On Death and Dying
January 2007
I write on this subject at the risk of
depressing you as you change the page of the calendar to the beginning
of 2007. The beginning of the year is kind of like a birthday. It
reminds me again that another year has gone by, making me one
year closer to the end of my brief life.
I know it is tempting to get depressed when
pondering such things, but it is good from time to time to think about
the subject of death.
That particular subject has been on my mind a
lot as of late. In September my grandmother died. She had a long bout
with various illnesses and infections and finally died about two weeks
before her 79th birthday.
Then we experienced the passing of our beloved
friend and brother-in-Christ, Bud Schaffer, on December 14th.
As I was doing Bud’s funeral, my own
grandfather was lying in a hospital bed dying of the same disease that
had finally taken Bud’s life. After a surgery to correct fluid on his
lungs, my grandfather seems to be getting better. However, I know that
at the age of 82, his life cannot be prolonged forever. Eventually, I’ll
get that phone call.
Finally, just about two weeks ago, Diedre’s
grandmother died at the age of 94. So I have had the subject of death
and dying on the mind.
Face to Face with Death
I remember as a child attending my
great-grandmother’s funeral. It was the first time in my life that I
realized that some day I would die. I remember standing next to the
graveside. I looked at the coffin and thought, “My grandmother is lying
in there. At least her body is lying in there.” Then I looked at the
hole in the ground that they were about to lower the casket into and
thought, “They are going to put that box into that hole and it will stay
there forever.” Then it hit me. I thought to myself, “Someday, and it
might be soon, I will be lying in a box like that and people will be
putting me into a hole in the ground.” Instantly, I was terrified.
For the next several years, until I came to
faith in Christ, I was haunted by the eventuality of my own death. Every
time I thought about it, I got worried. I feared death. I feared dying
slowly and painfully. I feared dying too quickly and unexpectedly. I
feared the very act of dying, and I feared the unknown of what awaited
me after death. I was in every way someone who “through fear of death
lived in slavery all my life.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)
That fear of death was one of many things that
Christ liberated me from. Now, I don’t fear death, nor do I fear what
awaits me afterward. I actually look forward to both.
The Certainty of Death
It has been joked that there are only two
things certain in life, death and taxes. However, I would point out that
many times, taxes can be avoided. In the end, death cannot.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us we are appointed
to die and after death comes the judgment. Paul reminds us in Romans
5:12 that “death spread to all men.” Death is the universal plague.
From the moment of our conception, we are faced
with one absolute certainty - we will die. Indeed, death is the end of
all living.
Solomon reminds us that “the dust will return
to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”
Therefore we ought to “remember our Creator in the days of our youth.” (Ecc.
12:1, 7)
Charles Spurgeon said, “We are all like
trees marked for the axe, and the fall of one should remind us that for
every one, whether great as the cedar, or humble as the fir, the
appointed hour is stealing on apace.”
The Fear of Death
Death is an unwelcome enemy. We were not
created to die. Death came through sin.
After God finished His creative work, He saw
all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
Death, disease, suffering, and decay were not part of what God
pronounced as “very good.” Death did not come until Adam disobeyed the
Lord’s command and sinned (Genesis 2:15-17). It was through that
one act of disobedience that all Adam’s descendants were made sinners (Romans
5). Death entered creation through sin. Before sin, there was no
death. Now, due to Adam’s sin, the “whole creation groans” under the
curse (Romans 8:22) being subject to futility.
We were originally created and designed to live
forever in perfection with God. Death is an intruder into that design,
therefore death is most naturally a thing to be feared among men.
Woody Allen once quipped, “I’m not afraid to
die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” It is a very
natural thing for a man or woman to fear death because death is an
intrusion into creation and is not part of our natural order.
