What, if anything, happens after death?
A friend at work believes that when you're dead, you're dead. That's it. But Christians have a hope of resurrection, do we not?
1 Corinthians 15:12 - 34
ESV - 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
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Gary Wainwright
If there is no God and life started by chance, then it is reasonable to believe that “when you’re dead, you’re dead.” This is the view believed by many who are travelling the broad road which leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). French biochemist Jacques Monod once said and I quote “man knows at last that he is alone in the universe…, out of which he emerged only by chance.” If this view of life is correct, then ultimately there is no meaning to life because we live in a purposeless universe. According to the Bible, there is life after death because God exists (Romans 1:20) and Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). The New Testament also states that there were many eye witnesses who saw the dead Christ raised to life (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 20). Because Jesus rose from the dead, the evidence is that we can trust Him with our life and our afterlife. Lastly, the Bible says that those who reject God will “awake to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). It also says that after death comes judgement (Hebrews 9:27) therefore there is life after death for everyone. The believer has eternal life but the unbeliever receives eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46) because they did not believe in Christ therefore they will pay the penalty for their own sins.
Peter Lee
The Book says that it is by faith that we believe God exists. We breathe in air, but we don't see it, but we can feel the wind, and air gives us life. From some other source, I realize we have nothing to lose whether or not we have or have not eternal life. Living this life under the grace of God, day by day, in and out, is already a blessing. I'm no good with words, but I hope people can understand that being a believer is not an exchange. We don’t become perfect at the snap of a finger.
James Kraft
John 3:18: Believers go to heaven, and unbelievers are condemned already because they have not believed on the name of the Son of God and go to hell. John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him, should not perish, but HAVE everlasting life. Romans 6:23: For the penalty for sin is death, BUT, the GIFT of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Once we accept the free gift of eternal life, we are saved forever. The GIFT of God is eternal life. Paid in full by the GIVER. We know we have eternal life. We know where we will go whenever we die. The GIFT of God is eternal life. Thank God it is a free gift. No one can earn it. Romans 11:6. All grace, no works. Romans 4:5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him who justifieth the ungodly, (all of us) his faith is counted for righteousness.
Jack Gutknecht
Have you ever had a near-death experience, or do you know anyone who has? I do because I have had at least 3 such experiences. The first one was when I was just a baby. We lived in a big city in a house that had a steep paved driveway. I was in a baby stroller at the top of our driveway, and my mom accidentally let the baby stroller go, and I went flying down the driveway right in front of a car! But the stroller crossed the street before the car hit it.... Since I became a Christian during my high school years in Scottsdale, Arizona, I learned that what happens after you die depends on what happens before you die. I got saved. Thus, I learned: For the Saved: The Bible is abundantly clear on this point. When the saved die, they go directly into the presence of the Lord. At this point we remember the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43.) Paul said, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body (that is, separated from the body by death) and at home with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8.) When I die, I know I'm going home to be with my Lord Jesus. For the Lost: The body is raised at the Great White Throne judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the awesome scene as the unsaved dead are raised to stand before God and receive their final sentence of doom. The unsaved are then cast into the lake of fire where they will reside forever, eternally separated from the presence of Almighty God. If this is unbearable to think about, if we shrink from such a thought, then let us by all means do whatever is necessary to make sure that such a fate does not befall us or the ones we love the most. For more on this subject see Ray Pritchard, | Keep Believing Ministries.
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