Who will be resurrected?
Now let's look at another important detail regarding the resurrection: Some will be resurrected to receive eternal life, but others will be resurrected to a coming judgment. Jesus makes this distinction Himself: “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29, New American Standard Bible).
God gave us this temporary, mortal life to prepare us for eternal life. The hope and promise of that resurrection is intriguing and inspiring. But knowing there is also a “resurrection of judgment” gives us reason to pause. Why might one person be resurrected to life and another be resurrected to judgment?
The resurrection of life is through Jesus Christ
When he was challenged by religious leaders, Peter made the point that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Paul points out that our resurrection can take place because God first resurrected Jesus. Unless He was resurrected before us, we have no hope (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
Jesus promised: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25)—shall live again, that is. One of the best-known verses in the Bible, John 3:16, promises that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The simple truth is that we can receive the gift of eternal life only through Jesus Christ. “For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). How do we demonstrate our belief in Him? What obligations does that carry?
Jesus said that those who are His disciples must be willing to place everything else in life secondary to seeking the Kingdom of God (Luke 14:25-33; Matthew 6:33; 13:44-46). People have devised many ways to live, with many false values and distractions (Matthew 6:19-20; 7:13-14), but the reality is that there is only one right way and only one Savior.
In concluding the first recorded sermon after Jesus' death, Peter called on believers in Christ to repent, undergo baptism and receive from God His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Repentance is a sincere and heartfelt realization of our own sinfulness and inadequacy.
But it is also our resolve to forsake our former way of life to begin a new life in Christ. Baptism portrays that resolve (Romans 6:1-6). (To better understand these topics, read the booklet The Road to Eternal Life .)
Many scriptures reveal what we must do to demonstrate our belief in Jesus Christ.
For example, Colossians 3-4 is a long passage that describes the complete commitment we must make. We must allow God to change our very nature, and we must learn to imitate Jesus in everything we do. If we are truly yielded to God, Christ will live His life in us through the power of God's Holy Spirit (Galatians 2:20).
We also learn that our personal reward will be based on how we live. Indeed, God gives “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil … but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good” (Romans 2:6-10).
More than one resurrection
Another major aspect of the resurrection revealed by Scripture is that the dead come back to life in a particular order, in sequence, according to a plan.
Not all will be resurrected at the same time, though Christ's followers of this age will be: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul writes that we must have God's Spirit within us if we are to be resurrected to life: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:11, NRSV).
The resurrection we have described so far occurs when Jesus returns. It will include only “those who are Christ's” (1 Corinthians 15:23), also called “the dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
These are people who have understood that salvation is through Jesus Christ and who have shown their belief in Him through the commitment of repentance, baptism and obedience to God's Word as led by the Holy Spirit. As we have seen, they will be transformed into immortal spirit at Christ's return, thus inheriting eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:50-53).
To be cont'd.
God bless you all.
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