death

TERROR OR TRIUMPH BEYOND THE GRAVE?

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When still living in SOCAL, Disneyland offered free admission to birthday-people! So on Laurie’s birthday (October 29th), we went. Many of the attractions and rides were decked out in Halloween scariness: spooks, spirits, and skulls abounded! On some of the rides, I couldn’t shake thoughts of the terror beyond the grave that awaits people who reject Christ Jesus, the only One who can take away our sins against a holy, just God, sins which continue assigning people to an eternity of tormenting terror.

It’s well known that Jesus talked more about hell than heaven. The horrors that lay beyond the grave are graphically spelled out in the New Testament, the gospels in particular. Hell simply must be avoided at all costs. Jesus’ willingness to suffer as He did on Calvary’s cross demonstrates this truth.

Why is there a hell anyway? In simple terms, God is just. All wrongdoing will be “paid for” so to speak by consignment, for all eternity, to the place of torment, called in the Bible hell. Again, the details of the suffering are specified in the Gospels (use a Bible concordance to look up all references to hell if you want the details).

The only way of escaping such horror is to believe Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against sin; that He died in our place, paying the penalty for our sins (eternal separation from God — inescapable, unending torment).

I’m astounded at how prolific images of skulls have become in our day, symbols of death with apparently little serious thought given to what death and existence beyond the grave really is. “Gospel” means Good News — triumph beyond the grave, not terror; triumph for all who receive God’s pardon through faith in Christ alone.

Are you prepared for what lies beyond your death and burial? Just as surely as you are reading these words, your death is inevitable — are you prepared?

Paul sums up the good news of the gospel in I Corinthians 15:3-6: “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”

Believe this and there will be no terror for you beyond the grave, only triumph over death and sin’s consequences!

THAT IS REALLY DUMB!

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One of the most absurd arguments presented to me for not believing that “Christ died for our sins, was buried, then was raised from the dead on the third day — and was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5) is this one: “I’ll pass for now — and just wait and see what happens on the other side!”

I’ve heard various forms of this reasoning time-and-again. I recall a specific example with a bright young graduate student. After I told him what Jesus did — and why he used this very same reasoning: “Guess I’ll just wait and see!”

I responded with “You’re gambling, you’re ‘placing your bet’ on the assumption that Jesus either lied, was self-deceived, or mad?” He came back with the trendy argument of our day: “There’s no historical evidence that Jesus even existed!”

I suppose some people actually believe this to be true (that Jesus Christ is just a myth of history), but for many, it is simply an attempt to escape moral accountability to a Holy God: “Hey, if Jesus is a myth, I have nothing to fear; I can live my life as I please!”

Folks like this used to really frustrate me. Here I was, sharing the greatest news ever known to man, only to have it spurned, mocked, rejected. A most significant lesson for me as I’ve grown older is just this: I’m to share the love of God with people and leave the results with Him!

In other words, my “job” is not to convince but to inform. God draws people, not me (John 6:44). There are sufficient reasons to support the Christian faith. The genuine seeker of God will eventually come to this conclusion.

So what exactly is the message Jesus proclaimed? We call it the Gospel (“Good News”) — here it is in a nutshell:

  • God created us to be with Him
  • Our sins separate us from God
  • Sins cannot be removed by good deeds
  • Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever

The late Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) used to say, “The death rate is still one-per-person!”

Preparing for the inevitable seems like a great idea to me! Charles Spurgeon, famous for fearlessly preaching the truth regardless of what people thought of it (or him!) once said, “He who does not prepare for death is more than an ordinary fool, he is a madman.”

I wonder, are you prepared?

A FUNERAL IS BETTER THAN A PARTY!

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I’m sure most of you have attended a funeral, perhaps even recently.

If given the choice, most of us would rather go to a birthday party than to a funeral! But Solomon advises against it. Notice what he writes in Ecclesiastes 7:1-4: “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.”

A funeral is better than a party! Why? Because death and sorrow can give us a more meaningful perspective on life than laughter can. Solomon was not a depressed melancholic; he didn’t live a gloomy, morbid life. On the contrary: In Proverbs he wrote about the necessity of laughter, a cheerful heart, etc. Even in Ecclesiastes he says life’s bottom line is to enjoy all of life as God’s gift.

But here Solomon suggests the sight of the dead in the house of mourning is better than a party because it causes us to think of our own end. There is a time to laugh; but there is also a time to mourn. We need times of mourning because the more we’re reminded of death, the more seriously we will consider our own destiny. Solomon’s message to us?

Let death be your teacher!

HOW TO LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS

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How can we live a life that matters? We’ve seen Solomon’s rather unusual advice. He says to “Let death be your teacher!” (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

As I wrote previously, Solomon is not suggesting a morbid preoccupation with death! No; he is simply making the observation that the more we are reminded of death, the more seriously we will consider our own destiny.

An unfortunate by-product of our modern world is that we are able to avoid the sight of death and confrontations with death, the tragic result being we don’t take life as seriously as we should. To this Solomon says: “…death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”

How can we do this? How can we let death be our teacher? Here are a few suggestions:

Avoid morbid introspection: Solomon is not talking about a preoccupation with death; he’s not suggesting we look for it; he’s not suggesting field trips to the local mortuary! What he is saying is… Don’t avoid considering your inevitable end: In the God-ordained times and seasons of life people in our personal world will die. Solomon says we should seize these opportunities to consider afresh our own inevitable end: “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

As someone put it long ago: “Death may come soon to some of us and it surely won’t be long for any of us.” Death should cause us to reflect on our own frailness — and on the quality and direction of our own lives. It should stimulate a little soul searching.

Now, we can also let death be our teacher by asking the right questions:

  • Am I prepared for death? If the thought of death strikes fear in our heart it’s probably because our relationship with God isn’t right. There is only one way to prepare for death and judgment: We must believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as the only Savior and Lord for our life. There is no other way of salvation. If we’ve done this but still have fear it might be due to unconfessed sin.
  • Am I redeeming the time wisely? The Bible says:
  • “Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Ephesians 5:15-17
  • What is His will? That God, family, and friends are a priority; redeeming the time wisely is keeping short accounts with loved ones. It’s taking the initiative to be reconciled with someone.
  • What are my honest feelings? Human relationships are seldom if ever without blemish. So, at death there is ordinarily a mixture of emotions (guilt, regret). We can lay the whole burden of our emotions before God.

My conclusion: Life is not an endless summer! Winter will come to us all. To die with honor, live with perspective. To live with perspective let death be your teacher. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” Psalm 90:12.

An old Scotchman, while dying, was asked what he thought of death, and he replied, “It matters little to me whether I live or die. If I die I will be with Jesus, and if I live Jesus will be with me.”

That’s a healthy attitude — and a good note to end this [lengthy!] devotional on!