(1 Corinthians 15:54) Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Everyone has sinned.

Everyone will die.

These are absolute facts that can never be changed.

Death is rarely a regular topic of conversation. 

In fact, we instinctively avoid talking about it. 

The reason death is so disturbing is that it is not normal. 

God never created human beings to die. 

Death is the consequence of our fallen condition.

We are fallen!

Our fall from God's original creation is very, very deep. 

We have fallen much deeper than we often admit. 

We are largely ignorant of the true depth of our fallenness.

Without hope in God, the realization of our inevitable death becomes a form of conscious torture that cannot be escaped. 

Without hope in God, all humanity is trapped in the grip of death.

Unbelievers can understand the death of Jesus on the cross, but they often struggle with the idea of his resurrection from the dead. 

They view the resurrection as some sort of myth. It seems like fairy-tale stuff.

However, the death and resurrection of Jesus are actually one event, not two. 

They are two sides of the same coin. 

Jesus died on the cross for our sin (in our place), and he was also raised to life for our death (in our place). 

In Jesus Christ, we receive both the forgiveness of our sins and victory over death.

In this life, our physical bodies continue to decay, but inwardly we experience the power of new life. 

In this sense, Christians live in the tension between inward life and outward death.

Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It is the confident expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, including the resurrection of our bodies.

As 1 Corinthians 15:54 declares, death—our final enemy—will be swallowed up in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ at his second coming.

As Christians, although death remains a deeply painful reality, we do not grieve like the world does—which has no eternal hope. 

We do not live by the saying, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

No. We know that death is not the end. It is the doorway into eternal life and into the presence of God forever.

When we face our sin, we also face our death realistically. 

We recognize death as an enemy of God, but we also face it with the certainty of victory.

This is the good news.

The Gospel!