Men and women will go to great extents to avoid
thinking about or talking about their eventual demise. They will avoid
making funeral arrangements, preparing a will or discussing the issue
with their spouse. They will comfort themselves with the deception that
there is no life after death. They will deny that there is a judgment to
come. And deceive themselves into believing that everyone who dies “goes
to a better place to rest in peace.” These actions and beliefs are a
manifestation of man’s unwillingness to face up to the fact that he is
only dust of the earth, soon to return to dust.
The Slavery of Fear
Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Therefore,
since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also
partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him
who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who
through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
The end of the second chapter of Hebrews
describes the humiliation of the Son of God. Jesus, although being
better than Moses and better than even the angels, was made a little
lower than the angels in order that He might “taste death for everyone.”
(2:9) In order for Christ to become a merciful and faithful High
Priest for us in the things pertaining to God, and in order for him to
make propitiation for His people, He had to be made like His brethren in
all things. (2:16-18) For this reason, the Son of God became a
man.
Therefore, verse 14 says, “He shared in our
flesh and blood.” He became a man. He joined Himself with humanity in
the incarnation by being born of a virgin. By being limited to flesh and
blood, and by tasting death for all men, He can sympathize with us.
Have you ever faced death? Do you think that
Jesus is unable to sympathize with you? Think again. He faced death. He
tasted death for every man. He knows what it means to stare death in the
face and He endured it. I might add, He endured a death more painful and
humiliating than any that you and I might face.
Yet, the death of Christ was not just an
ordinary death of an ordinary man. The death of Christ was an atonement
and propitiation for sin. Having accomplished the work of paying the
price for sin, Christ rose victoriously from the grave and “is never to
die again; death no longer is master over Him.” (Romans 6:9)
Unlike our eventual death, Hebrews 2
says that Christ accomplished some things in His death. In fact, the
passage under our consideration mentions two.
First, in His death, “He rendered powerless
him who had the power of death, that is the devil.” The death of
Christ, destroyed the devil (KJV, NKJV, NIV). The word translated
“rendered powerless” or “destroyed” is the Greek word katargēsē.
The meaning is not that Satan ceased to exist, or that he is inactive.
Rather, it means “to deprive of force, influence, or power.”
If one military force conquered another,
confiscated their weapons, captured their commanders, and disbanded
their army, they would be rendered powerless and destroyed in that
sense. Although Satan still exists, and although he still deceives and
works, one of his most powerful weapons has been taken from him - the
fear of death.
When we were part of the kingdom of darkness (Col.
1:13), Satan was our spiritual father (Jn. 8:44), we lived in
darkness, were children of wrath (Eph. 2:1-3) and lived according
to Satan’s desires and dictates. In the victory of the death and
resurrection of Christ, Satan was defeated. His weapons were stripped
from him and death no longer holds its sting.
Second, He set free “those who through fear
of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Do you realize that you are a slave to your
fears? At first you may doubt that, but let me offer you an
illustration. If you fear people, then people control you. You will fear
what people think about you, what people say about you, and how people
feel about you. That fear of people will wield force in every decision
that you make, including what to wear, what to buy, where to work, how
to spend your leisure time, what to drive, how you walk, talk, and even
how you comb your hair. You will live enslaved to what others think of
you. You will be a slave to the fear of men.
One of the weapons that Satan used to wield
influence over us was our fear of death. When we feared death, we became
slaves to our fear of death, being in bondage to that fear. That fear
makes you a slave by wielding influence and force over decisions that
you make. Fear of death makes preserving self a higher priority than
glorifying God. We then live under it’s constant shadow, being in fear
and dread. We hate our own mortality and the final hours of one’s life
are spent in dread, fear, angst, and panic. We are its slaves!
But Christ has set us free who once were living
in slavery to the fear of death. We no longer need to fear death! Isn’t
that good news? The most natural thing for an unbeliever is to fear
death. The unbeliever doesn’t have the certainty of being forgiven and
escaping judgment. They have no hope for the resurrection of the body
and eternal life with God which is promised to the believer. They have
no certainty about what awaits them after life. What a great victory all
believers have in Christ! Satan and death are defeated and the fear of
death is gone! The one who is free in Christ is the most free of all. No
longer slaves to the fear of death.
