Death and Dying

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say 'I have no delight in them;'" Ecclesiastes 12:1, NASB (1995)

I recently attended the funeral of my grandfather. By all accounts he was a good man. Sure, he had made his mistakes in life, but he loved his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I remember going on trips to his house (we went maybe once every three years) and riding on his leg as he walked around the living room. He was a strong man, a welder by trade, and struggled with his health in his waning years. He eventually lost his eyesight due to complications from diabetes.

At his funeral, I heard the story told by the hospital chaplain (who conducted his service) of how my grandfather in his last days had asked to see the chaplain. He told the chaplain (a Baptist preacher) that he was scared that he was not going to be good enough to get into Heaven. The chaplain related how he told my grandfather that no one is good enough to get into Heaven on their own merit, but rather it was belief in Jesus Christ that "got your ticket" into Heaven. Now this chaplain seemed light on the Gospel, but I believe (based on a later discussion that I had) that he presented it in such a fashion that my grandfather knew that it wasn't just a belief in Jesus Christ that allowed a person to inherit eternal life but also repentance of sins and a changed heart that yearned to obey Jesus's commandments. The chaplain stated that my grandfather prayed the sinner's prayer with him that day.

Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 relate how both criminals were mocking Christ on the cross. As the hours wore on, however, Luke tells us in 23:40-41 that one of them rebuked the other one for continuing in his insults. In verse 42 the criminal asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His kingdom. Jesus answers him in verse 43 saying "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise". This account of conversion is truly remarkable considering the scathing and demanding passages of scripture that call believers to be prepared to sacrifice so much for the sake of Christ. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells potential disciples that in order to follow Him they must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Him. Luke 13:23-28 tells us to "strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." In Luke 14:25-35 Jesus tells the crowd what following after him could cost them. The most concerning passage of all, though, comes in Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says that not everyone who claims to know Jesus (and do good works in His name!) will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

How can we reconcile these two positions? On the surface they seem to be diametrically opposed. On the one hand, we have a man (the thief on the cross) who lived according to his own fleshly desires, breaking the commandments at will and showing no remorse until just before his dying breath. On the other hand, Jesus Himself tells us that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is not easy; in fact, it could cost everything we have, even our very life (John 12:25). We may be tempted to think that deathbed conversions are dubious and doubt the validity of professions that are made just before dying. Certainly we can look at a man or woman who has finally come to the full comprehension of their own mortality, who has led a life of denying Christ's lordship and even His existence, and determine in our minds that they are scared and looking for some peace of mind. I myself have been tempted to think this very thing about my grandfather. But then there is the repentant thief.

The bottom line is that no one but God knows a man's heart. There are people sitting in our churches who profess to be Christians all their life and will end up in Hell, and there are people who will be received by Christ hours before taking their last breath. The lesson for me in all of this resides in Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say 'I have no delight in them;'". We must live for Christ while our hearts are still tender towards Him. Nothing else in this world matters.

On Suffering

"For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings." Hebrews 2:10 (NASB, 1995)

"You may have experienced adversity or trials in your past. Perhaps you've had more than your share of setbacks and heartaches. But today is a new day! By following the principles I'm going to share with you in Your Best Life Now, you can be happy and fulfilled, starting today." Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now

The world has taken up the notion that pain is to be avoided at all costs and pleasure is to be sought at all expense. Pain and suffering have no purpose in the life of an unbeliever in this paradigm today, and if you are experiencing suffering, it is because of a negative attitude, cosmic karma, or you are just "unlucky". How sad! We have seen this mentality creep into the Church through the 'name it and claim it' prosperity gospel preached by many of today's most prominent pastors. These charlatans preach a one-sided gospel that reduces God to a genie in a bottle that wants nothing more for your life than for you to be healthy and wealthy. Suffering against this framework is not be part of a Christian's lifestyle, and certainly couldn't be from God. When real suffering comes, such as the death of a child or the loss of a job, the people who buy into this flavor of gospel have nothing to rest their hope upon. They may even turn away from God altogether since their god is a god of prosperity and not a God that endorses (or causes) suffering. The true God, the God of the Bible, ordains suffering of many types, and for many reasons.

