Is Soul-Sleep a Biblical Doctrine?

The following is a pre-recorded version of CORE Christianity.

We'll be back live again tomorrow. Is soul sleep a biblical concept? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi there. This is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We would love to hear from you. Here's our phone number, 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. If you get our voicemail, just leave a voicemail, and we'll go through those later on today. You can also email us with your question at questions-at-core-christianity.com. First up today, let's go to Sheila in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sheila, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Hi, thank you so much for taking my call.

I'm calling in to ask a question about a previous program of color. I called for a question about the commandment of the grave graveness of God, and I just kind of wanted a little more elaboration on that, I guess. I understand that graves can be like statues and graveness that I imagine. I think it's physical, but it also means, like, you know, to each imaginary God and, like, a figure, this is how God is.

Does it mean that also? Yeah, Sheila, you were cutting out a little bit there, but let me repeat what I think your question was. So you're saying, look, with regard to the command related to graven images, you know, you get how, you know, we shouldn't be making statues of God, that kind of a thing. I mean, these were idolatrous practices in the Old Testament where they would make these images, these statues of their gods, and bow down and worship them, and God says, don't do that.

I don't want you to do that for me. But what about, like, other kinds of images, like, you know, you're reading, you know, the beginning of the book of Revelation, you have this vivid picture of the risen Christ, if you will, you know, was it sinful to imagine that in your mind? I think we want to stick to the quote-unquote image that the word of God gives to us. It's not helpful to sort of speculate with our imaginations and try to picture God how we might conceive of him to be. And I think one of the reasons why God warns against that in particular is because it's just so natural to us. We like to imagine God for ourselves. There is one theologian who says our hearts are sort of like a factory house for idols. We just sort of create these idols in our own minds, in our own hearts. And isn't it the case that it's so easy for us to make God out in our own image instead of recognizing him for who he's revealed himself to be according to his word? And this is part of the reason why God gave that command, because, you know, the nations of the world, they make their gods. They use their imagination to sort of craft the deity that will fit for them.

And the fact of the matter is people do that today. We want to worship even a Jesus who looks like us, who thinks like us, who justifies our sinful behavior and condemns everyone else, that kind of a thing. We have to go to the word of God. Let God introduce himself to us.

Let him reveal who he is. And that reality confronts us. It confronts our sins. But we meet God on his terms. And he comes to us, and he gives us the proper words, the proper things to think about, if you will, when we're thinking about who God is. And so I would say it is unhelpful to sort of off on our own speculating and try to imagine, what would I think of God to be like? No, let God tell us what he's like through his word.

And so I think in a way, yes, it can extend to those sort of mental speculations that people have throughout the world. We need to rest on what God has revealed in scripture. Thank you for your question, Selah. God bless you.

Thanks, Selah. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Tabitha in Kansas City, Missouri. Tabitha, what's your question? Hi, thanks for taking my phone call.

And I have got a question. My dad was big into soul sleep when he was alive. And when we lost my mom, he believed she was still on the ground.

And my dad passed away two months ago. And I know in my heart that God saved my mom and my dad, and they're both in heaven right now. But sad, my sister still believes in soul sleep. And I quoted the scripture that said, absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And sadly, she still doesn't believe it. So I just wanted some scripture to be able to back it up, that I could be able to share with her and say, Hey, they are in heaven.

Yes. Can I ask my question? Well, first, Tabitha, my condolences with the recent passing of your father. I'm sorry that he died, but what a wonderful hope that we have. Anything about what Paul says to the Thethelonians, that we sorrow, but not as those who don't have any hope. Because we know that Jesus came, that he lived, that he died, and that he rose again from the dead. And you can be confident, I think, on the basis of Holy Scripture, that if your dad had faith in Jesus, that he's in the presence of the Lord right now. As you said, you quoted from 2 Corinthians chapter five, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You think of what Jesus said to the thief on the cross, who said, Remember me, Lord, when you enter your kingdom, Jesus said, Today, you're going to be with me in paradise. But there are two other passages of scripture that I think are oftentimes overlooked with this discussion that I like to go to. And the first one is in the book of Philippians, in Philippians chapter one. In Philippians chapter one, the apostle Paul is talking about the fact that he's going to die actually very soon. And he's going sort of back and forth as he's thinking about his life, and continuing to minister to and serve the people of God.

