TEMPORAL DEATH
A Study by
Gary Ray Branscome
The words, “Do not fear
those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell,” tell us that our
existence
does not end with physical death (Matthew 10:28).
And, the words, “It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God
with one
eye, than to be cast into hell fire having two eyes: Where their worm
does not
die, and the fire is never put out,” tell us that there will be no end
to the
suffering of those in hell (Mark 9:47-48).
Through the words, “The hour is coming, in which all who
are in the graves will hear His [Christ’s] voice, And will come out;
those who
have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done
evil, to
the resurrection of damnation,” Christ tells us that even though the
bodies of
the dead return to dust, they will rise to face God’s eternal judgment
(John
5:28-29). The words of Daniel, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of
the
earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting
contempt,” teach the same thing (Daniel 12:2).
The words, “You fool, your soul will be required from you
tonight: then who will own the things you have prepared?” tell us that
physical
death takes place when the soul is separated from the body (Luke 12:20). The same doctrine is also taught in the
words,
“Jesus, having cried again with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit,”
(Matthew
27:50). And, in the words, “When he had received the vinegar, Jesus
said, It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost,” (John 19:30).
The Death of a Believer
The words, “Then Abraham
gave up the ghost, and died at a good old age, an old man, and full of
years;
and was gathered to his people,” portray the death of a believer as a
reunion
with those who have gone before (Genesis 25:8 see also verse 17). The
words,
“Let your servant now depart in peace,” tell us that there is no terror
associated with the death of a believer (Luke 2:29). The words, “The righteous dies, and no one
cares: kind men are swept
away, and no one realizes that the righteous is taken away from the
evil to
come. He will enter into peace,” tell us that those who die in faith
are
delivered from the “the evil to come” (Isaiah 57:1-2). The words, “The
girl is
not dead, but asleep,” describe death as a sleep (Matthew 9:24). However, the words, “To be absent from the
body,
and present with the Lord,” tell us that it is the body not the soul
that is
being described as asleep (2Corinthians
5:8). [See also 1Thessolonians 4:13-14.] For a believer, death is the gateway into
eternal life (John 11:26).
The Death of an
Unbeliever
On
the other hand, the words, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is
betrayed! it would have been better
for that man if he had not been born,” portray the death of the wicked
and
unbelieving in terms of horror and dread (Matthew 26:24). The same goes
for the
words, “Where their worm does not die, and the fire is never put out
(Mark 9:48). As it is written, “It is a fearful thing
to fall
into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
The Reason Death is in
the World
The words, “In the day
that you eat of it you will surely die, and the words, “Just as sin
entered the
world by one man, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men,
because all
have sinned,” tell us that death is not in the world because God
created it
that way, but because of sin (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12). As it is
written,
“the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23).
Because death came into
the world as a result of sin, all instrumental causes of death such as
murder,
disease, storms, famines, floods and war are only in the world because
of sin.
And, the world rightly fears all of those things, and should be calling
on God
for deliverance. However, the words, “What shall separate us from the
love of
Christ? tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For
your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for
the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through
him
that loved us,” tell us that as believers we have nothing to fear
(Romans 8:35-37). I am not saying that such things are
not
unpleasant, or that we should desire them. But, the words, “All things
work
together for good for those who love God, for those who are the called
according to his purpose,” assure us that all that happens works
together for
our good in Christ Jesus.
As Christians we must
constantly remember that death is only in the world as “the wages of
sin”
(Romans 6:23). Those who deny that death is a punishment
for sin
cannot rightly understand or properly appreciate Christ’s atoning death
on the
cross. In fact, those who deny what the Bible says about sin being the
sole
cause of death quite consistently also deny Christ’s vicarious
atonement.
The Sentence of Death
The words, “Death passed
upon all men, because all have sinned,” tell us that all of the
descendants of
Adam are under the sentence of death (Romans 5:12). Those words as well as the words, “The
wages of sin is death,” also
tell us that if infants were not sinners they would never die of
natural
causes, and that every attempt by man to find a cure for death will end
in
failure. However, the words, “Jesus Christ, who has abolished death,
and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” and the
words, “If a
man keeps my word, he will never see death,” tell us that there is one
way in
which sinful man can be freed from death, and that is through faith in
Christ
(2Timothy 1:10; John 8:51). As it is written, “I am the resurrection,
and the
life: he who believes in me will yet live, even though he is dead: And
whoever
lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26).
The fact that we are
freed from death through faith in Christ raises the question: Why then
must
believers also die? And, the Scriptural answer to that question is that
we who
believe are also sinners according to the flesh. So even for believers,
“The
wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23).
However, the words, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is
your
victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But
thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ,”
tell us that for a believer death is not joined with a sense of divine
wrath
(1Corinthians 15:55-57). On the
contrary, through faith we have assurance of God’s mercy and
forgiveness. And,
the words, “I do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are
asleep,
that you may not grieve, as do those who have no hope. For as we
believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring those who have fallen
asleep
in Jesus with him,” describe the death of the believer as a blessed
sleep
(1Thessalonians 4:13-14). However, the words of Stephen, “Lord Jesus,
receive
my spirit,” tell us that it is the body, not the soul, that is
described as
being asleep (Acts 7:59).
For “to be absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord,”
(2Corinthians 5:8). And, to be with the Lord is to be “in paradise”
(Luke 23:43; 2Corinthians 12:4; revelation 2:7).
The words, “He who
believes on Him is not condemned,” tell us that there is no
condemnation for
those who trust in Christ. Even though we were, “dead in trespasses and
sins”
and “by nature the children of wrath,” God has “raised us up together
with Him
[Christ]” (Ephesians 2:1,3; Colossians 2:12-13). And, having “risen with Christ,” “the
second
death has no power over” us (Colossians 3:1; Revelation 20:6 and 14).
Therefore,
temporal death holds no terror for us. As it is written, “Blessed are
the dead
who die in the Lord from now on: Yes, says the Spirit, that they may
rest from
their labor” (Revelation 14:13)
[Note: In this essay I have
followed the outline used by John Theodore Muller in his “Christian Dogmatics,” but have written in a way that lets the
words
of Scripture speak for themselves.]