Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 60

February 29;   Acts 26:8;   115/260(I);   ‘Raising the Dead’

Acts 26:8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Paul was sharing his testimony before Governor Festus and King Agrippa.  Evidently, King Agrippa, knew something about the Jewish religion and the Christian movement.  In his testimony, Paul asked why it seemed incredible that God raises the dead.  The Bible clearly teaches that we are three part beings.  We are first of all, a spirit.  We have a mind and we live in a body.  Death in the Bible means separation, not termination.  Our spirit is immortal.  At physical death, our spirit separates from our body (see James 2:26).  Spiritual death happens when our spirit is separated from the Lord.  Our immortal spirit, at physical death will either rise and spend eternity in heaven with the Lord or descend into hell and spend eternity separated from God.  The determining factor as to where we will spend eternity is Jesus Christ.  Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself on the cross, bearing our sins and sicknesses and giving us His right standing with His Father.  His suffering both physically and spiritually was unimaginable.  Jesus willingly did this so that we could spend eternity with Him.  God the Father forgave us by the sacrifice of Jesus, but we must believe this and honor Jesus by asking Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.  This is fair because of the price Jesus paid for each of us.  He did not have to do this, but the love of the Father and Jesus’ love for us compelled our Lord to rescue us from an eternity separated from Him.  God’s love is unfathomable, we mean everything to Him. The Lord does raise the dead, that was up to Him.  Where you spend eternity is up to you.