My coworker is kind of an unusual guy. Right before he leaves
work, he often says, “Here is some information you might need just in case I
have the big one. Knock on wood.”
Most are not like this. Death is a subject we don’t like to
talk about much. Almost everyone wants to avoid thinking about it altogether.
Even more than talking about it, we’re all trying our best to
avoid doing it – dying, that is.
A quick look at some articles online read: “How to avoid
death,” “The Six Most Common Ways Men Die and How to Avoid them.” “Why Can’t We
Prevent Death?” “Ten Ways to Avoid Death by Freak Accident,” and “How to Avoid
Dying Prematurely.”
To prevent dying, we try dieting, exercise, meditation, medicine,
transplants, vitamins, creams, hot springs, bionics, and now, genetic
engineering to name just a few.
It is wise to try and stay healthy and to live as long as we
can, but it is unwise to so obsess about death to the point that we become
those “who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”[i]
I remember a time when people would introduce the gospel to
others with a question: “Where will you go when you die?” Well, that’s way too
abrupt for most of us nowadays. In fact, we don’t usually even use the word
“death” much, not even from the pulpit. We would rather say “passed away” or
“deceased” than to say that someone died.
Much of this is a result of the fear of the truth – that there
is going to be a day of reckoning after death.
The fear of death also stems from not understanding death. Below
are some of the common falsehoods about death which causes fear. We also give the correct biblical teaching in contrast.
FALSE BELIEF NUMBER I: DEATH IS THE END
For many, death is the cessation of existence. They believe
that death is the end of a person who only had a temporary life. Most people
who believe this are individuals who deny or question the existence of God,
choosing rather to believe their existence is because of evolutionary
happenstance.
Richard Dawkins said, “Don’t imagine for one second you’re
going to paradise . . . . You’re going to rot in the ground.[ii]” No wonder
so many people don’t want to think about dying.
The Bible however, presents a totally different idea. It presents death as a
transfer to a different place and a different realm of existence. It presents
death as a departure of the spirit (or soul) from the body but not its extinction.
It teaches the immortality of the soul. After death we move on to an eternal
destiny – simply put, heaven or hell; brought into the presence and blessing of
our Creator or banished from his presence for eternity.
FALSE BELIEF NUMBER II. OUR SPIRIT
REMAINS ON EARTH
There is the belief that a dead person’s spirit just hangs
around after they’re dead, either haunting or helping those who remain.
The bible speaks against the practice of necromancy, attempting to make contact
with the dead (Deuteronomy 18.10-11). It also speaks of “familiar spirits”
which I believe are demons that impersonate someone who has died. That one who
speaks at a séance is likely a demon spirit, not someone you love who has died.
FALSE BELIEF NUMBER III. REINCARNATION
Some believe that people come back to earth after dying over
and over and over again. They teach that in a former life you may have been a
cat or a cockroach then maybe moved up to human existence and finally got
recycled into a higher “caste” of human existence. But they teach “Be careful, you
might get taken down a notch again … and again.” Finally, you reach Nirvana
(extinction or oblivion).
The bible does not teach reincarnation. It teaches the resurrection. The first to be resurrected was Jesus Christ.[iii]
The dead in Christ will rise in a bodily resurrection and the dead ones who
believe not in Christ Jesus will be raised up bodily to appear before God in
judgment.[iv]
After death, those who are saved by God’s grace through faith
in his Son, Jesus Christ, will go to heaven.
My dear friend, I don’t want any of us to become morbid, obsessing
over death and dying but I want all of us to be willing to give thought to
death. It will happen to all of us.
Should someone who isn’t saved by God’s grace fear death?
Yes. Death will be no comfort to anyone who is still lost in sin. They can only
anticipate a “certain fearful expectation of judgment.”[v]
Do we have to be afraid of dying, going through life trying
to avoid the subject in all of our thoughts and words? No, because there is a
God who has so loved sinners that he has taken death for us through the cross
of Jesus Christ. Now we can say:
Death is swallowed up in victory. O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is
sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.[vi]
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