Chapter
15 : Secure in facing Death
“
…so that by his death he might… free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death ”
(Hebrews
2:14.15 )
Before we come to the end of this book on personal security
we need to cover one more area that upsets many people, that of death.
In this chapter we'll look at facing death, facing the path to death,
facing the thought of appearing at the Judgement and facing the very
thought of eternal life. This is a subject about which we could say
a great deal, but for the sake of space we'll try to keep it short and
simple.
15.1
Facing Death
When we're young, death seems a far off thing that has little
relevance for us. It perhaps takes the death of a loved one, or a life
threatening personal experience, or of passing middle age, to make some
of us face the realities of that one thing in life that we can actually
guarantee - that life will end. The same truth is clearly there in both
the Old and New Testaments:
Eccles
7:2 “death is the destiny
of every man”
Heb
9:27 “man is destined
to die”
Yes, that is the truth, every single one of us without
exception is going to die - sometime! For most of us we don't know when
that will be. For a few, for those with a terminal illness, we may have
a good idea how long we have left. But, whether at this moment we are
conscious of how limited our days are, or whether in the flush of youth
we almost believe it will never happen, the reality is that it IS going
to happen and we should, therefore, be quite clear about it.
Beyond
the End of Life?
Now you may feel that some of what I say is merely academic but
the truth is that many people are genuinely worried about these things.
For instance THE crucial issue first of all is, is there anything after
death? It is a worry that many people have. Many people seem to live
as if they were convinced that there is nothing more after death, they
gamble on that great assumption, yet is a very shallow assumption.
From
the earliest times of history mankind has had a belief in an afterlife.
World religions have always made death a key issue. In the latter half
of the twentieth century came a number of after-death-through-resuscitation
accounts from people who had experiences purporting to have been through
death and back again. Yet, for the Christian, the Bible is the only
sure source on which to base belief about life after death.
So
what is Death
Trying to be as simple as possible, death is:
•
the end of a physical life on earth when
the heart and brain stop working
•
the result of living in a sinful world,
where we are told the human body is subject to deterioration and eventually
death and decay
•
the passing from this physical world
into a spiritual world.
The fear of death that the writer to the Hebrews
was referring to at the top of this page is, in most of us, both fear
of the unknown after death, and fear of the way we might die. We'll
deal with the latter fear in the second part of this chapter. When it
comes to the first fear, we have to say that the picture is not absolutely
clear, which is why there are a variety of views from scholars on it.
Rather than lay out all of the views of what happens after life on earth
ceases, I would rather suggest a simplified description of what happens.
Trusting
in God's Goodness
When we are unsure about the future, it is sometimes
helpful to look back and see what the past tells us that might bring
confidence for the future. Whatever may be suggested about what happens
after death, may I ask you to remember everything that you have read
so far in this book about God's love and acceptance of you that can
help you feel secure in your life on earth. That love is not going to
suddenly disappear the moment you die. All of the work of God through
His Son, Jesus Christ, was with the one aim - to bring you into a place
of blessing, a place where all the goodness of God can come to you.
That does not change at death; in fact that goodness to you multiplies
a million fold. You're going to get the culmination of all of God's
promises to you!
Comfort
from the Cross
When Jesus rose from the dead (and this is the point the
Hebrew writer was making) the fact that he came back from death indicated
quite clearly the thing that he had been saying throughout his ministry
- there is another reality called heaven and that death was not just
the end. Again and again Jesus had spoken about his existence with the
Father before he came to earth (e.g. Jn 6:33 ,38 etc.) and had prayed
about returning to heaven to his previous existence with the Father
(Jn 17:5).
As he hung on the Cross, to the penitent thief Jesus declared,
“ today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43).
Clearly there is no room to believe he meant anything other than heaven.
After his resurrection, on the road to Emmaus, he chided two of the
disciples with the words, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these
things and then enter his glory ” (Lk 24:26). Again his
glory can only refer to his place at the Father's side in heaven, to
which so much other Scripture testifies (e.g. Mk 16:19, Acts 2:33, Eph
1;20, Phil 2:9, Col 3;1, Heb 1:3 etc. etc.). Thus before his death,
on the Cross and after it Jesus testifies to us to the reality of life
after death with his Father in heaven.
A
Place for Us?
Speaking of heaven, in his Last Supper discourse, Jesus says
to his followers, “I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you
to be with me, that you also may be where I am.” (Jn 14:2,3)
I don't want to go into details here (because of lack of space)
about the time or order of what happens after we die, but the above
verses clearly indicate that Jesus' objective is that we will be with
him in heaven. Will we be like we are now? No, in the same way that
Jesus' resurrected body seemed to be capable of new things so, the Bible
indicates, will ours be:
1
Cor 15:42-44 “The body
that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable. It is sown in
dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
“Sown” means buried in the earth at death. When we die our body is perishing,
it is submitting to death, dying in weakness, a natural physical body
at the end of it's time. In heaven the body you will have will not be
subject to decay or degeneration, it will be glorious and powerfully
recreated, a spirit body to enjoy a glorious life with God who is spirit.
