Where’s the proof?
1 Corinthians 15:55-56
“Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
“BZZZZ.” It’s a wasp. If you’re allergic to bee stings, that “BZZZZ” sound can bring unease, fright, even terror.
“BZZZZ.” It’s death. (That’s the picture God’s drawing in the passage, that death is like a wasp.) And every one of us, by nature, is “allergic,” in other words, because each of us is sinful, each of us deserves to go to hell when we die.
But what if that buzzing wasp had no stinger? Would you fear that wasp? Of course not! Oh, it could still bug you – it could fly around your head, get into your food, etc. – but it could hurt you no more.
And, that’s what death now is for you and me; it’s a stinger-less wasp. What makes death “sting” is sin; Jesus’ paid for all sin, his resurrection proves it!
All of which means what? It means that while death can continue to “bug us,” it can no longer sting us. To put it differently, death is no longer deadly, because Jesus took death’s sting, and thereby ripped the stinger out of it forever.
Thankful to no longer have to fear death, just like you,
pastor
