My friend and author Sheila Alewine writes:

Are you ever accused of being old-fashioned, or out-of-date? To some people, that might be a derogatory term, but the older I get, and the crazier our world gets, the more I think it’s a great compliment! While I’m not anxious to return to some bygone clothing or hairstyles, there are a few “old-fashioned” things we need more of:

Old fashioned values.
Old fashioned work ethic.
Old fashioned morals.
Old fashioned belief in the Bible.
Old fashioned manners.
Old fashioned respect for life.
Old fashioned sense of responsibility.
Old fashioned sweat equity.
Old fashioned music (please!!)
Old fashioned ideas of family.
Old fashioned common sense (does it even exist anymore?)

The word “old-fashioned” came to mind as I read Mark 12 this morning. The Pharisees and Sadducees are at it again, trying to trip up Jesus by asking Him trick questions. The Sadducees propose an unlikely scenario in which seven brothers marry the same woman to fulfill the “Levirate marriage” obligation. The law was that if a husband died without an heir, his brother would take her as his wife and conceive a child in his name so that his family line would not die out. The Sadducees asked, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”

The Sadducees didn’t even believe in the resurrection, so they were asking with wrong motives. Jesus answers their question anyway: When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (Notice He didn’t say we become angels but are unmarried like angels are unmarried…your sweet Aunt Hilda didn’t get wings when she died!)

Jesus tells the Sadducees they are mistaken because they don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God. Their theology is wrong because there is a resurrection of the dead. He proved it by quoting an Old Testament scripture they would know very well. When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said, “I am the God of Abraham (who had died), and the God of Isaac (who had died), and the God of Jacob (who had died).” Not “I was…” but “I am!” God is still their God because they are very much alive.

Believing in life after death – a life where we are recognized by our earthly names and personalities is such an old-fashioned idea. The “woke” or modern thought is that you just die and cease to exist, therefore, you should get all that you can out of this life. But that idea is wrong, according to Jesus, and Jesus always tells us the truth. We will all rise from the dead; some to life everlasting, and some to eternal destruction. Life really is forever, because God created us to be living souls.

I kind of like the old-fashioned theology, don’t you? I’m looking forward to touring heaven with a lot of old friends and family. I have a grandchild that only lived 8 weeks in his/her mother’s womb that I can’t wait to hug. I’ve got a few grandparents to catch up with, and many many more who came before me that I never met, but whose spiritual heritage was passed down to me. I can’t wait to chat them up! And I’ve got a list of people in the Bible whose stories I want to hear first-hand!

The resurrection is an old-fashioned idea, but it’s one we need to hold onto, especially in the days in which we are living. Old-fashioned ideas like that will keep us looking up, filled with hope, and able to navigate whatever the enemy tries to throw at us. We know he’s hard at work imagining and putting into place the “new world” he wants to create, but he’s wasting his time. Our “old-fashioned” God will have the last word.

Are there some “old-fashioned” ideas you need to revisit? Don’t let the world talk you out of what you know is true. It didn’t work for the Sadducees, and it won’t work for you.