Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Our Own

By: Edward Cortez

 

Let’s talk about one of most avoided and dreaded topics – death. Mention death and people would quickly try to end the conversation or change the topic. Someone has said that we are not ready to live until we are no longer afraid to die. The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 2:15 that Jesus has released us from the fear of death that has kept us in bondage all our lives.
The fear of death has a way of controlling our lives and keeping us in a state of anxiety and dread. But the good news is, Jesus, by His death and resurrection has conquered death for us. He declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…” (John 11:25, 26).
Satan’s supreme weapon against us is death and the fear of death. He uses it to instill uncertainties and fear of the unknown. This is also why people have phobias. A phobia is an overwhelming, intense, and irrational fear of a specific object, place, situation, or animal that poses little to no actual danger. There is aerophobia – the fear of flying, acrophobia – the fear of heights, claustrophobia – the fear of confined spaces, and many others. The underlying reason for most of these phobias is the fear of death or dying.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ have given us the victory over the fear of death. After strongly making the case for the reality and authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul declared, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Because Jesus rose again from the dead, we can be assured of our own resurrection if we truly believe in Him as our personal Savior and Lord.
A well-known pastor and teacher, Dr. David Jeremiah, has this to say: “When I entered a hospital room to minister to a family where a death was involved, I could almost always tell pretty quickly whether it was a Christian family or not. It was the difference between sorrowing with hope and sorrowing without hope. Christian families would be grieving but not in despair; they had no fear of death. Folks without biblical understanding often live in fear of death.”
I have a cousin who just passed away in July because of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He suffered for a while, but he never gave up on his faith. A month before he passed away, he sent me this text: “It gives us joy and hope knowing that the Lord is with us during the difficult journey of our lives…this world is not getting any better. There are so much chaos and turmoil…no matter what happens in this world, our faith in Jesus endures forever.” My cousin was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though he knew that he will one day depart this earth, he was not afraid of death because Jesus has conquered death for him.
“Because I live, you also will live.” – Jesus in John 14:19.