Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 82

March 23;    I Thessalonians 4:13;    82/260(II);    ‘Fallen Asleep’

1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope

Physical death for multitudes of people is terrifying.  God the Father, who loves us so much knows this and comforts us by His Word concerning physical death.  Over the past almost 34 years, I have done a great number of memorial services and funerals.  When loved ones share about the death of their relative or friend, if those sharing are not Christians, their comments on death and the responsibility of the Lord are full of ignorance.  Almost always, the Lord is blamed for the death of the loved one.  Notice, in this verse, Paul teaches Christians that he (really the Holy Spirit through Paul) does not want believers ignorant about physical death.  Paul likens death to sleep.  You always wake up if you fall asleep.  The Bible tells us that as Christians, to be absent from our body (physical death) is to be present with the Lord (our spirit).  It is instantaneous.  James 2:26 teaches that at physical death our body dies, our spirit, which is immortal, goes right on living.  Our eternal spirit is instantly with the Lord, whether we are Christians or not.  If we are Christians, we are welcomed into the eternal bliss of heaven.  If we are not Christians, the Lord, though He loves the lost, has to sentence and send those who have not accepted Him as their Lord, to hell.  Again, looking at this verse, the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us the lost have no hope.  We, as Christians, the Church of Jesus Christ have such a responsibility to pray for and minister to the unsaved, doing everything that we can to reach them with the gospel and the love of the Lord for them.  Jesus wants none to perish.  Neither do we.