He wants to go and be with the Lord, but he also wants to stick around on earth to continue to serve the churches and to benefit them. And this is what he says in verse 21 of Philippians chapter one, For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. And so convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. Boy, talk about a love for the church and for the Philippians there in particular. He's saying, look, I would love to just depart and be with Christ, but I know it's so important for me to be here right now with you, to serve you, and to help you grow in your faith. But the fact that he says, I want to depart and be with Christ, for I know that that's far better, indicates that he knows that when he dies, he's not just going to enter into some soul sleep. He's going to be, as he said in 2 Corinthians 5, in the presence of the Lord. And in the New Testament, we also have these pictures painted for us of the saints who have died and are in the presence of the Lord, I think in particular of another book of the Bible.

Again, this one is oftentimes overlooked. It's the book of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 12. Listen to what the author of the Hebrews said as he paints a picture of worship. He says, in worship, Hebrews 12, 22, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. In other words, he's saying, look, those spirits, the church triumphant, the spirits of the righteous made perfect.

To be more specific, Tabitha, your dad, if he had faith in Jesus Christ, that's where he's at. He's around the throne of God, worshiping the Lord together with a host of angels. When we gather for worship at one sense, we're joining the heavenly choir that's there. They're not in some sort of soul sleep.

No. As Paul said, they're with the Lord, and that's far better than anything we could ever imagine for this world. Those are a few passages that I think you could use to explain this. Thank you for your question. Thanks so much. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We want to remind you that some radio stations that air our program actually air it on a tape delayed basis later in the day, so the time to call if you want to actually call into the studio is 11 30 a.m pacific time, which translates into 12 30 mountain, 1 30 central, or 2 30 eastern. Of course, you can always leave a voicemail. If you call and you don't get through, feel free to leave a voicemail at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Joyce in Clovis, California. Joyce, welcome to the program. Thank you for having me. Hi, Joyce. Hope you're doing well. What's your question, sister?

My... I just got through celebrating the fact that for 245 years, our country has been a free country, and my belief is because God allowed this country to be the way it is because it was formed on Judeo-Christian principles. But I've had people argue with me about that. But what happened over the holiday is I was at a church and they had the flag salute, and we sang the national anthem. And afterwards, I got to thinking, my church doesn't even have a flag in the church. And so I went to the pastor and talked to him, and he said, as long as I'm here, we will never have a flag in the church, because the principle thing that we need to talk about is about God and Jesus, and I don't want to have...

He said, we'll never have a flag in our church. So I'm struggling with that, because it's my belief that because our country is in the terrible situation, political situation that we are now, and people are destroying, trying to destroy our country, that it's because the Christians and the churches through the years have not taught the people the right things. And yes, we need to know about God and Jesus. That's our main thing that I don't know. I wouldn't even be here if I wasn't a Christian. But am I wrong in thinking this way?

choice. Thank you so much for your question. Actually, we had a recent broadcast where somebody asked a similar question, should flags be in the worship service? And I know that there are churches that, especially on the 4th of July, which was celebrated not long ago by many, there are churches that will have whole sort of freedom celebrations, 4th of July celebrations. There's a really large church in the area where I live where I think they actually have fireworks in the sanctuary.

I'm not sure how they do that, or even if that's legal. And there are flags everywhere. They just sort of decorate the whole thing with flags.

