Becoming a Secure Christian
PART 3 : Personal Security (Theory & Practice)
Chapter 16: 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” (Heb 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 Judgment 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.
16.1 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 its 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.
Becoming a Secure Christian 