Any faithful disciple of Jesus Christ will testify to the trials of being one.
He knows there are barriers to cross. But if I don’t actually comprehend why His “good news” is so good, then I probably won’t be able to appreciate the truth [1] about the highest one.
And that truth is clear: The hope of a future resurrection of the righteous dead is the very foundation upon which every other part of our faith is built. So It doesn’t surprise me that much of what’s taught in our congregations today is steeped in tradition rather than Biblical accuracy.
Why? Because it’s also something which was predicted. [see: 2Tim. 4:1-4; see also: Col. 2:6-8]
Good news can hardly be considered good unless it makes sense. But guess who’s trying to make his lie believable?
The Great Deceiver isn’t hanging out with lost souls. He and his cohorts are hard at work in our congregations, fellowship groups and Bible studies, obscuring the truth of what Jesus and His apostles taught about what life actually is. [2] There are a lot a ways to attack the truth [3]. But he knows there’s only one silver bullet that completely shatters the potency of Christ’s good news:
Diminish the relevance of the miracle we look forward to—His raising of the dead.
Of course, not even Satan can deny what’s written, so the best approach is to try to convince us that we’ll never die at all [4]. [see: Gen. 3:4]
But if some conscious part of me never dies, why would my resurrection be such a big deal? This is a popular mindset today. The problem is that neither Jesus nor His apostles ever taught such a thing [5]. Fortunately, the serious Bible reader can easily refute this lie with any number of passages taken in the proper context [6].
The hope of Christ’s disciple’s isn’t God’s marvelous, undeserved saving grace.
His hope of a resurrection is the result of that grace.
Raising the dead is a miracle that we can only understand from a limited perspective. But that only makes it more miraculous. When the Lord God raises the dead, the barrier of death shall be abolished for the righteous who sleep.
That’s what makes the good news good. But if that barrier doesn’t really exist, then the idea of a resurrection [7] isn’t necessary at all.
No barrier=no accountability=cheap grace.
No way.