O Death, Where is Thy Sting?

The heathens often wonder why Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ who lived some 2000 years ago. For them to appreciate this, they need to know something about death. Death is the thing most people are afraid of. Men and women all over the centuries spent a lot of effort to prevent death, but to no avail. Death is a deadly sting that no one can avoid. The Bible says: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb 9:27). What men should be afraid of is not death itself but the judgment after death. However, there is one man who has victory over death and He is our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for our sins but rose from the dead three days later and now is alive and sitting on the right hand side of God. What has His resurrection got to do with us believers today? The Bible assures us that those who believe in Jesus will one day rise up together with Him. We may be dead one day but behold, we will rise with Him and will die no more thereafter. This is why we celebrate Easter. Dear friends, do you believe in this promise?

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption" (v.53). The bodies which we possess are all corruptible despite all the health and medical care that we put in. They will all decay in the process of time. What will happen to those of us who are believers? When our Lord returns "this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (v.53). There are two categories of believers. "This corruptible" refers to those who have already died and their bodies corrupted and returned to the dust. When Jesus comes He will give each of them a new, living, incorruptible and glorious body. "This mortal" refers to those who are still alive when Jesus comes. Their bodies will put on immortality. That is to say, they will never die. Dear friends, are you afraid of death? If you are, come and put your trust in our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will never die without the assurance of resurrection.

"Death is swallowed up in victory" (v.54). When our Lord Jesus rose up from the dead, He proved to us that He had victory over death, and death had no more power over Him. Similarly, at the return of Christ, the dead in Christ (believers) will be raised, and those believers who are living will change with them. Death will have lost its power. Death may seize a believer but can never sting or hold him. This is the glorious hope of all believers in Christ whose sins had been forgiven. Millions whose bodies have been mouldering in the dust for thousands of years shall spring up in a moment, into life and immortality and eternal glory. It is a moment of joy and victory for all believers. What about those who are outside the salvation of Christ? They will remain in the dust until they are summoned up for their final judgment and eventual condemnation. It is therefore important that we, who are saved, bring salvation to those who are still lost before they face their final moment of death.

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (v.55). Death is a fatal sting to those who have no victory over it. For those whose sins had been forgiven by Christ, death is no more a sting. It is the consciousness of sins unconfessed and not forgiven, that make men afraid to die. For us who know that our sins are forgiven, we can face death calmly and without fear. We can say to the grave which holds our bodies for a moment, "Your triumphs are at an end and your grips of death are gone for ever. We were once your prisoners but now we are free." Friends, are you afraid of the grave? The only way to be rid of it is to come to Jesus and He will deliver you from all its power. The grave will have no more power over you.

"The strength of sin is the law" (v.56). It has been said that if there were no sin, there would be no death; and if there were no law, there would be no condemnation; and if there were no condemnation, Christ would not need to come to the world. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (v.57). What can be more joyous in itself than the saints to triumph over death when we shall rise again. Should not our souls magnify the Lord?

Adapted from Calvary Jurong BPC Encouragement Page 17 Jun 2007.
Written by Elder Cheng Wei Nien.