise.

We've seen a tragic circumstance,

a hopeful exchange,

now a glorious promise.

Verse 25.

Jesus responds to her.

He says,

Martha,

I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet he shall live.

There is life beyond this.

And everyone who lives and believes in me

shall never die.

Do you believe this?

And she said,

yes, Lord.

I believe that you're the Christ,

the Son of God,

who is coming into the world.

Jesus responded that he would not merely

bring about a resurrection,

but that he himself

is resurrection and life.

He is God,

the creator.

His very essence

is resurrection and life.

And any hope of experiencing

either one of those things

can be found only

in him.

The ESV study Bible

has a really helpful note here.

It says,

resurrection from the dead

and genuine eternal life

and fellowship with God

are so closely tied to Jesus

that they are embodied in him

and can be found

only in relationship

to him.

Now,

the primary issue

that we're considering this morning

concerns whether

death is the ultimate end

or if there is something else

that follows.

It's the primary idea

that we're considering

from the beginning.

Is there any real hope

of life after death?

And Jesus answers that here

with a resounding yes.

Yes, there is.

And I want you to think carefully

about the promise that he makes.

Verse 25.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never die.

So after declaring

that he is,

in his very essence,

the power of resurrection

and life,

that he is the giver of it,

that he has power over it,

he promises that

all who believe in him,

even though they will face death

in this life,

will receive the life

that he offers.

Glorious promise.

Is there life after death?

Yes.

How can you receive it?

Jesus says,

by trusting me for it.

But still,

we need to clarify

what this belief is

and what it isn't.

The faith that Jesus speaks of here,

it's not merely

an intellectual acknowledgement

of a set of facts about him.

That's not what he means by belief.

The best word

in our modern English

to use to understand

this kind of belief

is trust.

Trust.

The one who believes in Christ

trusts

that God will accept him,

not based on personal righteousness,

not based on our own goodness,

not based on our own morality,

or of our goodness

outweighing our badness,

or of us crossing

the grading curve

so that those who are

more wicked than us

maybe will suffer,

but since we kind of

passed the mark,

we will be accepted.

Trusting Christ

is to acknowledge

that God will not accept me

because of anything

that may be good in me.

That God accepts me,

justifies me,

based on Christ's

perfect righteousness.

That on the cross,

he takes my sin

in order that by faith,

he may impute his righteousness

into me and onto me.

That we are not justified

by our works,

we are justified by his works

through faith.

Trusting Jesus is to face death.

Trusting entirely

that Jesus has power over life

and that he will indeed

grant you that life

if you have come to him

in repentance and faith.

It is to trust Christ enough

that you turn away from sin

to obedience

and that you abandon

all other influences,

religious or secular,

in order to cling to him alone

by faith.

That's the belief

that he means to indicate here.

It's not just saying,

yes, he lived,

he died,

he rose,

he did the things.

It's not just to acknowledge

a set of facts about him.

It's about trusting him wholly

for this life

and resurrection.

And he promises

that whoever will do that,

whoever trusts him

for eternal life

will receive it.

Will receive it.

But how can we be so sure?

How can we be so sure

as to trust him?

We don't trust the promise

because Jesus raised Lazarus

from the dead.

That's an amazing miracle.

If you just keep reading,

maybe this afternoon

through John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

you'll see exactly how that happened

and how it unfolded.

It's amazing.

It's an amazing miracle.

We don't trust this promise

because he raised Lazarus

from the dead.

That's not why.

We trust this promise

because Jesus himself

rose from the dead.

That's the proof of it.

That's the power

of it.

The miracle with Lazarus

was amazing.

But it was a means

to a more excellent end.

Jesus raising Lazarus

was a foretaste

of his own resurrection

and of our future resurrection

through him.

Our hope is not

in what he did

for somebody else,

but it's in the fact

that he proved himself

to be the resurrection

and the life

when he rose from the dead

three days after his crucifixion.

His resurrection

makes all the difference.

How can we trust

that he actually

has power over death?

Because death

could not hold him.

It's Peter's answer

in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

It had no claim on him.

Why did it have

no claim on him

when it has a claim

on everybody else?

Because he's the sinless

son of God.

He was not in Adam

as we are in Adam.

That's the significance

of our Christmas celebration.

That in the incarnation,

he is the son of God.

God, a miracle

by the Holy Spirit,

his incarnation

coming into the Virgin Mary.

He is not in Adam

as we are in Adam

and yet he is fully human.

He's sinless.

Death has no claim on him.

So he's not bound by it.

We are bound by it.

Which means if we're dead

in our sins,

we need something

that is alive

or better someone

who is alive

to raise us.

And there's only one

who fits the bill.

And it's not Lazarus.

It's Jesus.

As the song says,

because he lives,

I can face tomorrow.

Because he lives,

all fear is gone.

Because I know

he holds the future

and life's worth the living.

Because I know

that he lives.

