Fear Not Death

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14–15

Alister McGrath, in his wonderful little book entitled What was God doing on the Cross?, has this to say about the fear of death and the believer. McGrath says, “Death has been tamed. John Bunyan makes this point forcefully in Pilgrim’s Progress, using a vivid storyline. Christian is walking down a road, when to his horror he notices a ferocious lion barring his path. There is no way that he can avoid the animal. Terrified, he draws closer. Then, to his delight, he notices that the lion is chained to a post. Someone has been that way before him, and tamed this fearsome beast. Although he must walk that same way, an earlier traveller has made the road safe for him. Someone else met the hostile creature before him, and disarmed it. Although the lion remains, the threat it once posed has been removed.”* 

That image of a lion chained to a post that we must all walk pass, perfectly captures what Christ has done to death. Death has been tamed! Yes, every believer must still pass through death (unless we live until Jesus comes back) but it can no longer hurt us! For the Christian, death is nothing more than a doorway we pass through on our way to Heaven.

Because, if you are a Christian, then Death is not final for you! Death will have no victory over you. It will hold your body captive in the grave for a little while…but not your soul. From the moment of your death your soul will be in the presence of your Savior right up until the moment of your resurrection. And on that day, your body will come up out of the grave again, in victory, and it will be made new and glorious and immortal. And you will live in that body for all eternity on the new heavens and the new earth.

What possible reason, then, could a Christian have to fear death? I understand having some fear of the process of dying. Sometimes dying can be painful and unpleasant. But we have been set free from a fear of death. So, when our time comes, let us seal our lives with one final testimony to our great faith in the gospel, and let us face our death with faith... not fear.   

*McGrath, Alister E. What was God doing on the Cross? (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers) 1992, p112

A Refuge in Death

When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.

Proverbs 14:32

This proverb begins by saying “When calamity comes…” It’s not a question of if but when. Calamity will knock at your door sooner or later. It may come in the form of disease or injury or financial trouble or the loss of a relationship or even death, but it will come. The question is this…when calamity comes for you, will you be ready? Will you have a refuge to run to?

The proverb says that “when calamity comes the wicked are brought down.” The wicked person lives their life balanced on a razor’s edge. Their lifestyle seems exciting and thrilling but it leaves them exposed to danger. And sooner or later, when even the smallest calamity comes their way, they will fall on that razor’s edge that they walk every day.

The wicked person has no refuge in the time of trouble. They can’t expect to receive any help from the God they have spent their life mocking. They can’t expect to receive any help from the family they have caused so much heartache. Nor do they have a single true friend to come to their aid because they have never been a true friend themselves. The wicked man or woman is profoundly susceptible, at risk of being brought down by even the slightest difficulty that enters their life. 

But not so with the righteous! The righteous person has a refuge. It says that even in death, the worst calamity that life throws at us, the righteous have a refuge. Who or what is it? It is their God!

The truth, however, is that none of us are fully righteous on our own. But God has revealed a righteousness from Heaven that comes by faith and not by works (Romans 1:17). And all we must do to receive it is to acknowledge our wickedness and throw ourselves on the mercy of the Heavenly court seeking God’s grace and forgiveness. We must believe on Jesus’s death and resurrection and begin living in obedience to His commands. When we do this our sin is credited to Jesus’ account and Jesus’ righteousness is credited to ours. From that moment on when God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ. Then we too will have a refuge even in death.

Live for the Lord. Die for the Lord.

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Romans 14:8

This simple truth is often neglected. Some Christians don't want to live for the Lord. They want to live for themselves, gratifying the desires of their flesh. Others are more than willing to live for the Lord as long as it means they will be able to avoid suffering, struggle, and death. They live God-honoring lives but expect God to keep them untouched by sickness and death in return. They wouldn't claim to believe they should live forever, but when sickness or death does come, no matter how old they are, they feel betrayed by their God. 

I would like to be a third and rarer type of Christian, a Romans 14:8 Christian. I would like to be the kind of Christian who is more than willing to live every day of my life for the Lord while being willing to die for Him as well. 

In Romans 14, the concept of dying for the Lord has nothing to do with martyrdom. It is simply dying for the Lord or as unto the Lord. As Christians, we are called to do whatever we do for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Romans 14:8 reminds us that this includes dying. When you die, you should do it in such a way as to bring glory to God. You should die for the Lord just like you lived for the Lord. And every single one of us will one day be called on to die (unless we live until Jesus comes back). And I can tell you firsthand how powerful a witness it can be when a Christian dies well, when they die for the Lord. Sadly, I can also tell you that it doesn't always happen. 

