If when we die, there is no life beyond the grave, what keeps you going? A life that does not extend beyond the grave is of no value, it is hopeless. But, the Good News is there is hope beyond the grave.

This series addresses the concerns we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death, dying, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us, humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving, peaceful relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin and look more closely at death and dying.

But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again. 

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School (See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)

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Let’s invite the Spirit of God

Heavenly Father, give us the vision that places a longing in our hearts for life beyond the grave. Help us live our lives with the anticipation of obtaining it. In Jesus’ Name Amen (Split)

An ancient Greek historian Herodotus from the fifth century BC wrote about a tribe that, at a child’s birth, went through a period of mourning because of the expected suffering that the child would have to go through if it lived to adulthood. Though this may sound strange to us today, the ritual seems to make sense considering what humans must go through from birth to death, especially if there is no hope after death.

But the Bible offers Hope. In the Bible is the promise of eternal life. This life beyond the grave is found in Jesus. He is the key element to living beyond the grave. Therefore, accepting Him is very important.

Why? Because Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. What’s even more important about his death is that he got up from the grave. His death and His resurrection offer us the ultimate in hope. Because of His death, we can at his return, wake up from the dead immortal to live and never die again. But, not in a world of sin, but instead, in the perfect world, God originally had designed for us.

As we have already in our previous lesson explained, Jesus’ resurrection is the time when He got up from the dead three days later after dying on the cross for our sins.

He was executed by the very ones he came to save. If you need to know more about Jesus’ death and resurrection, go back and review Lessons 6 and 7. At SabbathSchoolDaily.com

Paul a follower of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19 helps us better understand how Jesus’ resurrection, his dying, and waking up from the dead is connected to our resurrection when at his second coming he calls and wakes us up from the dead.

I Corinthians 15:12-19

12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.

16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (Split)

18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (Split)

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (I Corinthians 15:12-19) (Split)

What Paul wants us to understand is important: his point is our resurrection is inseparably tied to Jesus Christ’s resurrection. We will wake up from the dead because Jesus died and woke up from the dead.

Hence, Jesus’ resurrection and our resurrection are connected. The two resurrections cannot be separated.

The point is if Jesus didn’t wake up from the dead, we just as well be like that Greek tribe, who morns at the birth of a child.

In strong and straightforward language, Paul tells us that if we don’t rise, then it means that Christ has not risen, and if Christ has not risen, then—what?

“Your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:17, NKJV).

So, in other words, our faith is pointless, it is useless because when we die, we stay dead. We never wake up. We are dead forever. Thus, our faith is meaningless. 

Therefore, Paul concludes in 1 Corinthians 15:32,

“If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’” (Corinthians 15:32 NKJV).

If there is no life after death there is no hope for tomorrow, we might as well live our lives as if there is no tomorrow.

Many have this notion today; this is why they live as they do. They have no hope of living again after they die.

If this life is all we have, and if we only live for about 70 years, then we really have no hope at all.

No wonder the writer of Sons and Daughters of God says, Heaven is worth everything to us, and if we lose heaven we lose all.”—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 349. (Split)

You see, In the courts of heaven, Christ is pleading for His people—pleading for those for whom He has paid the redemption price of His blood. Centuries, and ages, can never lessen the effectiveness of His death on the cross for our sins. Neither life nor death, height nor depth can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus; not because we hold firmly on to Him, but because He holds so tightly on to us.

If our salvation depended on our own efforts, we could not be saved; but it depends on the One who is behind all the promises, Jesus. Our hold on Him may seem weak, but His love is that of an elder brother; so long as we maintain our union with Him, no one can take us out of His hand.

. . . O how privileged we are that we may come to Jesus just as we are and cast ourselves upon His love! We have no hope but in Jesus. He alone can reach us with His hand to lift us up out of the pits of discouragement and hopelessness and place our feet upon the Rock. Although the human soul may hold on to Jesus with all the desperate realization of their great need, Jesus will hold to the souls purchased by His own blood with a firmer grip than the sinner clings to Him. —That I May Know Him, p. 80. Adapted

Think about how valuable hope and faith are as we live in this world. They are precious gifts. They are what keep us going when trouble and hardship come. Therefore, we must do everything we can, with God’s help, to protect these gifts. (Split)

Regardless, of how weak and shaky your hold may seem to you, keep holding on to Jesus for dear life. Know that His hold on you is far stronger than your grip on him.

Why should we keep holding on to Jesus? Find out Day 3 “I Will Come Again”

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