DEATH THROUGH FAITH
My Books | Articles | Link To Me | Web Rings | Banner Links | Text Links
06 February 1999
Is it natural for people to fear death? Fear of death is actually the fear of the unknown. For most, it is the feeling of missing out on everything life has to offer and that death ends the fulfillment of the experience of life.
Let's explore the word Death. It is a word many don't like to even use or a subject that isn't discussed very much at all. In the New American Webster Handy College Dictionary New Third Edition, it says, "1) The act of dying, cessation, especially of life. 2) The personification of the inevitability of death. 3) Lack of existence, the state of being dead. 4) A plague; a fatal disease."
Now Webster's Dictionary is referring to the mechanical function of as we see it (i.e., animals, fish, insects, and even the human body). Did you notice that I said even the human body, but not the spirit? Why is this? It is very simple. Our spirit faces another death. One: Separation from God. Two: A second death unto the "Lake of Fire" that is for those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ. The focus here is on understanding death and what it means to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
When the body of the believer enters into the stage of cessation of life, it is the body of flesh that has died, and not the inner person we call the spirit.
Why is it then that we tend to fear death? This fear is a ploy designed by Satan to bring us unto bondage so he can maintain a ground of control. The truth is he does not have any! Taking a look at Hebrews 2:14-15 we are told: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Our Saviour Jesus Christ has come and He has abolished death and brought life and immortality through the Word of God, the Gospel. Through Christ's death we have victory over death and proclaim our faith in Him and what He did at the Cross of Calvary!
Did Christ Jesus fear death, which we face? Let's take a look at Matthew 26:36-39 which tells us: "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Here Jesus became deeply distressed and he said that He was "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death."
The fear he felt wasn't the physical pain. It was from the knowledge that He knew He would face separation from God, from the Father. Jesus was to become the curse for us all who place faith in Him. The cup he asked to pass from Him is the cup of wrath. Eternal, spiritual separation from God, not a really appealing concept for someone to face.
For Jesus to fulfill the will of God Almighty, Jesus had to go through this separation to achieve that wonderful and blessed redemption for us. Luke paints another picture of Jesus' distress of His death that He had to face. Luke 22:44 tell us: "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Some argue that Jesus may not have really bled. The truth is, there is a condition called "chromidrosis." This condition is where a person is so distressed that the capillaries in the skin open up and the blood mixes in with the sweat. This makes the sweat appear to be drops of blood. Now that is extreme stress.
We have no worries when these old fleshy bodies cease to operate anymore. We can rejoice in knowing that we will be with the Lord throughout all eternity. Reading from Revelation 21:22-23 we find: "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
(c) 1999 by Pastor Aaron D. Lint
