The Strand Study Bible

Written From Philippi During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

II CORINTHIANS

1936

and Hell shunned. Then when one of our loved ones dies, we act as if it were all a lie. Our actions say that this world is better than the next, that death is a tragedy, and we ask querulously in our unbelief, Why? Why? Why? We feel that Heaven is bearable, all right, when one has sucked dry all the pleasures of earth. We feel that, only after old age has come upon us, when life is a burden, when health has failed, when we are in the way and our children don’t want us, then perhaps we should be resigned to go to Heaven. Subconsciously we look upon Heaven as a scrapheap for the worn-out and useless, a kind of old people’s home–better than nothing but not as good as this world, with youth, health and prosperity. Shame on us! When we weep and lament at the death of our loved ones, we often make void our testimony, cast reflection upon the Bible and irreverence on Heaven. For the Christian, death is not a tragedy but a glorious promotion–not the sad end, but the glorious beginning. 5

Paul welcomed death; he didn’t fight it. To him death was a place of refuge and immortality (Psa 116:15 and Prov 14:32 ). The only reason Paul was willing to “stick around” was because he wanted to help others spiritually ( Phil 1:24 ). Sadly, most believers aren’t in too much of a hurry to get to Heaven. Why? Because they have too much invested in the temporal. C.S. Lewis once notes: Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind. 6 According to the Bible (Psa 90:9-10, Jms 4:14, Job 7:1-7, Psa 78:39 & 102:11 and Eccl 6:12), life is way too overrated. A Christian was once asked how he was doing. He replied, “Better than the alternative (dying).” He continued, “Oh, I know I’m headed to a better place. I’m just not in a hurry to get there.” This kind of mindset always hinders the eternal perspective. Application – In order to “maintain” the eternal perspective concerning this one truth we must lose our taste for the temporal. How? By investing in others “spiritually” (Phil 1:24). Paul’s only reason for “sticking around” was to help strengthen others spiritually (Rom 1:11 and Lk 22:32).… 3. Heaven is a final place of rest (Rev 6:9-11 & 14:13) If Heaven is a final place of rest (and it is) and we are headed there for all eternity (and we are), why are we resting here ? Jesus said in Luke 19:13, “ Occupy till I come ” (engage in the business of the Master). Scripture admonishes us to rest there, not here (Jn 9:4). Charles H. Spurgeon in Morning and Evening notes: To come to Thee is to come home from exile, to come to land out of the raging storm, to come to rest after long labour, to come to the goal of my desires and the summit of my wishes. 7 Like Heaven, there was another place in the Bible that God referred to as His “rest.” Yet in order to get into that “rest” you had to be willing to battle . You had to be willing to work to enjoy the “rest.” That place was called Canaan (The Promised Land - Heb 3: 7- 11 ). Application – In order to “maintain” the eternal perspective concerning this one truth we must be actively involved in some local church, battling the battles of God. NOTE – There are three areas in a believer’s life that need constant “upkeep” if we are to battle the battles of God and win: (1) Prayer (Mt 26:40-41/Eph 6:10-18); (2) Witnessing ( Mt 16: 13- 18 e & 28:19a and Rom 1:16 ); and (3) Bible Study ( Mt 4: 1- 4 a/ I Cor 2:13 and Jms 4:7). 4. Heaven is a place of reunion (Mt 8:11) If Heaven is a place of reunion (and it is) and we are headed there for all eternity (and we are), why are we so fixed on our temporary relationships ? If Heaven is anything, Heaven is a place of reunion where our eternal family unites to smile, shout and praise God. Don Piper in 90 Minutes In Heaven recalled the day he was crushed by a semi in 1989 and pronounced dead by paramedics who had reached the scene within minutes of the accident. The moment he died, Don remembered going straight to Heaven. He said of his experience: Joy pulsated through me as I looked around, and at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people…They rushed toward me, and every person was smiling, shouting, and praising God… I stood speechless in front of the crowd of loved ones, still trying to take in everything. Over and over I heard how overjoyed they were to see me and how excited they were to have me among them…Heaven was many things, but without a doubt, it was the greatest family reunion of all. 8 Our real family is not our earthly family, unless of course our earthly family happens to also be our spiritual family. Christ reminded us of this truth in Matthew 12:46-50 and John 15:8. Application – In order to “maintain” the eternal perspective concerning this one truth family ties (blood) cannot be thicker than truth. If we are to “maintain” the eternal perspective, fellowship with our spiritual family (Rom 4:16/Gal 3:6-7) must become more important than friendship with our temporal family (Lk 14:25-26). 5. Heaven is a place of answers ( I Cor 13:12 and Rev 2:17a ) If Heaven is a place of answers (and it is) and we are headed there for all eternity (and we are), why do we have to have all the answers now ? Why do we demand that which has been denied ( Deut 29:29 )? According to God’s Word, we don’t have to have all the answers. Why? Because we’re not going to get all the answers. Some things, according to God, He has chosen to keep to Himself. If God is willing to wait to give us the answers, then shouldn’t we be willing to wait to receive them? Sometimes having all the answers isn’t the answer (Dan 12). We should never be dismayed because we cannot fully understand why God does what He does at times (Isa 55:8-9). Although it is difficult for our finite minds to grasp the infinite, eternal God, still, we are better off trusting Him than trusting humans. When, in the last six thousand years of human history, has man ever had the answers? And