Where Are the Dead?

  “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins”  (Ephesians 2:1).

  Have you been quickened? Not, when did you join a church, turn over a new leaf, take communion, or try to do better, but—when were you born again? You haven’t been?

Then You Are Dead!

  Suppose we have before us a casket, in which lies the body of a dead man. He is dead physically; you are dead spiritually. He is separated from this world; you are separated from God. You say, “I don’t feel dead.” Neither does the corpse. Your feelings have nothing to do with it. You don’t have to feel dead to be dead. The body is dead “in the coffin.” You are dead “in sins.” You are a sinner by nature. Some are Irish by nature.  Others are Swedish, French, or English by nature. But ALL men are sinners, “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3), by nature. It is as natural for you to sin as it is for a fish to swim.  “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). My friend, you are a guilty sinner before God.

  You say, “I have no bad habits.”  Neither does the corpse. He doesn’t lie, steal, swear, or gamble. There is nothing wrong with him, except one thing—he is dead. That’s serious. They bury dead people.

  Do you live a clean, normal life? Nothing much wrong with you, except—you are dead, lost, and headed for God’s cemetery, the lake of fire, where you will spend eternity!  Friend, your condition before God is far more serious than you think.

  Talk to the corpse about a delicious steak dinner or an excellent fishing trip in the northern lakes, but from him, there is no response. He is dead too or separated from, the pleasures and enjoyments of this life. If one spoke to you about Bible study and prayer meetings, from you, there would be no response. When you do go to a prayer meeting, you do not enjoy it—you endure it. You are as separated from the blessings of the Christian life as the corpse is from the things of this world. He has no desire to eat. You have no appetite for the Bible. The corpse cannot enjoy the things of this physical life or the elements of the spiritual life. You go to church because it is one of your “duties,” not because you get a blessing out of hearing the Word of God explained.

You Need Life!

  To enjoy the things that accompany physical life, the dead man needs physical life. To enjoy spiritual things, you need spiritual life. A lady said to me, “All that is necessary to be saved is to live the life.” I answered, “Lady, you cannot live the life until you first have it.”

  The only One who can put that life into the corpse is the Lord Jesus. No organization or individual on earth can do it. No church, no religion can give you spiritual life. No one can but the Lord Jesus. The dead man cannot raise himself. Neither can you bring yourself out of spiritual death.

  We might baptize the corpse and write his name on the church book, but that will not give him life. So, you might join a church, be baptized, take communion, but unless you have been “quickened,” you are still dead. THINK OF IT!  LOST! And yet, perhaps you have been religious all your life. It isn’t religion you need; it is LIFE.

Life Is in the Wounded Man at God’s Right Hand

  “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He, the perfect God-Man, went to Calvary to “taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). He shed His precious blood that He might provide forgiveness and cleansing from sin (Hebrews 9:22). “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18).

  But that isn’t all. He arose from the grave, victor over sin, death, and Hell. Today He is seated as the God-Man in His resurrected glorified body of flesh and bone at the right hand of the Father. (Heb. 1:3; 8:1) He is the highly exalted One before whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11). Eternal life is in Him. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (I John 5:11).

  Do you have the SON?  It is not merely believing what the Bible says about Him that saves. Salvation is not in the “record” about Him, but salvation is in Him. You might accept the “record” about Him and believe it to be accurate, and at the same time, reject Him and live in rebellion against Him. You can go to Hell, believing the Bible is true. Salvation is not in just understanding facts, but in receiving the Son: “He that hath the Son hath life” (I John 5:12).

You Can Know You Are Saved

  You can be saved this moment if you will receive Him as your Lord and Savior.  “...as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12). When you receive Him, you have Him; and when you have Him, by faith, you have, according to God’s promise, eternal life. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

  Be sure you have the SON, for “He that HATH the SON (not religion or good works) HATH LIFE” (I John 5:12). Receive Him today. Tomorrow may be too late.

—By Paul J. Levin