Are you ready to die?
we all face the reality of death and a day of reckoning.
by J. Logan Shelton
The reality of death surrounds us. It is everywhere we look. The news media document the tragic deaths of strangers. Friends tell us of their bereavement. The reality comes closer to home when we bury a loved one: a parent, a spouse, a child. How often we stand over those graves and say to ourselves, “He was gone too soon.”
You must grapple with this because death not only surrounds you, it is within you. Sickness is a reminder that your body will not last forever. The aches and pains of old age testify of physical decline. If you are young, visit your local cemetery. Read the tombstones. Many have been buried in the strength of their youth.
Dear reader, you will die. You will close your eyes in time and open them in eternity. Are you prepared? God commends sober reflection upon death. “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Eccles. 7:2). He further warns against living in this world as though you will never die, saying to the rich man, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20). I plead with you, as you read this article, number your days that you may apply your heart to wisdom (Ps. 90:12).
the nature of death
The false doctrines concerning death abound. Many people imagine that it is a natural process that has always existed and will continue to exist. They could not be more mistaken. Death is an unnatural penalty for sin that results in the separation of body and soul.
First, death is unnatural. Man is not the product of gradual change and mutation of lower life forms. He is the creation of God, made in his image and likeness. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27). Man is more than just physical components. He possesses a spiritual essence known as a soul. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). God did not create man to die but to live in communion with him. Death is unnatural.
Second, death is the penalty against sin. Man did not remain in his state of integrity but sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Death is the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23). The soul that sins shall surely die (Ezek. 18:20). Since all men die, all men must be guilty of sin. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12). And you will experience the unnatural taste of death because you are guilty of sin, which is moral rebellion against God. Death is the penalty for unrepentant sin.
Third, death is the separation of the soul from the body. When your heart stops beating and your brain ceases all activity, you will still exist. Jesus warned of a rich man who died and went to hell (Luke 16:23). He also promised the penitent thief who was crucified on the cross next to him that he would be in paradise with him that very day, though his body would soon expire (Luke 23:43). Those people continued after death, one in hell, the other in heaven. You will do the same upon death. Your soul, having been separated from your body after your last breath, will go to one of two places: heaven or hell.
the vanity of this life
Few are willing to come under the weight of the biblical teaching concerning death. Instead of applying their hearts to the wisdom found in Scripture, their inward thought is “that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations” (Ps. 49:11). They seek to make a lasting, enjoyable home upon this earth. The book of Ecclesiastes describes the emptiness of this perspective.
First, living for this life only is empty because of the brevity of our time on this earth. “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Eccles. 1:2). The Hebrew word for “vanity” means something fleeting, like a “vapor” or “breath.” Your life is like a breath in its remarkable brevity. The day of your death will come sooner than you imagine.
Second, living for this life only is empty because nothing here provides lasting satisfaction. Nothing is truly new: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Eccles. 1:9). People endeavor to cope with that reality differently, but it all ends in the same place. Seeking knowledge, pleasure, or work will bring you to the same conclusion: All is vanity and vexation of spirit. You will find no lasting satisfaction in this world.
Third, living for this life only is empty because we have a natural desire for something more. God has designed man to thirst for a world to come: “He has set the world [or, eternity] in their heart” (Eccles. 3:11). Life here under the sun is not meaningless because there is a world to come: “God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccles. 12:14). You desire something greater than this world can offer because you are made in God’s image.
the day of judgment
The purpose of the day of judgment is to bring about the justice of God in dealing with his creatures.
First, the day of judgment will occur after the resurrection. While death is the separation of soul and body, the resurrection is the reunion of soul and body. God will resurrect all people, “They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29).
Second, the day of judgment will be carried out with strict justice. God will render to every man according to his deeds:
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile (Rom. 2:7–10).
Third, Jesus Christ will execute the day of judgment. God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
On this day, God will reveal your secret thoughts to the whole world. He will judge your entire life by the inflexible justice of his law. He will then admit your resurrected body, which is reunited with your immortal soul, to one of two places: hell, which is the place of eternal, fiery torments reserved for the devil, his angels, and all those who do not obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8), or heaven, which is the place of eternal joy in the presence of God, reserved for those who have trusted in Jesus for the salvation of their souls (Heb. 10:39).
what is your answer?
Dear reader, all of the above is an inescapable reality. Are you prepared to die?
What, then, must you do to be saved? Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart (Acts 16:31). You must forsake your evil ways and turn from all unrighteousness unto God, for he will have mercy and abundantly pardon your sins (Isaiah 55:7). You must prepare for death by looking to Jesus Christ, who conquered death through his bloody cross and glorious resurrection (Heb. 2:14). The wages of sin is, indeed, death. “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). ❦
The Rev. J Logan Shelton is the pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church in Opelika, Alabama.