Daily Devotional For Wednesday, June 12, 2024

It’s Wednesday — “hump day” as some call it. You are almost half way through this week. We are looking at questions that are asked in the Bible — some by people and some by God Himself. Yesterday, we looked at a question in the Book of Job and today we look at a second question asked in the Book of Job. Job asks this question in Job 14:14a, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (ESV). All through history people have asked and wondered if there is life after death. Is this all there is? When we die, do we cease to exist forever? Most religions advocate some kind of after life after death or reincarnation. 

Yes, there is life after physical death. The question is not, “Will we exist after we physically die?,” but, “Where will we exist after we physically die?” The Bible gives only two places: heaven or hell. There are some religious and some who have the opinion that all roads or paths lead to God. I say “yes and no” to that. No in terms of salvation and heaven, and yes in terms of judgment. Every single person will one day stand before God after we die. Look at Hebrews 9:27, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (ESV). Meaning no matter what path anyone takes, he or she will meet God after death.

We can choose to ignore God in this life but there is coming a day when we will not be able nor allowed to ignore God. This is the point of Daniel 12:2, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (ESV). Death is a mystery to some and a transition to others. Death is feared by some and embraced by others. To say, “Well, I hope the big Man upstairs weighs out by good verses my bad and sees overall I am a good person,” is not enough according to Scripture. 

First of all, God is not a man. He is nothing like us. The statement itself is blasphemous because it does not even acknowledge who God is. Second, our eternity is not based on the merits of our good being more numerous than our bad. It’s based on Christ’s goodness, His perfection that was necessary for our redemption. In Acts 4, Peter and the disciples are questioned by the legalistic religious leaders for healing a cripple man and for preaching about the Resurrection, Peter’s response can be found in Acts. 4:8-12:

“Rulers of the people and elders, (9) if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, (10) let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. (11) This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. (12) And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (ESV).

To answer Job’s question, yes a man will live after he dies. The question will not be what you know or what you did, but Who you know. Salvation is based on having a personal relationship to Jesus Christ. And the “Who” is more than just acknowledging who Jesus is. Even the demons do that. Hopefully you don’t necessarily feel like some of these quotes:

• Woody Allan, “I am not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens.”
• Edna Feber, “It's terrible to realize that you don't learn how to live until you're ready to die; and, then it's too late.”
• Orson Wells, “We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.”

I believe we cannot live life to the fullest as God intends until our self has died completely. We can’t become the new creation God wants us to be until the old creation as died. Here are some Bible verses to consider concerning this as well:

• Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (ESV).
• Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (ESV).
• John 12:24-26, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (25) Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (26) If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him” (ESV).
• Colossians 3:3, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (ESV).
• Romans 7:4, “Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God” (ESV).

Do you see it? The path to life is death to self. Would you agree with Benjamin Schreiber below?

“Benjamin Schreiber is very much alive. But that hasn’t stopped him from arguing that he died four years ago. After the convicted murderer collapsed in his prison cell, doctors restarted his heart five times. Recovering back at the Iowa State Penitentiary, Schreiber filed a novel legal appeal. He claimed that because he died before he was resuscitated, he had technically fulfilled his life sentence when his heart stopped. Schreiber filed for post-conviction relief, claiming that he was being held in prison illegally. Judges, however, aren’t buying it. 

A district court judge wasn’t convinced by his creative attempt to find a loophole in the law, saying that Schreiber’s argument was “unpersuasive and without merit.” The fact that Schreiber was able to file a legal motion petitioning for his release, the judge added, “in itself confirms the petitioner’s current status as living.”

Dying for a brief amount of time doesn’t amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card. The Iowa Court of Appeals said that the 66-year-old will remain in prison until a medical examiner determines that he is dead for good. Judge Amanda Potterfield wrote, “Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot.”

Noting that they couldn’t find any case law that would back Schreiber’s position, the appeals court judges also ruled that he couldn’t have it both ways—claiming to be dead as far as the criminal justice system was concerned while simultaneously going on with his life” (Source: Antonia Noori Farzan, “An inmate claimed his life sentence ended when he died and was revived. Nice try, court rules,” The Washington Post (11-8-19).

When Job asked if a a man dies, shall he live again? The answer is “yes” if he dies to self to live in Christ. 

Questions To Consider

1. Would you say you have crucified your old nature? Why or why not? What is the proof?
2. What does it mean to you to die to self and why?
3. Are you afraid of death? Why or why not?
4. How would you explain to someone how we die to self so that we can live in Christ?

Scripture To Meditate On: Luke 9:24-25, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. (25) For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (ESV).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, help me to live a life where it is obvious to all that I have died to self. I want people to see You, not me. I trust Your Word where You say that if I deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You, You have promised me that death has no victory and no sting. Thank You. Help me to live the rest of my life for Your glory based on Your grace. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly