Sunday Postscript -120405

Praise God who gives strength to our bodies of dust when we are weak. I had some sort of stomach bug all day Saturday and didn’t feel much better on the Lord’s Day, but the Lord gave me enough strength to preach the Word, but then I was done and went home and rested. So just one message for God’s people yesterday – though I heard they had a good time of singing God’s praises in the afternoon service. And apparently I missed a wonderful fellowship meal with lots of goodies – but somehow they didn’t seem all that appealing to me. So here is my Sunday Postscript for this week.

Preached on Genesis 2:4-7 “Dust to Glory” yesterday. God made Man from the dust of the ground; the ordinary, lowly, worthless dust that we walk on every day. The animals are also made from the dust. No wonder animals and mankind have so much in common, but not because of evolution but because God used the same stuff to make Man and animals. Not only are we made from the dust, but dust shall be our end (Gen. 3:19). The funny (or maybe sad) thing is that even though we are dust, we sure do spend a lot of time, energy and money on the dust vainly trying to prevent it from it’s inevitable end or at least trying to make it look nicer as it deteriorates toward the end. Certainly we should care for our bodies – but maybe our priorities are off a bit and we need to consider those things which will last.

But, even though we are dust, we are not just dust. We do have a value and worth, but this value and worth does not come from the material we are made from or how we try to dress it up, rather it comes from the God who is mindful of the dust. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” Psalm 103:14. God took the time to form and fashion us, even as the potter forms and fashions the clay into a work of art. We truly are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-15). For this we can rejoice and give thanks.

However, not only do we have worth and value because God formed us but especially because He breathes into our nostrils the breath of life. Whereas we share with animals the dust of the ground – only mankind has the breath of life. Now its true God gave the animals life by the command of His Word, but their life breath is of a physical nature and returns to the ground when their body does (Eccl. 3:21). However with Man, God condescended to actually breathe upon him and give him life via imparting a soul. The key difference between Man and Animals is that animals do not have souls

We must guard against Gnosticism and remember that God created Man body and soul and both ‘very good’. And in some way both body and soul reflect the image of God. But the soul is man’s dignity – without it Man is but a pile of dust. And the soul is immortal, it will last forever. When the body dies and the soul departs Solomon says, “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7.

But depending on who you are trusting at the time of your death will determine just how that soul returns to God. Those who trust in Christ Jesus for salvation – the soul immediately passes from the body of dust to glorious presence of God, as Jesus promised the thief on the cross (Luke 22:43). Then one day the souls of believers will be reunited with not a body of dust, but rather, an imperishable and incorruptible body (1 Cor. 15). This is the great hope of the Christian believer.

However, those without Christ, those without the clothing of His righteousness and without His Spirit in them (which is the breath of God unto eternal life), without hope in this world – when they die - their bodies return to the dust and their souls go to the presence of God’s eternal wrath where there is darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This being the truth of the Gospel – perhaps we should spend more time and effort considering the estate of our souls and their condition before the Almighty God. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear to the glory of Christ alone. Amen.