15.2
Facing the Path to Death
For many of us, it's not so much death itself as the things that
lead up to death. Some of us fear a lingering disease that leads to
a painful death. Others of us fear the possibility of persecution that
end with us being put to death by those who oppose Christ. These are
very real fears, for both forms of death happen all the time somewhere
in the world. There are at least two things that might help us here.
The first is the grace of God available to us, and the second is the
effect of the way we go to glory. Let's consider them separately.
The
Available Grace of God
When Paul was struggling with his famous ‘thorn in the flesh'
the Lord said to him, “ My grace is sufficient for you ” (2
Cor 12:9). Now what does God's grace mean in this context? It is the
God-given supernatural ability to cope with the circumstances .
Apart from Jesus himself, perhaps the greatest illustration
of this in the Bible is that of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
In the face of opposition, Luke records that Stephen was “ full
of the Holy Spirit ” (Acts 7:55 ) and in that state receives a
divine revelation of Jesus which seems to enable him to be gracious
even as he is being stoned to death!
Those who study the deaths of Christian martyrs through the ages
often comment on the grace that was there that enabled such men and
women to face death, almost with equanimity. The reality is that whenever
God allows us to go through such circumstances, He always provides the
grace for us to cope with it. While we're not going through it we wonder
at how the saints who do go through it cope. It's one of those things
you can't really comprehend fully until you face it yourself.
As we look towards our future, each one of us has to come
to a place where, in the light of all that we have read earlier in this
book, we trust ourselves into the care of our loving heavenly Father,
whether it be in respect of our physical health and well-being or in
respect of what others might do to us.
The
Effect of the Way we Die
Probably the greatest testimony in the Bible comes from
the ‘famous three' in the book of Daniel who declared, “If we are
thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us
from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he
does not, we want you to know O king, that we will not serve your gods
…” (Dan 3:17 ,18).
What they were saying was God can deliver us from this,
but even if He chooses not to, we're going to stick with Him! Sometimes
God comes to deliver us from it (as he did with these three) and at
other times He delivers through it (as He did with Stephen). The effect
of this statement from these three young men has had tremendous impact
on countless believers down through the ages.
These young men faced death with a great testimony and
as a result impacted many others. The way we live our lives can, said
Jesus, be like a light on a hill (Mt 5:14 -16), we can impact others
- and that means right up to the moment of death. In fact sometimes
because of the way we face death our testimony can be even greater.
But it's not only the impact on the people who surround
us, it's also the impact that we have on the heavenly watchers. Earlier
in the book I spoke about Eph 3:10 His intent was that now, through
the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers
and authorities in the heavenly realms . As the angels look on
and see the way you handle your closing days, they marvel at the grace
of God and you become a source for praise to God. Even if, in your closing
days, there are few people around you, the angelic beings see and they
praise God for you. Right up until the last minute on earth, you and
I have the potential for bringing glory to God in heaven.
And
So?
So, can we, by the grace of God cope with the possibly incredibly
trying circumstances that run up to our death, and can we in those days
or weeks bring glory to God through it?
15.3
Facing the Judgement
The
Fact of Judgement
After death comes judgement, the Bible is clear about that:
Heb
9:2 “man is destined
to die once, and after that to face judgement”
It is the thought of that judgement that brings fear to many.
What will happen? Will God bring up all the wrong things I've done throughout
my life? That is a very real fear for many, so what is the truth about
it?
Mt 12:36 has Jesus saying: “I tell you that
men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless
word they have spoken,” which at first sight seems to create a
somewhat negative impression of the judgement time. That verse leaves
us with the impression that God will drag up every tiny thing we've
done wrong throughout our lives, every word out of place, so that we
are left standing in shame with head bowed receiving the scorn of heaven.
Is that how it will be?
One of the main rules of interpreting Scripture is that any particular
verse must be seen in context and also seen in the light of the rest
of Scripture. Now we've seen previously in the book, clearly I hope,
that Jesus' words of stinging rebuke are kept for the unrepentant (and
in the above situation Jesus was speaking to the proud and arrogant
Scribes and Pharisees). Jesus' words for his followers who sometimes
got it wrong were gently corrective. For those of us whose hearts are
fully turned towards him, his intent is not to make us appear foolish
failures, we know that already!
Again and again Jesus' teaching, like the Law, drives us into
the arms of God. An example of this is found in Mt 19:25,26 - When
the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who
then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." The
point Jesus makes is that we human being have no grounds to stand on
our own. Salvation only comes to us through the work of Christ on the
Cross.
Jesus
speaks for us
So what will happen before the judgement seat? Will
God produce a massively long list of our failures? The Bible doesn't
actually say but it does show on occasion Satan as an accuser. Is it
possible that it will be one of Satan's last permitted acts, to stand
in the throne room of heaven and accuse YOU? If he does, before he can
get even a few words out, I see Jesus stepping forward and quietly saying,
“No, they're one of mine.”, and that's it! Satan slinks out while Jesus
throws his arms around you and introduces you to his Father, saying,
“We've so looked forward to your coming home”. Well it may not be like
that - it may be far more glorious!