So, take a moment and ask yourself if you are really living for the Lord. And then take another moment ask yourself if you are really ready to die for Him. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). I am convinced that if we obey this command, if we take up our cross every day and live for Jesus, then we will be ready to die for Him when the time comes. Live for the Lord and His glory. And when the time comes, die for Him and His glory too.

Heavenly Father, 

Help me to live for you and Your glory. And when the time comes, help me to die for you and your glory as well. In Jesus' name...Amen.

Dust to Dust (W.o.W. Rewind)

 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

History has proven that men are often more prone to arrogance than to humility. Thus, almost immediately after our Lord tells us of our role in creation (see Genesis 1:26-30 and last week's post), how being made in His image we are to rule over the world as His vice-regents, He humbles us by reminding us what we are truly made of... dust. We have been chosen by God to rule over this world not because of any inherent goodness or regal quality in us, but rather by an extra dispensation of His grace to us.

 

Psalm 103:13-16 makes the point this way,

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 

Reading that passage you get the idea that David is saying that we are but dust. One breath of the Lord's nostrils and we would disperse to the ends of the earth. Thus, our loving Father is gentle in correcting us for He (better than anyone else) knows how fragile we are.

Again Ecclesiastes 3:18-20 frames the point slightly differently saying,

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

We are no better than the animals that God has set us over. We are both made from the dust and when we die we return to the dust the same as they do.

What does all this mean? Well...it means this: Humble yourself before the Lord and remember that you are but dust. All that you have, He has given you. You haven't earned any of it. He has freely given it all. So when you enter His presence in prayer or worship do so with a humble spirit. But in your humility never forget our great hope.

The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man (I Corinthians 15:47-49).

One day the Christian will be made like Christ. We are dust now, but one day we will have heavenly bodies. We will be made like Christ. That is our hope and to that end we strive to be increasingly conformed into His image day by day.

For further reading...

• II Chronicles 33:1-20: Check out how Manasseh humbled himself before God and how seriously the Lord took his humility.
• Ecclesiastes 5:1-2: Let your words be few.
• I Corinthians 15: Check out what our heavenly bodies will be like.
• Romans 8:29: Destined to be conformed into the image of Christ.

Think about Death

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

There is a tendency toward self-deception about death in all of us. We all claim to know that we'll die one day and yet when it begins to look like that may become a present possibility on any particular day we are taken off guard. Why is that? It's because we are easily self-deluded about our own mortality. We would much rather turn a blind eye and go on thinking about something more pleasant. In other words, we would rather go to the house of feasting than the house of mourning. 

But Solomon says it's better to go to the house of mourning. Why? Well, what benefit can one get from going to a feast? Perhaps a little happiness or merriment but no positive life change. But, when you go to a funeral there is at least a chance that you will consider your end and adjust your way of living accordingly. Though the Hebrew is hard to understand, I believe this is what Solomon means in verse three when he says "by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better." No one has ever become a better person because they went to a party, but some lives have been changed for the better by great loss.

So take a page out of the playbook of the wise. Even though you would rather do about anything else, discipline yourself to think about death for "that is the end of all men." And I would add that of all people it is believers who should be able to think the most clearly about death because we know that it no longer holds power over us. Death has been swallowed up in victory in Christ Jesus our Lord and one day it will be no more. Until that day, be ready and live in such a way that death won't take you by surprise or leave you ashamed of the life you lived.

On the Other Side of Death (W.o.W. Rewind)

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:15

People love a come from behind win. There is nothing more exciting or dramatic in all of sports. You can see it all over the fan's faces. They are already feeling the sting of defeat and then, at the last possible moment, their team starts to close the gap! With the clock winding down the last goal is scored and they win the game. At times it can seem almost miraculous. For many fans there is no sweeter victory and no more crushing defeat than a come from behind win. 

We see this same type of drama unfold at the cross, except (as He is prone to do) Jesus takes it one step farther. Jesus doesn't nearly lose. By the world's standards he does lose. The whistle blows, the buzzer goes off. Game over. The Messiah has been crucified. Jesus has lost. The Adversary has won. The Devil and his demons dance with delight.

And yet, Colossians 2:15 teaches us that at the cross Jesus not only triumphed over Satan and his minions but He made a public spectacle of them. What seemed like Jesus greatest defeat was actually His greatest victory. What does this teach us about the Christian life?