I would be on the side of, it sounds like the pastor who you currently have. And it's not because I think being patriotic or thankful for the blessings that you experience in the country that you live are a bad thing. I think that really is wonderful. Nobody is saying we ought not to have that kind of thankfulness in our hearts for the peace and the blessings that God has afforded his church here in the United States of America. But one of the reasons why I think it's not helpful to have flags in the church or to do things like sing national anthems or salute the flag is just because you're sort of confusing the kingdoms, if you will. The church is the embassy of God's on earth. It represents as a sort of United Nations, if you will, it represents all the kingdoms of this world united by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so one of the things that Jesus makes really clear, you see this in John chapter four, for example, is that the people of God, the church are not located in just one place, one country. The churches, we sometimes use this word Catholic, it's universal. And it's spread about throughout all the countries of this world. And so because we want to communicate that to the people who come to our churches, the people who are visiting us, I think it's important that we don't sort of mix this sort of nationalism, if you will, having the American flag in the church, that kind of a thing.

It can be syncretistic, if you will, the sort of blending of these things. It's not what God calls us to. The church, as I said, is God's kingdom outpost on earth today. And so the focus of the church should not be on the United States of America per se, and the founding fathers or whatnot. The focus of the church needs to be the clear teaching of the word of God. Now, does that mean it's wrong after the service to go to a 4th of July barbecue and give thanks to God? No, I mean, you totally should. And we should be grateful to the Lord, as I said, and as you are, for the many blessings that he's given to us. But at the same time, I think we have to be really careful that we're not confusing people on this issue and sort of mixing the kingdoms, as it were.

We are the kingdom of God on earth, and our citizenship, as you know, and as you already stated, is primarily in heaven, even while we give thanks for the temporary earthly blessings that the Lord gives us as citizens of the United States as well. Thanks for your call. Thanks, Joyce.

Appreciate you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Well, we had a voicemail come in from one of our overseas listeners. We'd like to listen to that now. My name is Steve.

I'm calling from the United Kingdom. My question is from the book of Genesis. We read in chapter 12, about how Abraham and Sarah go to Egypt. And Abraham tells his wife to pretend that she's his sister, because she's very beautiful, and Abraham is scared that Pharaoh will have him killed. So he basically gives his wife to Pharaoh by deceit. Abraham needs to repent of doing that. And then in chapter 20, does the same thing again, with another powerful king, Abimelech. Chapter 26, his son Isaac, he does the same thing with his wife.

What do we learn from this repetition of this, what seems to me, slightly strange behavior of asking your wife to pretend that she is his sister? I'd love it if you could just shed some light on this for me. It would be great to learn more about the gospel from these events that are puzzling me. Thank you so much for everything you do. All your hard work is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hey, Steven, thanks for your question. I just preached on Genesis 12 not too long ago. And I mean, it's really this amazing chapter because the call of Abram, and he really exhibits, I think, a huge leap of faith. I mean, God calls him to leave everything behind and to go to a place that he doesn't even know about. God says, I'll show you when you get there, essentially. And we're not told that Abram says anything there.

We're just told that he basically gets up and goes. And I think this is one of the reasons why in the New Testament so often, Abraham is depicted as this man of faith, because from the very beginning, it seems like he trusts God, like he's willing to follow the Lord. He has faith, but he also doubts, like we so often do. And I think that's one of the things that the story, especially as he goes down to Egypt because of the famine that's in the land, that that story tells us is he goes to where the Lord had revealed to him. He's there near the Negev in Canaan, and yet there's a famine in the land, and so he begins to take things into his own hands. And of course, he does this a little bit later in his life as well with Hagar. God made him a promise, I'm going to give you offspring, and God was taking his time. So Abraham thought, well, I'm just going to make this happen on my own. And it's sort of this illustration, I think, of how we can, through our lack of trust, sort of try to take things into our own hands and typically just ends in disaster and failure, and certainly did for Abraham on a number of occasions.

And it did here in Genesis chapter 12, essentially Sarai is taken into the harem of Pharaoh. Basically, what Abram has done is he's given his wife up to save his own skin. He's told her to lie. I mean, she lies.

