Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
One of the most common questions that Christians ask is: "But what about them?"
"What about the pagans in Africa?"
"How much sin and they can still be forgiven?"
"Is there another way to God?"
These Christians aren't asking for themselves. They aren't the pagan. They aren't the ultra-sinful. They aren't seeking an alternate route to God. So why do they ask? I think that these are a round-about way for Christians to ask questions about the goodness of God without sounding like doubting heretics.
In this passage, Paul answers another one of this type of question: "Are those who died going to miss out on Jesus?" Obviously, none of the people reading this letter will have this happen because they are believers and they are still reading.
But even then, Paul takes a moment to reassure the people in the church: no one gets left behind. Some get sent on ahead but none get left behind. "And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." Sometimes we don't need the answer, but it is comforting to know that God has the answer.
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