Here is the spiritual principle for us. Spiritual victory always lies on the other side of some form of death. This is what Jesus reveals to His disciples in Mark 8:34-36

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

The Christian is called to live not for this world, but for the world to come. This world has a different set of priorities, a different perspective, and different values than the believer does. You simply cannot "win" by the world's definition and gain the spiritual victory as well. Gaining a spiritual victory always requires you to sacrifice things that this world values. It always requires you to put to death your sinful desires. It always requires you to loosen your grip on this world as you reach out to grab hold of the next.

Before He could swallow death up in victory (I Corinthians 15:54-57), Jesus first had to give Himself over to death. It is the same for us. Before you can provide for the orphans and the widows, you must die to your desire to spend your time and money on yourself. Before you can win a soul for Christ you must crucify your fear of man, your desire to be held in high regard. You must be willing to be mocked and ostracized for caring enough about your faith to share it with others. Before you can help win a lost people group for the Lord, you must be willing to die to your personal American dream...you must be willing to move to that remote continent and give your life to sharing the gospel with them.  

Spiritual victory always lies on the other side of some form of death. So how are you going to die today? What are you willing to give up for the kingdom? Before you answer that question consider the parable of the treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44) and remember the precious promise that no matter how much you give up, what you will gain in eternity far outweighs your sacrifice.

Death of a Loved One (W.o.W. Rewind)

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. 

Psalm 116:15

(This was originally posted on 10/12/11. The suicide of a young teen in my community this week brought it back to my mind and I felt led to rerun it.)

JD Yopp (pictured above) passed away on Monday night around 9:30pm. That may not mean much to you, but JD was my grandfather. We called him Pop. With only an eighth grade education, he taught me more about life than almost anyone else. He taught me about hard work, family, how to drive a tractor (and a stick shift), how to split wood, and how to die gracefully. This brings me to the topic for today's post: death. How do we deal with the death of a loved one?

Scripture has quite a lot to say about death, yet the most basic truth that it conveys about the topic is also one of the least known. If we are to come to terms with death we must understand first that death is the result of sin. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned." We are often told that death is a "natural" part of life. After all, every part of nature experiences death in some way or another. It's true that death is "natural" to the fallen nature we all experience, but that does not mean that it was "natural" before the Fall. Scripture teaches quite clearly that death came to humanity only after the Fall.* (A footnote for those who want to go deeper.)

But why does this matter? What difference does it make that death is the result of sin? Well, first of all, it helps us understand why the death of a loved one can be so hard for us to accept. We were not built to cope with death. We were not intended for death. Thus, we can expect death to be hard for us whether we are dying ourselves or mourning the loss of someone we loved. However there is good news. When God chose to do something about man's sin problem, He determined that He would undo not only the stain of sin but the effects of sin as well. This is why Jesus rose from the dead. Since death is the result of sin, by conquering death Jesus conquered the power of sin and the power of death in our lives (Hebrews 2:14-15 & I Corinthians 15:54-56). More than that, the Bible calls Jesus the firstfruits of the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:20-23). He was the first one to be resurrected to eternal life but He will not be the last. He opened a door that those who believe in Him will also walk through. That is why Scripture says that we should not mourn as those who have no hope (I Thessalonians 4:13). For Christians, death is leaving this world and going home. Christians are called to live as foreigners and exiles in this world (I Peter 2:11-12). We are supposed to be looking forward to the home that Jesus has been preparing for us ever since He rose from the dead (John 14:1-4).

That does not mean, however, that we do not mourn. Sometimes, Christians lose sight of that. We still mourn, but we do not mourn for the believer who has gone on to be with His Lord, we mourn for ourselves. We mourn the loss that we experience because that person is no longer around. But we mourn in hope. Hope that our believing loved ones are in a better place, hope that they will receive their full resurrection bodies like Jesus at His second coming, and hope that we will one day be reunited with them. And those believers who die, die in hope. Our great hope is to go be with Christ now (II Corinthians 5:8) and then to be resurrected physically like Him at His return (I Corinthians 15 especially verse 19). It is much harder to cope with the death of a loved one who rejected Christ. Then we truly mourn without hope. For Scripture teaches that it is appointed to man once to die and then to face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those who die apart from Christ are also resurrected but not to eternal life (Revelation 20:13-15). They are resurrected to eternal judgment. It is a truly awful thing to consider their fate. The one hope in that situation is not for the deceased but for the living. We can only pray that their passing will serve as a warning to those who have yet to bow the knee to their Savior.

