Will We Be Married in Heaven?, Part 2

Imagine the audacity of trying to stump Jesus with a trick question. Well that's precisely what the religious leaders did in the first century. Face to face with the Messiah, the Sadducees concocted a hypothetical scenario in which a widow remarried seven times over.

And in each case, she survived her deceased husband. So, they asked Jesus, which one of the these men will remain her husband in heaven. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll invites us to watch the encounter unfold in Matthew chapter 22. He titled today's message with this looming question, will we be married in heaven? We're grateful, our father, for the pleasure of worship. We come to worship you as the king of our lives, as the lord of our decisions, as the master of our walk on this earth. We want you to know, our father, that our love for you is not partial, it is total. And we gather today because we realize we cannot make it without you.

If we could, we'd be home. We wouldn't give much thought to gatherings like this, but we need to be here. We love being with you and with one another. Find favor, Lord, in our presence before you in our act of worship. And now, as we give, be honored in our giving, which is also a vital part of our worship. In the name of the one who is our king, our master, and our Lord, we pray and we give. Everyone said, amen.

You're listening to Insight for Living. To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scripture studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck titled, Will We Be Married in Heaven? Regarding the power of God, look at what he says. Verse 30, when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect, they will be like the angels in heaven. Please observe first how much he believes in the resurrection.

Not if the dead will be raised, but when the dead rise. Second, please notice what he says about marriage. They will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

I mentioned earlier Randy Alcorn's book. Let me quote from what he's written. Perhaps he makes it clearer than I could. I quote, Earthly marriage is a shadow, an echo of the true and ultimate marriage, a perfect marriage with Christ. Once that ultimate marriage begins, all the human marriages that pointed to it will have served their noble purpose and will be assimilated into the one great marriage they foreshadowed. The purpose of marriage on earth is not to replace heaven, but to prepare us for it.

Then he gives his own personal illustration. He names his wife, says, she's my wife, he names his wife, says, she's my best friend, my closest sister in Christ. Will we become distant in heaven?

Of course not. We'll become closer, I'm convinced. The joys of marriage will be far greater because of the character and love of our bridegroom, Christ. On earth, the closer we draw to him, the closer we draw to each other. Surely the same will be true in heaven.

Jesus said the institution of human marriage would end, having fulfilled its purpose, but he never hinted that deep relationships between married people would end. So understand, we could take it for what it says. Be careful when you do that not to add to it.

Put some restraint on your imagination. Let's let it say what it says. The dead will rise, so resurrection is a sure thing. We will not be marrying or giving in marriage, so that's also a fact. Look at the third part of the verse. They will be like the angels in heaven. Maybe you've never done this, but I suggest that you make a study of the angels. You will learn much about your eternal state when you study about the angels.

I'll give you a quick little glimpse. Angels worship? We will worship. They exalt their Lord God, our creator.

We will do the same. However they do not engage in sexual relations, we will not. They do not reproduce, nor will we in heaven.

They do not give birth, nor will we. Angels are sinless, deathless, and ageless. The same will be true of us. They delight in the will and presence of their creator.

So will we. These are the benefits of thinking theologically. He says you will be as the angels in heaven when you read that.

Set your mind free to go to the Scriptures and study what the Bible says about angels, and you'll be free from superstition and theological error. Now, I'll make one more statement here before I move on. Ignorance is not bliss. All my life, I've heard, well, ignorance is bliss. Nothing blissful about ignorance. Ignorance about slavery kept people enslaved. Ignorance about God keeps people atheistic. Ignorance about Christ causes most people not to understand the love of God and the offer that he makes possible through his son, through himself at the cross. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is chaotic. So your goal as a believer is to be informed.

That's why you will often choose to attend a class where good information is given that prepares you with knowledge that replaces long-time suspicion, long-time ignorance. I wrote a book on grace years ago, and I don't know how many people have written me. I didn't know what the response would be, but I've had so many. I would say now hundreds, maybe even thousands, say to me, I had no idea what grace was all about until I read this. And you know what?

All I did was pull from the scriptures what it says about grace and help people see in writing what that subject is all about, how to live in grace, how to extend grace, how to treat people in grace. The same is true here. So don't let yourself, when death gets near, to be caught up in a lot of fear, a lot of worry, a lot of anxiety about what's it going to be like. Like the comedian who said, Death? I'm not afraid of it. I just don't want to be there when it happens. Well, when you're informed, you want to be there when it happens. My granddad used to say, I don't want to be taken up to be with the Lord when I'm alive.

I want to go through the whole process of death. I want to see how all of that is going to work and come together in such a beautiful way. The Lord did not make you then wonder what he's going to do with you when you're no longer on this earth.

He has a perfect plan, perfect plan. And he gives us a little hint of what life will be like as he says we will be as the angels in heaven. Now he goes even further and he addresses the scriptures.

Look at this. He's talking to people who think they are so sharp in the scriptures. The problem with the Sadducees, they based everything on just what the first five books of the Bible taught, called the Pentateuch or the law. I think it's genius of Jesus to quote from the law and use a verse from the very passages that they would be familiar with to put the quietus on their argument.