It was the apostle Peter who said, “ Love covers
a multitude of sins ” (1 Pet 4:8), and everything I'm learning
about Jesus these days tells me that he wasn't in the business of demeaning
his disciples - correcting yes, but demeaning, no! Think of the parable
of the prodigal son again and remember how the father welcomed home
the son - without a word of rebuke, just with love. That's how it's
going to be when you go to heaven and come before God, gloriously holy,
utterly perfect where there is nothing but nothing that you can do to
add to your salvation, it's just reward time!
15.4
Facing Eternal Life
Eternal life started the day you became a Christian. Remember
Jn 3:16 " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life . That truth is repeated again and again throughout the New
Testament: believers receive eternal life! What is eternal life? It
is life that has no end and if you are given eternal life at the point
you come to Christ, it means that from that moment on you
will not die. So what happens at death, how does that tie in with what
we've just said? Well a number of times in Scripture you'll find those
who have just died being referred to as having “fallen asleep”. Isn't
that nice! When you “die” here on earth you're simply “falling asleep”
and when you “wake up” you'll be in heaven.
The
Picture of Emigration
A picture I've always had of death and eternal life has
been of someone emigrating, say going to Australia from England on a
one-way ticket, except in this case the “ Australia ” is going to be
so much more glorious than anything we've ever known. Sometimes I've
been involved in discussions about what heaven will be like. My wife,
who likes watching air shows maintains God will allow her to fly in
one of the fastest supersonic jets. I've often replied that I think
God will let me fly like a supersonic jet!
What were we saying? Whatever the picture we get of heaven it
is going to be so much more gloriously wonderful than anything we've
ever known here. Eternal life is not going to be boring! You're not
going to worry about time (lack of it that causes stress, or too much
of it that makes for tedium), you're going to be taken up with the sheer
wonder of God and all that He's made for our pure enjoyment.
God's
Sensual World
You think that's too hedonistic? Think again. When
God made this material world he made it perfect and for our pleasure.
He gave you senses that seem to make us different from any other creatures
in His creation. Think about it, eyes that take pleasure in beautiful
sunsets, the almost infinite number of shades and hues in His creation,
taste buds that could rejoice over the incredible variety of foods that
He had provided for us, hearing that could marvel at the song of birds
or the roar of a waterfall or delight in music, touch that could cause
shivers down our spine!
It was the apostle James who said Every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father (Jas 1:17 ). So
often we forget these things because Sin has spoilt life on earth. Put
aside sin and see what you are left with, and if you think eternal life
is going to compare with life on the sinful earth, think again!
Struggling
for the Reality
Imagine living in a single room with the curtains drawn shut
so only a filtered light gets through, so your life in that room sees
everything in dark hues, slightly blurred, imagine living like that
all your life. Then imagine being taken outside into the full wonder
of the created world outside on a bright Summer's day where you have
unrestricted access to the entire world with its multitude of colours
and shapes. It's a poor analogy but I think that is a vague measure
of the comparison between life on sinful earth and eternal life after
life on this earth. I may be wrong but only because I understate it.
Read again the last two chapters of the Bible where it's
as if God says, OK after we've run the gamut of time-space history we'll
recreate everything anew so what we have will not be tainted in any
way by what has gone before, but it will be there for all you, my children
,who have responded to my news about my Son, Jesus. Yes, the vision
was in language and using pictures that John, two thousand years ago
could cope with, that would communicate something to him, but remember
it was a prophetic vision and a vision is only a poor reflection of
the real thing when it comes. If we have a poor image of eternal life,
it's probably because our eyes have been too long on the woes of sinful
earth. It's time to lift them.
15.5
And So?
What have we been saying in this chapter? We have spoken
about
Facing
death
•
something that will come to every one
of us
•
yet something not to be feared by Christians
•
merely a door into heaven and eternal
life
Facing
the Path to Death
•
the path is not always easy, get God's
grace is always there
•
God's grace to cope only comes when we
need it
•
we may not be able to visualise it, but
it'll be there when we need it
•
the way we die can be a means of glorifying
God
•
that may be before people and before
the angelic watchers.
Facing
Judgement
•
we'll all have to stand before God as
failures
•
yet, as Christians, we'll be received
as God's children, joyfully
Facing
Eternal Life
•
this is life that starts now but never
ends
•
yet when we die we pass into a new phase
so much more glorious
•
dying for the Christian is simply going
to sleep
•
when we wake we'll be in heaven with
God
•
that will be life beyond our wildest
dreams
You are a Christian? You know it? You know it is not because
you are nice, have done good, or attended? You know you are what you
are, a child of God, only because of the work of Jesus Christ on the
Cross of Calvary? You know you are what you are, a child of God in whom
the Spirit of God lives? You know that you are fully loved and accepted
by God? Then also know that the eternal things spoken of in this chapter
are yours as well. Rejoice in your future. It is glorious!