The Dead Shall Rise: 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16

1 Thessalonians 4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

This sermon from American Pastor J.D. Montieth explores Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians in a series titled The Dead Shall Rise. This sermon, the tenth in the series, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16 teaches Christianity's criteria for salvation, belief that God raised Jesus from the dead: "Christianity has a criteria for salvation that no other religion does, it is for a man to be saved by God, then he must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. As Romans reveals, salvation requires two essential elements: 1. A confession of Christ’s lordship. 2. Belief, that God raised Jesus from the dead. On these two great spiritual truths, salvation rests, without which no man can be saved. Understanding this, for God’s salvation to be given, it is essential that there is in the penitent, a solid and sure belief, that God raised Jesus from the dead.

"Simply put, if a man did not believe in Christ’s power to deliver him, then Christ could not. The record of Jesus healing the two blind men in Matthew’s gospel shows us that to be delivered by the Son of God, men need to believe in His ability to deliver them.

"Ultimately, the two men had exhibited the necessary faith to be delivered by the Lord. 1. They had believed Him to be the Messiah. 2. They had the faith to follow and pursue Him where He went. 3. They held sufficient faith that Jesus could do the impossible, and heal them of their blindness. Thus, it was their total and complete faith in the Son of God, that yielded to them a miracle from God.

"Practically speaking, every man possesses all those elements—body, soul, and spirit—which comprises his being. He has a body of the earth, he has a soul like the beasts of the field, and he has a spirit. What is unique though in a Christian, someone who has believed upon the Son of God, is that they are given a Holy Spirit, a divine Spirit directly related to and connected with Christ’s own resurrected nature. This nature is both holy and everlasting. Possessing this Holy Spirit is necessary for entrance into heaven.

"The gist of the revelation is this, that there is no real advantage to be alive at Christ’s second coming, simply because the dead will be changed before the living. Thus, before the living are given new bodies by the Lord Jesus, the dead shall have already received them. In simple terms, the bodily transformation of the dead, shall be prior to those living at Christ’s return, given their new bodies. Thus, at this time, this glorious time when Jesus returns to the earth, to rightfully claim what God has given Him, it shall be more advantageous for the bodies of those who have fallen asleep in Christ, than even those saints still alive at His return.

"He shall come in the Father’s glory, and the heavenly sounds introducing Him, foretell of His glory. Practically speaking, Christ’s entrance will startle all the inhabitants of the earth. He shall interrupt all the noises of human activity and communication. Never before has the earth, the entire earth heard the trump of God, which also caused the Israelites to shrink in fear at Mt. Sinai, and summoned them to hear God’s voice. Never before has this voice of the archangel, been so loud and dramatic, that not even one will not recognize it as coming from God. So great also will be this shout that accompanies Jesus’ return, that it shall awaken and call from the grave, the bodies of those, who in death, maintained faith in the Son of God.

"If one should ask why such a public, and universal display of Christ’s glory, then it should be considered that Christ was first humiliated publicly; He was mocked and put to shame for all men to see by the Romans, the Jews, and the devil. Thus, as open and public as men sin in this world, and did sin against the Son of God, so shall Christ’s victory over hell and death be a grand and visual event in view of the world. Not only though will Christ’s glory, be made visible and open, but so also shall His people be glorified, who their entire life have been mocked by the entire world, and persecuted because of their loyalty to God. All faith therefore both of the Son of God, and those who have believed in Him, shall be proven true, and worthy to be openly glorified.

"There is no day that a true believer in the Son of God looks forward to more than this one, when their faith in God and His Son, is both justified and vindicated. So that when all they have suffered for, believing on the Son of God will redound to being glorified with Him. And though this glory is yet future, still it is certain. We know this because all that Paul has revealed, and will reveal, he assures us came from the Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus will therefore descend from heaven in like manner that He ascended up into heaven, and His return shall consummate and put an end to this present age. For at Christ’s return it is not simply that saints will be raised, but the whole world shall be changed. All that once was will then pass, and all that God has purposed to come, will enter. At this time also, at Christ’s return, God’s kingdom will come. Whereby through the Son of God, God will rule all men. And this will be unmistakably proven by when through the power given to Jesus by God, Jesus will raise the dead bodies of the saints. This shall be a glorious day, and one which every true son of God should expectantly wait for."

Broadcast live on 07/17/2022