The Bible has quite a bit to say about suffering and trials. The majority of suffering in the Bible, as it relates to believers, has to do with suffering for the cause of God. In the Old Testament, the Prophets suffered persecution and execution as a result of the preaching of God's Word (Genesis 39:20, 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 22:27, 2 Kings 2:23, 2 Chronicles 16:10, 2 Chronicles 36:16, Jeremiah 20:1-6, Jeremiah 26:23, Jeremiah 37:15, Hebrews 11:36-38). This suffering for the cause of Christ did not stop in the New Testament, but rather intensified (John 19:17-18, Acts 4:1-3, Acts 7:57-60, Acts 11:2-3, Acts 14:5-6, Acts 16:22-23, Acts 23:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:14, 2 Timothy 1:8, 2 Timothy 2:3, 2 Timothy 3:1-8, 1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 4:12, 2 Peter 3:3-4, Revelation 1:9). This suffering came to believers as a result of their profession of faith in God and His Son Jesus, and their preaching of the Word of God to a sinful and rebellious world.

There are other types of suffering that occur in the Bible. There is the suffering caused by rebellion to God (Genesis 3:16-19, Genesis 4:10-12, Numbers 14:28-30, Judges 16:21, 2 Samuel 12:10-12, Jonah 1:15-17), Divine judgment on unrepentant sin (Genesis 19:24-25, Amos 4:11, Jude 7), and correction and sanctification of believers (James 1:2-12, 2 Corinthians 1:8, Philippians 4:12)

When faced with suffering of any type, we as believers must first always remember Romans 8:28. Given this promise, we must then ask ourselves if there is any unconfessed sin in our life (2 Samuel 12:13), any forgiveness that we need to impart (Matthew 18:21-35), any bitterness in our hearts that we are harboring (Matthew 5:22), or any word that God has given us that we have not obeyed (Joshua 7:1). Jesus promises that He will prune us as the Vinedresser prunes the branches of the Vine in order that we may produce more fruit (John 15:2). Praise God for His divine purposes! "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him." (Job 13:15). Sometimes we can clearly see God's purpose in our suffering in the midst of our suffering, but mostly we must wait, sometimes years after trials, for us to see God's purposes (Genesis 45:4-7).

The Word of God

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB 1995)

It's amazing to me how foreign the Word of God is to professing Christians. As Christians, we should at the least have a working knowledge of the Scriptures that pertain to the doctrine that we believe, but I have discovered that most of us don't know more than a handful of Scriptures. In addition to the famous Biblical stories (Creation/Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Christ), this handful makes up the bare-bones of the doctrine that we have adopted: John 3:16, Romans 3:10, 1 Corinthians 13, etc. Up until recently I was one of these people. During this (sadly long) time in my life I was secretly concerned that I would be challenged on my beliefs by someone from another faith (Mormons, Jehovah's Witness), atheists, or agnostics that knew more of the Bible than I did and would be incapable of handling the difficult questions posed by those people. Frankly, that's a terrible way for a Christian to live.

Please don't get me wrong: I in no way think that my salvation comes from my knowledge, or that I can affect someone else's salvation by winning a debate. Only God can grant salvation, and that by grace through faith alone. However, the Bible says that as Christians we have been commanded to read the Word of God (Joshua 1:8, Proverbs 2:1-6) and meditate on it constantly. Many passages in the New Testament talk about seeking after Truth. What Truth is there in this world except for the Word of God? How else are we to defend the faith against false doctrines, unless we read the Bible and understand what it says (Galatians 1:8, 1 Timothy 1:3-7)?

God has revealed Himself to us in two manifestations: His Son and His Word. We should daily strive to know as much as we can about both. This should not spring forth from a sense of duty, as it once did with me, but rather from an earnest desire to know Him. I hope that any believing readers of this take this as a challenge to read and meditate on the Bible daily. I am still woefully ignorant of many things that are contained in the Bible, but now I have some measure of confidence should someone ask me why I believe what I believe. I can't wait to get back in the Word again!