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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The New Creation and the Resurrection
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)
What we are going to talk about in this essay is the relationship of our new born-again, Christ-filled nature to our resurrection from the dead.
How does the present condition of our spiritual life affect our resurrection from the dead?
This question and questions related to it are of the greatest importance to the Christian believers. They are of importance to the other people of the world as well, because every individual who has lived on the earth will be called from the grave by the voice of Christ.
Our present life is temporary, and we understand from the Scriptures that the age in which we are living is soon to be discarded in favor of the superior, eternal ages that are at hand. What will we be facing when we awaken from the sleep of death?
All of us ought to give more serious attention to the resurrection from the dead. No man knows whether he will be alive tomorrow. Of one fact we all can be certain: there shall come an hour in which each of us will be raised from the dead. What happens to us after that will be based on what we have done while living in the world.
The importance of the resurrection to our salvation in Jesus is revealed in the following words:
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians 15:19)
The way the Gospel is preached today, one would suppose that even if our hope in Christ were confined to the present life we still would be happier than people without Christ.
But this is not what the Word of God states. The Word of God claims that if our hope in Christ is limited to the present life, and there is no resurrection from the dead, we are the most miserable of people.
Why would Paul state such a concept when today we perceive the opposite? The difference arises because the Gospel of the Kingdom was preached originally as a hope for the future. The present world was considered to be the "present distress." The disciple endured every sort of hardship and suffering that he might attain a better resurrection.
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: (Hebrews 11:35)
Two false doctrines have obscured the true doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. The first is the "pre-tribulation-rapture" error that stresses in an unscriptural manner the catching up of the believers, steering our faith away from the all-important doctrine of the resurrection.
The second is the current stress on prosperity and pleasure. Christ is portrayed as the One who removes every trouble from us so we may enjoy our present life without suffering, and then be caught up in a "rapture" to prevent future suffering.
To be continued.