Look at what he says. He says, but now as to whether there will be resurrection of the dead, haven't you ever read about this in the scriptures, which is a rather open face slam against them, these people who thought they were walking Bibles. Haven't you ever read in the scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had died, God said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Emphasis on the I am. I am the I am of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What makes it interesting is all three of them have long been dead. But in Exodus 3 in verse 6, where that verse is found, Jesus quotes from it. He says, God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.

If there were no resurrection, what is he doing, talking about being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? And they're standing there with their mouths open, wondering what they ought to say in response. So they say nothing. See that little blank space at the end of verse 32? That represents their brain at this point.

They don't know what to say. He's got them. But he doesn't flaunt it.

He just leaves it. See, when you know what you're talking about to those who don't know the Scriptures, you don't have to scream and shout and yell and insult and go through all of that. The Bible speaks for itself. Jesus, drawing from Exodus 3, 6, makes the statement, statement that had been made to Moses, and he says he's the God of the living, not of the dead. Look at the response of the crowd.

When the crowd heard him, they were astounded at the teaching. By the way, I've looked through this 22nd chapter, and I've got three verses that I've marked with an arrow. Each is a response to Jesus' answer.

Verse 22, look at what the Pharisees and the Herodians responded. His reply amazed them, and they went away. No argument. There's no room for argument. He answered them, and they're silenced. The one we just saw, verse 33.

When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching. No argument. No pushback. Just astonishment.

And look at verse 46. No one could answer him, and after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. I can't speak for you, but I've had the privilege in my student days of sitting in classrooms that were taught by very competent professors, very reliable individuals who knew their subject. And as is often true in a class like this, I'm referring to my years at Dallas Seminary, there will always be a few students who think they've come today to stump the professor.

And they give it a try. And they ask a question, and the prof, who has probably had 15 other students just like him or her, ask the same question years past, will sit and listen and let the student share with him some of his intelligence that he can't afford to lose, but he lets him go ahead and run off at the mouth, and when he finishes, the prof just, like a surgeon, just surgically takes the issue apart. And I remember sitting and thinking, the best response to this is silence. Just be quiet.

Now, normally, a student like that won't be quiet. Well, what are you going to do with verse so and so and so? And I'm thinking, you idiot, you keep this up. He's going to saw you off that limb with a hard set of facts. You'd be wise not to say anything else.

Why? Because that man or that woman knows what they're talking about. Jesus knew where they were going and what they were trying to do, and he simply gave them the facts. And you know what else he left us? He left us a pretty good guideline for our lives.

Let me show you why I say that. Go back to verse 29. Let's see how this affects us today. I want to talk about the two major flaws in the lives of most Christians.

Here we go. Verse 29. The first mistake is that we're not real, well-versed in the scriptures. We don't know the scriptures.

Do you? Can you defend your case from the scriptures regarding resurrection and life after death? Can you show from the scriptures that we will literally see Christ face-to-face, have a relationship with him? Could you describe the crowns that will be ours, that will be granted as rewards for life lived on Earth?

Do you know the scriptures on the crowns? Do you know what the Bible teaches about eternal hell? By the way, it teaches more about that than about heaven. Are you aware of the biblical teaching? I know you know what your friend says. I don't care what your friend says. I care what the book says. When the Bible states that you're on solid ground because God never lies to his own. Now, where am I going with this? Not simply to rebuke or reprove us, but to encourage you to begin a program of Bible study.

We live in a day when there's so much available for this. You can go online. You can tune into many a broadcast that teaches the Bible. You can get into a program that's a home Bible study, and as a group, you can learn together. You can take a short course at most Bible colleges or seminaries where you can do your own study, and I'll tell you this, it won't cost you a thing except the price of a book. I wrote a book called Searching the Scriptures.

I never talk about my stuff, but I do it here because it's appropriate. You get that book, and you sit down at your table with that book on one side and your Bible on the other. You can do your own Bible study. You'll learn how to observe the Scriptures, interpret the Scriptures, compare Scripture with Scripture, and apply Scriptures. You can do it.

You can do it, and I'll tell you what else. It will equip you and take away your uncertainty regarding life. You will no longer be confused about suffering. You'll learn why we suffer. You'll learn what it means to remain stable in the midst of a storm. You'll learn how you can live a life without fear. I mean, you can't beat that. Begin your own study, Searching the Scriptures, on your own.

I would say this. Start with a reading program. You don't have to get a book. Start on your own.

You've got 66 books right here. Begin in Genesis. Begin in the Psalms. Start in Proverbs.

Take one of the letters of Paul. On your own, you read 30 minutes a day. Sit down with your Bible open, TV off, in a place where you won't be interrupted, and pore over what you're reading. Read aloud. Read repeatedly. Read thoughtfully.

And I'll tell you the crowning part. Begin a scripture-memory program. Jesus said the word memorized. He quotes directly from Exodus 3.

