By Jim Mettenbrink
Several months ago when we embarked on this aspect of restoring the foundation of a stable people, a righteous nation, we considered Jesus as the radical King and then began considering “The Radical Entrance into His kingdom.” The beginning of this entrance was Jesus’ announcement that He would give the keys to His kingdom to Peter (Matthew 16:19). He said that to Peter because he had acknowledged that Jesus is the Son of God. Note, in this conversation, Jesus also called His Kingdom “My church” (Mat 16:18). Implicitly, Jesus is the founder and owner of His church. And He declared death would not prevail against His church. At length we explored how He could make such an audacious claim. Overcoming death? He did so by His own resurrection!
It is oft said there are two things certain in life – death and taxes. Death is all around us, and it is certain. Very few have lived over 120 years. We all will die. The Bible opens revealing the source of death – Sin! God told Adam if he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he would die (Genesis 2:16-17). That daunting death is a two-sided death. The death we see is physical death – the life force leaves the body lifeless – dead. The other death is spiritual. Sin separates man from God. God can have no contact, let alone fellowship. with sin and sinners. Once man sins, he is spiritually dead and can do nothing to cleanse himself of that ugly stain and live again, both spiritually and physically. The Psalmist declared the gloom of death “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” (Psalm 89:48). Utterly doomed forever! Even before Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene, man pondered whether there was life after death
The suffering Job, asked, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). Man’s desire to live forever is at times reflected in the Old Testament (OT), and seemed to realize that if there was another life, it would be God who would give it – “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,” (Ps 49:15). But the OT does not explicitly tell of a future resurrection offered to mankind. Without the New Testament, people will observe that death appears to be the end of a person. More about this hope being reality – next.