The Truth About Death |
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Elder
Phillip N. Conley |
John 11:25-26, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live: And whosever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die. Believest thou this?"
This morning, there are many things that people fear, and
death is one of the top contenders. Over the years, I have
heard that people fear public speaking more than death - as
a general rule. As one that has to speak publicly quite a
bit as a minister, I find it remarkable that people would
generally rather die than have to do what I do. Regardless,
death is greatly feared. There are few subjects that have
been philosophized about as much as death. Men of learning
and some measure of knowledge have wondered and tried to
figure out what happens at death, after death, and all the
connection points between this fragile thing we call life
and the great unknown beyond it. Job of old (probably the
oldest book of the Bible) even asked the question, "If a man
die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14a) At my secular
employment, I get asked questions surrounding it on a
regular basis. Yet, it seems to my observation that more
energy has been put into trying to figure out what God has
already plainly declared. After all, Job answered his own
question when he said, "All the days of my appointed time
will I wait, till my change come." (Job 14:14b)
The scene surrounding our study verses is focused on Jesus'
interaction with a family of Bethany that had lost a family
member due to death. Mary and Martha recently lost their
brother Lazarus, and when Jesus arrives with His disciples,
He converses with both sisters before heading to the tomb to
raise Lazarus back to life. Our study verses are in the
midst of His conversation with Martha. In these thoughts we
see what might seem at first blush to be a contradiction of
thought. However, when placing these verses next to other
passages of the Bible, they harmonize quite well with what
the Bible plainly declares about life, death, and everything
that follows. Notice the seeming clash of thought: 1. If
someone believeth in Him, they will live though they have
died, 2. If someone believeth in Him, they will never die.
In side by side notation, they appear at odds with each
other. But, as we have tried to stress many times over the
years, problematic situations in Scripture comes from our
problematic minds not the text itself. Our minds are frail
and faulty, whereas the word is pristine and sublime.
To answer the critic's charges while also probing one of the
most discussed and philosophized concepts in history, we
will see the great power of God's deliverance while also
strengthening our grip on fervent and assured service in the
here and now. Man is composed of 3 parts: body, soul, and
spirit, and two of these parts are unseen while the body is
the portion that is visible to the naked eye. This writing,
nor any other writing of man, can delineate what exactly the
division of the soul and spirit is. Only Jesus can do such a
thing (Hebrews 4:12), but Scripture affirms that man is
composed of these 3 parts. (I Thessalonians 5:23) So, when
Jesus makes a statement about never dying and also says that
death shall be followed by the resurrection, we can clearly
see the answer to the critic's problem with the portion of
man's composition under consideration.
Scripture teaches that the internal, unseen parts of man do
not die. The spirit goes back to God that gave it
(Ecclesiastes 12:7b), and the soul departs at the moment of
death. (Genesis 35:18) The body, on the other hand, does lay
down in death and go back to corruption. (Ecclesiastes
12:7a) So, from these places - among others - Jesus'
statement about never dying refers to the unseen parts of
man, while the resurrection happens for the body that we
see. One of the problems that man has in his postulating and
philosophizing about death and things beyond it is the fact
that he is thinking only in terms of things that we can see.
To the natural sight, death is a reality with finality to
it. We cannot see beyond that separation by natural ability,
and to truly appreciate and cling to the things beyond this
life, the sight of faith's eye is required.
One of the things that I did not realize growing up is how
different my perspective on death and the things surrounding
it was from most of my peers. Most of my peers were
unfamiliar with funerals, and they did not think about death
much due to their youth. As a minister's son, I went to many
funerals and saw all the associated things with it such as
grief, mourning, and comfort. Only after I was grown and
began to understand how different my perspective was did I
come to appreciate how treasured the situation of joyful
hope and strong trust and belief in these things really is.
Jesus strongly makes the point that there is a high premium
on belief in these situations. Now, to be clear, belief is
not what makes these things so. Belief never changes
reality. Belief is simply an admission of what is reality.
