Introduction:

1. Life has its highs and lows for all people; Christians are not exempt.

2. Differing degrees of distress arise with various hard times.

3. The death of our loved ones sits atop this hierarchy of hardship.

4. However, Christians do not grieve without hope as others do.

Discussion:

I. Ignorance Is Not Bliss

A. This is especially true of spiritual matters.

B. Some of their loved ones had died since the time they received the gospel’s promises (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

C. This prompted concern that they might miss out on the blessings contained in those promises (1 Thessalonians 4:15).

D. Their lack of understanding produced distress.

E. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to dispel this distress.

II. Knowledge Is Power

A. Paul’s solution was to sharpen their understanding of what follows the death of a believer.

B. The euphemism of sleep softens the view of death; when one sleeps, there is an expectation of an awakening (John 11:11-15).

C. The hope Paul offers is no pie in the sky; it is well-founded.

1. Jesus promised the disciples He would come and receive them to Himself and into His Father’s house (John 14:1-3).

2. His resurrection stands as the proof of the resurrection of those who are His at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:19-26).

3. Paul assured them God would bring their “sleeping” loved ones with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

4. Furthermore, the living have no advantage over the dead in Christ when He returns (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16).

D. The key phrase here is “in Jesus/ in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, 16).

E. Christ will come personally to claim His own (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

III. The Great Reunion

A. Paul continued his comfort with the promise of a great reunion.

B. It would be comfort enough to know our loved ones will live on with the Lord in eternity.

C. However, when this event occurs, the dead in Christ and those alive on earth will be caught up together (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

D. This event marks the end of separation from our loved ones in Christ: “And thus shall we always be with the Lord.”

IV. Comfort One Another With These Words

A. We are called upon to share in the highs and lows of our brethren (Romans 12:15).

B. When a brother/sister dies, we rally around their loved ones.

C. As Paul did with the Thessalonians, we comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

1. Of course, Christians mourn the loss of loved ones.

2. What this passage does is remove the permanence of death and replace it with assurance of resurrection and reunion.

3. Armed with these truths, may we always comfort one another with these words of assurance.