For further reading...

• Romans 6:1-14- Dead to sin but alive to God in Christ.
• I Corinthians 15- The resurrection chapter.
• I Thessalonians 4:13-18- The return of Jesus.
• I Samuel 2:6-7, Psalm 68:20, Psalm 118:18- God controls death.

*You might be thinking though, "How could we have life without death?" Well, this weekend my uncle, who is a pastor, commented to me that he thinks Enoch gives us a glimpse of what God's original plan for mankind may have been (Genesis 5:23-24). We wouldn't have died, we would have simply been taken to be with the Lord. I cannot be certain that is true, but I must say that it sounds good to me.

Powerless

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 2:24

I go to quite a few funerals. As a minster it's something I've grown used to. But recently, as I sat at the funeral of a dear church member, I realized that I couldn't quite make sense of what I was feeling. I knew it was something that I feel at all funerals, but what was it?

I knew it wasn't hopelessness, because I am convinced that the dead in Christ shall rise (I Thess. 4:16). I know that the Christian hope is to receive a resurrection body like Christ's and to live eternally with Him. So I knew it wasn't hopelessness. Slowly, I realized that what I was feeling was helplessness. I felt powerless in the face of death. 

To me this feeling of powerlessness hangs heavy over funerals. I see it in the eyes of the family members. They would give anything to have their loved one back healthy and happy; but they are powerless before the irrevocable certainty of the death. I feel their pain and want dearly to offer comfort, but I feel helpless to give them what they really want. I can't take the pain away. I can't bring their loved one back. So I mourn with them. I pray for them. And I celebrate the contributions their loved one made to the life of our church. 

I can only imagine that this captures something of what the disciples of Jesus must have felt during the time Jesus was in the tomb. Helpless, powerless, and at that time they probably even felt hopeless. And just as the events of Easter met those disciples right at their place of need; it meets us at ours as well. Easter reminds the believer that death is not the ultimate reality for those who are in Christ Jesus: life is! Though we stand helpless before death, God does not. He has conquered death in Christ, and one day very soon death will be no more. God is not powerless before death. Death has been conquered. It has been swallowed up in victory. 

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"  (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) 

On the Other Side of Death

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:15

People love a come from behind win. There is nothing more exciting or dramatic in all of sports. You can see it all over the fan's faces. They are already feeling the sting of defeat and then, at the last possible moment, their team starts to close the gap! With the clock winding down the last goal is scored and they win the game. At times it can seem almost miraculous. For many fans there is no sweeter victory and no more crushing defeat than a come from behind win. 

We see this same type of drama unfold at the cross, except (as He is prone to do) Jesus takes it one step farther. Jesus doesn't nearly lose. By the world's standards he does lose. The whistle blows, the buzzer goes off. Game over. The Messiah has been crucified. Jesus has lost. The Adversary has won. The Devil and his demons dance with delight.

And yet, Colossians 2:15 teaches us that at the cross Jesus not only triumphed over Satan and his minions but He made a public spectacle of them. What seemed like Jesus greatest defeat was actually His greatest victory. What does this teach us about the Christian life?

Here is the spiritual principle for us. Spiritual victory always lies on the other side of some form of death. This is what Jesus reveals to His disciples in Mark 8:34-36

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

The Christian is called to live not for this world, but for the world to come. This world has a different set of priorities, a different perspective, and different values than the believer does. You simply cannot "win" by the world's definition and gain the spiritual victory as well. Gaining a spiritual victory always requires you to sacrifice things that this world values. It always requires you to put to death your sinful desires. It always requires you to loosen your grip on this world as you reach out to grab hold of the next.

Before He could swallow death up in victory (I Corinthians 15:54-57), Jesus first had to give Himself over to death. It is the same for us. Before you can provide for the orphans and the widows, you must die to your desire to spend your time and money on yourself. Before you can win a soul for Christ you must crucify your fear of man, your desire to be held in high regard. You must be willing to be mocked and ostracized for caring enough about your faith to share it with others. Before you can help win a lost people group for the Lord, you must be willing to die to your personal American dream...you must be willing to move to that remote continent and give your life to sharing the gospel with them.  

Spiritual victory always lies on the other side of some form of death. So how are you going to die today? What are you willing to give up for the kingdom? Before you answer that question consider the parable of the treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44) and remember the precious promise that no matter how much you give up, what you will gain in eternity far outweighs your sacrifice.