THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS

NUMBERS 23:1

A. WHO CAN COUNT THE DUST OF JACOB, AND THE NUMBER OF THE FOURTH PART OF ISRAEL? LET ME DIE THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS, AND LET MY LAST END BE LIKE HIS"
  1. This prophecy and prayer is thought-provoking:
    1. Ballam is the speaker
    2. He was a prophet and a renegade in the deepest sense
    3. Covetousness of honor and material wealth had made him a willing tool of the devil
  2. Yet he still had a sense of right:
    1. He knew that God was with Israel
    2. That so long as God was for Israel no power or device by Satan and men could frustrate the plan of God for His people B. "LET ME DIE THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS"
  3. What is there about the death of the righteous that makes the difference?:
    1. To be righteous is to do what is right - I John 3:7; 2:29
    2. Said the Lord to Cain, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" - Gen. 4:7
    3. Balaam knew that he was doing or attempting to do the work of the Devil - Num. 22; 23; 24
    4. The saints die in the Lord - Rev. 14:13; fall asleep in Jesus Christ - I Thes. 4:14
    5. He departs this sinful world in peace - Luke 2:29-30
    6. He dies in the hope of the better resurrection - Is. 3:10; Job 19:25-28
  4. "Let my latter end be like His"
    1. The latter end of all who die is the judgment - "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after that the judgment" - Heb. 9:27
    2. His sin is forgiven and blotted out - Acts 3:19; there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit - Rom. 8:1-6
    3. Said the prophet Isaiah, "Say unto the righteous that it shall be well with him" - Is. 3:10
    4. All is well that ends well, the end of a righteous man is peace and eternal life - Dan. 12:3 C. WHAT A MESSAGE OF CONSOLATION
  5. Die we all must, whether we are righteous or unrighteous - just or unjust - sinners or saints:
    1. By nature we are all sinners and have come short of the glory of God - Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22
    2. By nature all our righteousness is as filthy rags - Is. 64:6
  6. But there is a difference even in death:
    1. The sinner dies in his sin - John 8:21, 24; without hope - I Thes. 4:13; Prov. 11:7
    2. The righteous dies in his righteousness - actually the righteousness of Jesus Christ I Cor. 1:30; Jer. 23:6; Prov. 10:28
    3. His name is written in the book of life - Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 22:19
  7. Jesus Christ makes the difference:
    1. It is Christ in you the hope of glory - Col. 1:27
    2. To die in Jesus Christ means that our sin has been forgiven, it has been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ - I John 1:7-9; Rom. 8:1-3
    3. It means that if we live and die with Christ we shall also reign with Him in glory - 2 Tim. 2:12
    4. To fall asleep in Jesus Christ means to have part in the resurrection of the just - Luke 14:14; the first resurrection - Rev. 20:6; John 5:28-29
  8. This we believe is the case of our dear brother:
    1. He was a devouted person - seeking to live a just and upright life
    2. He sought to practice his faith in his home, in his work, and in his business; they that knew him best give him that testimony
    3. He loved the Lord Jesus, who called him by grace into the fellowship of his suffering
    4. Our brother was a quite person, unassuming, yet, consistent in his life
    5. His conversation was marked by good taste and plainly indicated seriousness as to what is right and what is wrong - choosing the right.
  9. He, like, all men, died, but in the hope of the resurrection of the dead:
    1. He looked forward to the second coming of Jesus and to the resurrection of the just
    2. Let us plan to meet him there


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