6 and in other places. He's not walking around with scrolls. He's got it memorized. The Navigators is a great program to begin with. Connect with them, and they'll help you know how to get underway in your own scripture-memory program. It's the method I used, and I still employ the same principles as I did when I first became acquainted with it. You become a student of the memorized word. Trust me, you will begin to really know your Bible. It will give you a confidence that you've never had before. You won't have to rely on what I'm teaching. You'll pull it out for yourself. Now, when you're involved in worship like this, it'll only verify what you're digging out on your own.

So let me encourage you to begin your own study of God's word. I know you've heard this. You've heard it since we've started as a church. Your tendency is to think, you know, I can't remember how many times you've said this. Well, how many times have you done it?

What are you doing about it? You don't learn to drive a car by reading. You learn by doing it, being trained in it, putting it into action. That's all part of learning the script.

Now, here's the second. Second factor is not knowing the power of God. Many of you are more familiar with the power of our government than you are with the power of God, which ain't much power, by the way, I might add.

You're familiar with the power of those people that are in authority over you, maybe your boss or those who have a responsible position. How about the power of God? I'm talking about a life of faith that begins with prayer.

I'm talking about beginning every day, coming before the Lord with simple words like, here I am, Lord, facing this day. I've got some things that I'm going to have to deal with that won't be easy. Go before me. Help me through them. I'm going to lay all of this in front of you, Lord, and I'm going to trust you. I want to see your power go to work in my life.

I want you to work this out because, frankly, it's beyond me to do it. The power of God. Confident prayer.

Can I mention one other discipline? And then I'm through. Begin your own journal. I'm not talking about a diary. Your own private journal. You're not writing down all the stuff you're doing.

10 o'clock, 11.30, 1.30, 4 o'clock. That's a diary. A journal you write down what God is showing you, what you were learning. And then you're able to look back over the previous weeks and see how God worked, and it strengthens you. As you record this today, you were in church, and you listened to this, and you were encouraged to begin to make notations about God's hand in your life, and you record how he worked this out.

Or maybe the struggle you're going through, and you're trusting him, so you write your prayer in your journal. What a great way to build into your life with your own fingers. Thoughts disentangle themselves over the lips and through the fingertips. Thoughts disentangle themselves over the lips and through the fingertips.

Write it out. Think it through. Pray over it. Trust God. I want you to bow your heads with me, please. You've listened so well.

I want you to continue to for just a few more moments. Are you absolutely certain that you know the Lord? Maybe you don't know the Scriptures because you really don't know Christ. I mean, you know of him. You know about him, but you and he are not really on speaking terms, and you'd love to be. You'd love to have a relationship with God that's meaningful and personal and really transforming, and that's possible. It begins with simple words like a prayer. Lord, I'm coming before you today to admit that things have not been right between you and me. I'm lost. I've been going my own way long enough.

I wanted to stop. I'd love to know your book, and I'd love to know your power, but first, I want to know Jesus. I invite him to come and take residence in my life and become, for me, my own savior and master, my guide. Thank you, Lord, for coming into my life. We would love to help you in this journey, but we can't if you don't ask, so please ask. Or maybe you'd just rather write us.

Do that. Let us help you begin to know Christ, to know the scriptures, the power of God. Thank you, Father, for the hope that there is in this life, that not even death is enough to derail us and depress us, for there is hope beyond the grave through Christ. Help all of us today to realize the value of knowing the scriptures and being plugged into the power of our God. Make that a reality, Lord, and begin today.

Give us an intense dissatisfaction with where we are that we might turn our lives over to you. May we have the discipline to follow through on these challenges, which we have heard this day. Now, Father, dismiss us with the encouragement that only you can bring through Christ our Savior, we pray.

Everyone said, amen. The religious leaders of Jesus' day were curious to see how he would answer this question, will we be married in heaven? And hearing his response gives us a glimpse of our relationships in heaven as well.

You're listening to Insight for Living. And just a few moments ago, you heard Chuck Swindoll talk about the importance of satisfying our curiosity by conducting personal study in God's word. It's important, Chuck says, that we search the scriptures on our own rather than relying on others to interpret the truth. Chuck suggested that you get a copy of the book he's written in which he shows us how to study the Bible. His book is called Searching the Scriptures. It's designed to sit on the table alongside your Bible as you employ specific disciplines such as observation, interpretation, correlation, and application.

In the introduction of his book, Chuck wrote, for more than 60 years, I have cultivated a love for the Bible and have pursued an understanding of it. My purpose in writing this book is to help you do the same. To purchase a copy of Searching the Scriptures, give us a call at 800-772-8888. To see some sample pages and to order your copy today, go to insight.org slash offer.

Look for the book called Searching the Scriptures. In closing, I'll remind you that your generous donations are what empower Insight for Living to deliver these daily Bible studies. When you give, you're actually making it possible for others across our country to have access to Chuck's Bible teaching. A day never passes without hearing from someone who writes or calls to tell us how much they value the spiritual lessons and encouragement they receive through Insight for Living. So thanks for giving generously to this nonprofit ministry. To give a donation today, call 800-772-8888. To send a donation in the mail, write Insight for Living, post office box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034.

Or give online at insight.org. Now, sitting in for my friend Dave Spiker, I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us again tomorrow when our study in Matthew continues on Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll.

The preceding message, Will We Be Married in Heaven? was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.