Preferring Death
Paul had the right perspective on death. When
given the choice between remaining on in this life and serving the
church or departing to be with Christ, Paul could say without hesitation
that to depart and be with Christ is “far better.” (Phil. 1:23)
We can understand why it would be far better since “to die is gain.” (Phil.
1:21)
In 2 Cor. 5:6-10 the Apostle revealed
that to “be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord.” He
then says something that might sound a bit brash to modern readers, “We
prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the
Lord.”
Do you share that perspective? Would you prefer
dying to living? Do you so much long for your eternal inheritance that
you actually would prefer to be absent here and present with the Lord?
Do you feel that the focus of your living is Christ and the blessing of
dying is gain?
If you don’t share that perspective, why not?
Do you think something was wrong with Paul, or is there something wrong
with you?
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Do not be
afraid to die, beloved, but rather look at death as an experience to be
desired. I have not the slightest wish to escape it.” Spurgeon also
said, “If you dwell near to God, you will not be afraid of dying; you
will rather dread to remain here than to be taken away.” Only a
believer in Jesus Christ could honestly and sanely utter such
statements.
What We Long For
Whenever a believer that I know departs this
life to go and be with Christ, I will often spend some time
contemplating the bliss that they presently enjoy.
What must it be like to close one’s eyes and to
wake up in the region of perpetual youth? What must it be like to
suddenly be liberated from the curse of the fall? To be in a place where
there is no unrighteousness, and where no sin exists? To be where there
is only perfect love and peace, holiness and righteousness, goodness and
bliss? To no longer feel hunger, pain, anxiety, depression, suffering,
worry, doubt, sadness, loss, exhaustion, anger, or fear. To enjoy the
blessedness of forgiveness and eternal bliss.
What must it be like to step into the presence
of the eternal, infinitely glorious God the Father and His Son Jesus
Christ? To stand before the throne of God and worship without
distraction, in a perfect worship service, without the presence of sin
or sinners. To see Christ as He is and be glorified in Him, by Him, with
Him, and through Him? To stand with the great company of God’s redeemed
elect from all the ages? To worship with and talk to the great Old
Testament saints like Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, Job, Elijah and
Elisha. To enjoy the presence and fellowship with the great New
Testament saints like Paul, Peter, Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, John, and
Mary. To spend time with the great saints from the history of the church
like Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, John Knox, David Brainard, Martin
Luther, Augustine, Calvin, Huss, and countless others?
What must it be like to realize and receive
finally and fully our inheritance in Christ that we were predestined to
before the foundation of the world? The glory, bliss, and blessing of
what awaits believers in Christ is beyond our ability to comprehend and
appreciate here. I am convinced it will take all of eternity for us to
have unfolded before us the glories of our God and our Christ.
Some people may object that meditating on such
things can only make us “too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.”
As if focusing our hearts and minds on the here and now will somehow
make us more useful on earth. However Peter tells us to “fix our hope on
the grace that is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus
Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13)
It seems completely fitting that we should
remember regularly that this mortal shall one day be swallowed up with
immortality and that this perishable shall put on the imperishable. Paul
even said that while we are in this tent (earthly body) we groan to be
clothed with our dwelling from heaven.
It is said that when the great puritan Richard
Baxter lay dying, a good friend came to see him.
“Dear Mr. Baxter,” said the friend, “How are
you?”
“Almost well,” was his reply.
That is the heavenly perspective. For the
redeemed, death is but the doorway to glory.
Without Wax -
Jim Osman
Pastor/Teacher
C.H. Spurgeon on "Death"
“Oh, if we could not die, it would be indeed
horrible! Who wants to be chained to this poor life for a century or
longer?”
“Will you quarrel with God because some of your
dearest ones are promoted to the skies? The thought of their amazing
bliss greatly moderates our natural grief.” |