She says, he's not my husband, he's just my brother. Pharaoh takes her as his wife, and they enter into this relationship. I mean, it really is something, as you said, that Abram needed to repent of. The other thing that's so striking to me, especially in Genesis chapter 12, is that God continued to be faithful to the promises he had made to Abram, even while Abram was doubting and acting in this very sinful, grievous way. If you remember earlier in chapter 12, one of the things that God promised was, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. Well, here's Abram in the middle of Egypt, doubting God, if you will, trying to save his own skin.

He's basically given his wife up, and yet in the midst of it, we're told in verse 17 of Genesis chapter 12, the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. In other words, God is now beginning to curse those who have dishonored Abram. God is being faithful to his promises, even though Abram is not trusting and not being faithful. I guess in terms of learning, you said how this leads to the gospel.

I think that's one way. One of the things we see here, and Paul makes it very clear, he says, when we are faithless, God remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. Throughout the scriptures, we have these stories of individuals who are trying to take things into their own hands, who are doubting the promises of God, and it's a tragedy. Yet, even through their doubts and through their failures, God continues to be faithful, and he continues to be faithful to us as well as the recipients of his promises in Jesus Christ, those who have received the benefits of the new covenant, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit.

He'll never leave us or forsake us, and he'll be faithful to us till our very last day. Thanks for your question. We look at those Bible characters and the decisions they make, and we think to ourselves, man, I would never take things into my own hands, right?

I know. We like to think that. Actually, I usually see these things, and I'm just greatly encouraged because I think, yeah, that sounds like maybe what I might have done too.

It's humbling, but it really is such a beautiful thing. I think stories like these, one, they reinforce the fact that the goal of the Bible is not just moralism, like, yeah, look at Abram, how great he is, the man of faith. Let's just be like Abram. No, we're getting a much bigger story here, a story of redemption, and the reality is none of these guys were very good. They all made terrible mistakes. They all had these moral failings, and yet God didn't abandon them, and he doesn't abandon us either. There is hope for us yet. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

By the way, if you're a parent or a grandparent, we want to tell you about something that we have, a special offer for you. Actually, for all of our listeners, it's called Core Christianity 101. Yeah, it's a complete self-contained study on the Christian faith aimed at building a solid foundation in the basics. Oftentimes today, you either see people in the church dividing over secondary peripheral issues, and you see others who don't take things like Jesus, his resurrection, his teaching of justification by faith alone seriously. This is because biblical literacy is at an all-time low. Brothers and sisters, we've lost sight of what we call Core Christianity, the fundamentals of the faith.

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It's 833-The-Core, 833-843-2673. Well, we do receive emails here at Core Christianity, and you can always email us at questions at CoreChristianity.com. Jessica wrote to us, and she says this, I've been a Christian all my life.

I'm now in my 40s, and I've been dealing with a long illness that has caused anxiety and depression. I've been through many tragedies and other illnesses in my life, but this has caused me to feel such an absence of God and his promises. I know the truth of the word, but I don't feel his comfort, love, joy, hope, or kindness. In the past, when I would pray for more grace or hope or love, I've always received what I needed in time to persevere. I want desperately to be found faithful in the end. How do I do that without these feelings and without comfort? Why does God draw himself away from people for so long and let them fend for themselves? Well, dear sister, you're not alone in how you feel.

As Bill was reading that email, I thought of C.S. Lewis's little book, A Grief Observed, where he talks about the death of his wife and how during this time of grief, he'd go to God, and it was as if he was knocking on the door of God's house, and all the lights were turned off, and the door was shut closed, slammed closed, and bolted shut, and there was no one there. And it was just this feeling of divine absence in this time of great need. And the people of God do experience this from time to time.

And so that's why we can't, you can't, as difficult as it is, place your confidence and your rest in how you feel. When we're struggling to believe that God has loved us or that he does love us, we need to go to the place where he showed us with all certainty that his love is real and sure. The cross of Jesus Christ. How do you know that God loves you even though you're suffering? It's because he sent his son into the world to die for your sins.

Jesus hung for you so that you might know that God loves you even now. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.