1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
“We Will Be with the Lord Forever”
End Times 3: Saints Triumphant November 18, 2018
Nothing lasts forever. You have probably heard that before, I know that I have heard it many times. And it seems to me that the phrase “nothing lasts forever” gets used in two main ways. The first way is as an encouragement when someone is going through a difficult situation, a difficult time. People try to reassure those who are suffering by noting that their suffering won’t last forever. Nothing lasts forever, so this, too, will pass. It can’t last forever. Things have to get better. What, then, is the other way that this phrase is used? If things are going well, if you are happy and satisfied, someone might warn you to not take that situation for granted. Nothing lasts forever, so be careful. Be cautious. Nothing lasts forever so these good times will come to an end, too. Enjoy them while they last. And most of the time, when people say nothing lasts forever, the situation or the circumstance that they are really talking about doesn’t last forever. Difficulties pass. Good times fade away. But that is not the message of Saints Triumphant Sunday, and it is not the message of our Second Lesson today. There we read from God’s own Spirit through the pen of his apostle: we will be with the Lord forever. These words point us to something that does absolutely last forever: our salvation, our existence with Jesus in the life to come. And even more than the often cited phrase nothing lasts forever, this truth is a comfort and an encouragement to us in good times and in difficult times. This truth defines our hope concerning our fellow Christians who have gone before us. That is the specific context in which these words are found in Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. Apparently in the short time that Paul had spent with the Christians in Thessalonica, he had not had a chance to teach them fully about the death of believers. They had misunderstandings, doubts, and questions. The Christians in that city were persevering in the face of persecution. They were eagerly anticipating the day when Jesus would return to take them to be with him in heaven. But they were also worried about those who had already passed away, those who were no longer waiting for that day with them. But they had no reason to fear or worry. Paul wrote to them, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” They could have confidence. They didn’t need to grieve. They had hope. Think about how Paul describes the death of believers. He calls them “those who have fallen asleep in [Jesus].” And this is not some euphemism or nice sounding phrase to avoid talking about death. It isn’t wishful thinking. It isn’t trying to cover up the bad news. This is what the death of a Christian really is. It is in the end no different than laying our heads down on our pillows and closing our eyes each night to wake rested and refreshed in the morning. One day, Jesus will wake all his sleeping children and call them out of their graves. He will prove that their deaths were nothing more than a sleep in him. But it shouldn’t surprise us that the Christians in Thessalonica had these concerns and doubts, should it? It is a difficult time when our loved ones are taken away from us. We feel the pain and the loss. We feel the reality of the situation that death is not part of the perfect world that God designed. Death is a result of sin. It is a painful reminder of our own sinfulness, our own weakness, our own guilt. It changes things for us in a drastic way. Death often appears to be the one thing that defies the statement “nothing lasts forever.” But through the apostle’s Spirit-inspired writing, Jesus assures us that is not the case. Death is not permanent for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is a sleep from which their bodies will awake. We will be with the Lord forever, and that includes all of those who have fallen asleep in him before he returns. They will not have missed out. They will not be forgotten. We do not need to grieve their passing as if we have no hope. In fact, Paul points out that the dead in Christ will rise first. They will precede those who are still alive when Jesus returns on the Last Day.
This will not happen because they earned it. It will not take place because they deserved it. It will happen because of Jesus. He died in order to take away sin. He died because of your sin and mine, the sin of every person who has walked or will walk the face of this earth. He died for the same reason that we and our loved ones die: our sin. He was sinless but died anyway. He died as the perfect substitute, the perfect replacement. And he rose again from the dead because his sacrifice was complete and our sins have been paid for. He rose again and in his rising shows us that we, too, will rise again! Because he died and lives again, we will live with him forever! We say that nothing lasts forever. We say that all good things must come to an end, but this is the exception. We will be with the Lord forever, so we do not need to worry about or grieve the loss of those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. His assurance is our hope regarding those who have gone before. And his assurance is our encouragement for ourselves and to one another. The Thessalonian Christians were prepared for the day when Jesus would return to bring believers home to heaven. They looked past the persecutions and difficulties that they faced, not with some pie-in-thesky expectation that at least those difficulties wouldn’t last forever. They looked past instead with a sure hope that all their difficulties would be worth it when Christ returned. And they were right to do so. We face suffering, too. We live in a world where all the best things are temporary and all the painful things seem to linger. We live in a world that is hostile to God and his people and will be that way as long as this world lasts. But it will not last forever. No, Jesus points us to that day when it will come to an end. He describes it for us. He tells us about the glorious event that will end our suffering and pain: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” What he doesn’t tell us about that day is exactly when it will take place. He invites us to watch and pray. He encourages us to always be prepared. He directs us to his word and promises for the strengthening of our faith. Jesus calls us to trust in him for forgiveness and salvation with the promise, the sure promise, that such trust will be rewarded. He calls on us to encourage one another with these words. This is a far cry from the supposed comfort of “nothing lasts forever.” This is the assurance that nothing in this world, nothing tainted by sin, nothing painful or difficult will last forever for those who are in Christ Jesus. But we cannot leave these words of comfort and strength, of peace and hope, without noting that for those who have rejected Jesus as their Savior, the terrible effects of sin will last forever. Our verses do not emphasize this truth the way our Scripture readings did last week. But the reality is that hell will last forever just as surely as heaven will. And that says something about what we do with the message. The time is now to share the joy and the hope and the assurance that Jesus has given to us. He died and rose. Because of what he is done, we will live forever in heaven. That is good news to share with our friends, our neighbors, with anyone and everyone. It is news to spread through our work together as a congregation, through our mission offerings, through our prayers, and through our own personal witness. The most important things of all do last forever. Let’s speak about them, let’s share the good news that lasts forever. And as God blesses our work and our witness, as more come to know and believe in Jesus as their Savior, they, too will share in the joy of knowing that one day all suffering will end. Along with them we rejoice. With all who fall asleep in the Lord and with all who are alive in him when he returns, we will be with the Lord forever.
The Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NIV) 13 Brothers
and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.