But let me show you

from the scripture

how our resurrection

is guaranteed by his.

Paul tells us plainly

in 1 Corinthians 15

and verse 20.

But in fact,

Christ has been raised

from the dead.

The first fruits of those

who have fallen asleep.

For as by one man

came death,

that's Adam,

by a man

has come also

the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam

all die,

so also in Christ

shall all be made alive.

but each in his own order.

Christ the first fruits,

then at his coming

those who belong to Christ,

then comes the end

when he delivers

the kingdom

to God the Father

after destroying

every rule

and every authority

and power.

For he must reign

until he has put

all his enemies

under his feet.

And the last enemy

to be destroyed,

he says,

is death.

And then later

in the chapter

he says,

death is swallowed up

in victory.

Death,

where is your victory?

Death,

where is your sting?

The sting of death

is sin.

The power of sin

is the law.

But thanks be to God,

Paul writes,

who gives us the victory

through

our Lord Jesus Christ.

And on what basis

does he provide

that victory?

His own resurrection

from the dead.

But notice,

finally,

Jesus' last statement

to Martha.

In verse 26

of John 11,

after he makes

this promise,

notice what he says.

Do you believe this?

Do you believe this?

The faith that brings

salvation

and resurrection

and eternal life

is personal faith.

Personal faith.

That doesn't mean

that we all get

to believe

what we want

to believe

based on our own preferences.

That's not what

that means.

It means that we all

must place

personal,

individual trust

in Jesus'

death and resurrection

to receive

the salvation

that he offers.

You must

do that

or you will not

be saved.

no one

is saved

on account

of someone

else's faith.

No one

is redeemed

because they

were in close

proximity

to a community

of believers.

So that salvation

does not come

through our

membership in a church.

It doesn't come

through our

goodness.

It doesn't come

through belonging

to a heritage

of a family

of Christians.

None of that

does anything

for you

except keeps

the gospel

in front of you

perhaps.

But you're not

saved by it.

Each person

must personally

repent of their

sins

and confess

their faith

in Jesus

as Lord

and Savior.

You must

do that

if you are

to be saved.

If you are

to have this

life.

You must

come to him

for it.

It's a glorious

promise that Jesus

makes in the text

but it must

be actively

and personally

received by faith.

And let me

just show you

how to do that

in case you're

wondering.

Flip over

just quickly

in your Bible

to Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

It'll be

just a few

pages over

from where you

are in John 11.

Look at

Romans chapter 10

Romans 10 · chapter mention

and verse 9.

The scripture

says if you

confess

with your

mouth

that Jesus

is Lord

and believe

in your heart

that God

raised him

from the dead

you will

be saved.

For with

the heart

one believes

and is

justified

justified

by faith

not works

declared

righteous

because we

believe

genuinely

in the heart

and with

the mouth

one confesses

Christ

and is

saved.

For the

scripture says

everyone who

believes in him

will not be

put to shame.

That's a

view ahead

to a future

judgment.

You will not

be ashamed

in the judgment

if you believe

Christ.

For there's

no distinction

verse 12

between Jew

and Greek

for the same

Lord is Lord

of all

bestowing his

riches on all

who call on him.

In other words

you don't get

there a different

way based on

your culture

or your

background.

That just

because you

belong to a

different demographic

or a different

culture of a

different upbringing

that you can

get to God

a different way.

No he says

no it doesn't

matter if you're

Jew or Greek

or whatever.

He says

there's one

Lord.

It's all

through Christ

and then he

closes it off

in verse 13

and he says

for everyone

who calls

on the name

of the Lord

will be saved.

How can I

actually trust

Christ?

Believe in

your heart.

Repent of

your sin.

Confess him

as Lord

and Savior

and the

promise is

that if you

do that

you will

show that

he has

saved you.

He's redeemed

you and he's

transformed you.

It's a work

of his grace

made evident

in your

real and

personal

faith.

Let's bring

it to a

close.

Death is a

reality that

none of us

can escape.

We've got

that.

But there

is real

hope in

Jesus

Christ.

As we

say often

he lived

the life

that we

were meant

to live

and died

the death

that we

deserve to

die.

And he

did it

out of

love for

sinners

like you

and me.

He's the

resurrection

and the

life.

He's a

sure hope

for those

of you who

remain lost

in your

sin that

you're trying

to sort

all of this

out.

He is your

only hope.

hope.

And it's

a blessed

hope.

But it's

also an

incredible

joy and

encouragement

for those

of you who

have been

saved.

Maybe you're

burdened by

death or

suffering or

whatever's

around you.

Paul says

to the

Thessalonians

that we are

to take

these truths

of resurrection

and we are

to encourage

one another

with such

things.

Take courage

in this

and enjoy

whoever

trusts in

him though

he die

yet shall

he live.

Do you

believe this?

Will you

believe this?

He invites

you to

and he will

forgive you

and give you

that life

today.

take