If I believe the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,
my belief does not make it so. My belief is simply an
admission of what is reality based on the evidence at hand.
The reason death, things surrounding it, and the situation
beyond it is so hard to grasp is because man does not see
tangible evidence at hand to rely upon.
Friends, one of the things I prize about my growing up time
is that I was surrounded at those funerals and times of
natural sorrow by people that knew the truth about death and
freely talked about it during those seasons. Churchgoers
react to death and funerals very differently from those in
the world. Even Martha in her interaction with Christ was
able to cling to the idea of the resurrection while mourning
the loss of her brother Lazarus. Paul encourages us in I
Thessalonians 4 not to sorrow as others "which have no
hope." There are people in this world that literally have no
hope or expectation of anything beyond this life. Such a
mindset makes us of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians
15:19) These surroundings for me in my formative years
staved off many of the fears and doubts I may have enjoined
about death had I not had such grounded people around me all
the time. It is my intent with my young children now that
they have a similar situation. When they are full grown and
facing the world themselves, my desire is that they have a
good grasp about death without living in fear of it.
To the believer, there is an assuredness when the loss of
death occurs that this is not the end. Job of old knew it
was not the end, and I rejoice today in knowing that all of
my friends and loved ones that we have buried over the years
will be raised back to life one day. As I approach death in
the future, I can do so with the joy and expectation that
this body that is about to lay down with a final gasp will
one day be raised in power and fashioned like unto His
glorious body. (Philippians 3:21) This belief and trust
allows us to have joy in the midst of sorrow and hope in the
midst of suffering. Jesus' words should still ring and
strike chords today that there is something beyond this vale
that is glorious and majestic.
Taking it a step further, the believer today can rejoice in
knowing that though the dead body of a loved one is being
laid beneath the sod of this earth, the conscious aspect of
them in soul and spirit is at that moment basking in the
glorious presence of the Almighty. (II Corinthians 5:6-8) As
soon as the eyes of the body close in death, the soul and
spirit arrive in glory to rejoice and shout at the Saviour's
feet until the moment of reunion with their glorified body.
When I think of those that have gone before me through that
portal, I sometimes get a little envious. They are free of
all the shackles that weigh us down daily. Oftentimes when I
meet people at work in the morning, I will say, "How are you
doing?" getting the response, "It's another good day,
because I'm above ground and this side of dirt." While I
understand the natural sentiment, the better day for our
situation comes when the body is ready to go to the other
side of the dirt. When that situation comes, we will see Him
whom our soul loves and rejoice in glory surrounded by
majesty.
From time to time, I ask a question in preaching, "What
would you give for what you are blessed know about Jesus and
all that He has done? How much is it worth?" Belief and
trust in the Master is priceless, and the subject of death
is a prime example of it. Though we mourn the loss of
fellowship when others pass from this life, the knowledge
that we have gives relief that nothing else can. I cannot
imagine trying to live life without the steadfast belief in
the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the
soul. This should be so prized by us that we heed Paul's
concluding exhortation about this knowledge to be steadfast,
unmovable, and always abounding the work of the Lord. (I
Corinthians 15:58) Jesus would go on from these statements
to raise Lazarus back to life showing His power over death.
One day, He is going to raise all of the sleeping dust of
men's bodies and actually kill death itself by doing so.
Death will have no more dominion. But, Lazarus still had 4
good days in soul and spirit basking in the beauty of
heaven. Our trust and belief cannot rest in things we see
but in the things that we cannot see. If we cling to these
things, we can face our own death and of those we love with
the resolution that we have not ended the story but just
been parted for a while. The story continues. There is much
more to come and left to see beyond this life, and if we
believe these things, let us rejoice in life knowing these
things. Jesus asked Martha if she believed. Do we? If we do,
then let us show that in our love and devotion to Him who
has so delivered us from the power of death.
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