I Corinthians 15:56-58 NKJV “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”Death is inevitable for all mankind. For the atheist, death just means an end to life full stop. However, that does not mean that there is no judgement. For the religious, there is a need to justify oneself, by being ‘good enough’ to earn their way into heaven. However, to live this way would mean a constant striving to do good and still be unsure if their all their efforts make them worthy on judgement day.
The bible tells us that all of us are sinful and destined to die and face judgement where we can be separated from God eternally, being condemned into the fiery lake of hell. The sting of death is then sin. The strength of sin is revealed to us through the law but it has no power to deliver us from the judgement of sin. In His deep love for Man, God worked out our redemption by sending His Son to die for us, to save us from eternal condemnation, to impute righteousness on us by the shedding of His blood. Not because of any righteous works of our own but only by His grace and mercy are we saved. This salvation is a display of His perfect love. Understanding this can dispel the fear of death in our lives. We can be comforted that Christ made us righteous before God and victorious over death. We have an inheritance of eternal life as co-heirs with Christ in His Kingdom because of this. How wonderful and what a glorious future we have waiting for us as believers when we leave this earth!
I John 4:17-18 NKJV “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
When we believe in the work and words of Christ, the Holy Spirit will urge us to live our lives in obedience to Him, not to fear death but to be bold in our faith. When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He commanded them to spread the good news to all those who have not heard, who are fearful and suffering from the consequences of sin. Are we then living our lives in boldness to proclaim this hope to the lost ?
We can be so fearful of the temporal earthly concerns that we forget we only need to fix our eyes on the eternal and what is of value to God. Without the sting of death to hurt us, we should be steadfast and unwavering in this great commission to see more lives saved especially during this time of health crisis. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can go forth in faith to be effective in our homes and the marketplace to serve the Lord in good works, which will not be in vain as we will reap eternal rewards.
Sermon Series: Fear Does Not Belong to You
无所畏惧地来为主作工
哥林多前书 15:56-58 死的毒钩就是罪，罪的权势就是律法。感谢 神，使我们藉着我们的主耶稣基督得胜。所以，我亲爱的弟兄们，你们务要坚固，不可摇动，常常竭力多做主工；因为知道，你们的劳苦在主里面不是徒然的。
死亡对全人类来说是不可避免的。对于无神论者来说，死亡只是意味着生命的终结。然而，这并不意味着没有審判。对于宗教人士来说，他们需要通过”足够好”的行为来为自己辩护，以赚取进入天堂的道路。然而，这样生活意味着需要不断努力地做好事，但仍然不确定在审判日那天他们所有的努力是否值得。
圣经告诉我们，世人都犯了罪，并且注定要死。面对審判时，我们会永远与神隔离，被扔进地狱的火湖里。死亡的毒钩就是罪。律法向我们揭示了罪的力量，但它没有能力将我们从罪的審判中拯救出来。因着神对人类至深的爱，祂差遣祂的儿子为我们死以救赎我们，将我们从永恒的咒诅中拯救出来，通过祂所流出的宝血将公义归于我们。我们蒙救赎不是因为自己任何的公义作为，而仅仅是靠着祂的恩典和怜悯。这个救赎展现了祂对我们完全的爱。理解这一点可以消除我们在今生对死亡的恐惧。我们可以感到安慰的是，基督使我们在神面前成为公义的，并战胜了死亡。在祂的国度里，我们同为基督的后嗣，我们因此承受了永生。作为祂的子民，当我们离世时，等待着我们的将是多么美好、多么榮耀的未来！
约翰一书 4:17-18 这样，爱在我们里面得以完全，我们就可以在审判的日子坦然无惧。因为他如何，我们在这世上也如何。爱里没有惧怕；爱既完全，就把惧怕除去。因为惧怕里含着刑罚，惧怕的人在爱里未得完全。
当我们信靠主基督的工作和话语时，圣灵会催逼我们过一个全然顺服祂的生活，不害怕死亡，而是坚定大胆地信靠。耶稣复活后向门徒显现，祂命令他们要向所有未曾听闻，感到害怕，并且因着罪而遭受恶果的人传福音。我们是否也能勇敢地向失丧的人宣告这盼望呢？
世上短暂的顾虑让我们感到恐惧，以至于我们忘记了将眼目定睛在永恒及在神眼中有价值的事情上。既然死亡的毒钩不能再伤害我们，我们对这个大使命就应该坚定不移，特别是在这个健康危机时期，我们要看到更多的生命得救赎。靠着圣灵的能力，我们可以凭着信心前进，在我们的家庭和职场中有成效地以善工来服事主。这将不会是徒勞无功的，因为我们将获得永恒的奖赏。
讲章系列：恐惧不属于你