WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT FEAR DEATH. -- To die is not the end of everything !

Of all the fears that plague the heart of man, none is greater than the fear of death. We are afraid to die, afraid of what happens when we die.

The afterlife is the focus of much popular media. Books and movies describing Heaven or hell are plentiful, but few of them are consistent with the teaching of the Bible. 

In Scripture, death doesn’t mean ceasing to exist. Our life will not end at the point of our physical death, our spirit will never cease to exist. The real question is whether it will live forever with God or apart from Him. 

We are more than simply physical bodies. We are “soul” creatures, living souls united to physical bodies and our afterlife experience begins the instant we close our eyes for the last time here on earth.   

We must not take death lightly. Not only does it bring our life on earth to an end, but it also marks our entrance into eternity — either in that place of absolute hopelessness the Bible calls hell, or in the joy of Heaven, with God forever, for those of us who are believers.

The apostle Paul describes the certainty of the resurrection body in very picturesque language: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

We live in a tent. Paul had an eternal viewpoint; he saw physical life as just temporary. Just as a tent is temporary and somewhat unstable, so Paul portrayed the physical, mortal body as a tent pitched temporarily upon this earth. 

But the good news is that Jesus Christ has conquered death ! By His death and resurrection, He overcame the power of death and opened Heaven’s doors for all who repent of their sins and turn to Him in faith and trust for their salvation.

Because of Christ, we don’t need to fear death any longer ! Our destination is determined purely by our acceptance or rejection of God through our faith in Him, whether we receive Jesus as our Savior or reject Him. 

Jesus boldly declares in John 11 : 25, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live.” 

John 5 :24 : « Very truly, I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into judgment, but has crossed over from death to life. »  

D.L. Moody, the great evangelist of Chicago in the 1800’s once said, “One day you will read in the newspaper that Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it ! On that day, I will be more alive than ever before !” 

To die is not death for a believer. It is our great and glorious transportation to that celestial City whose builder and maker is God ! Death is but a doorway,  

At death we exchange this crumbling, disintegrating tent for a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens : the exchanging of a tent for a permanent palace. 

I want to encourage you to take time every day to thank God for Jesus’ promise : “Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14 :19) 

Where will you spend eternity ? The choice is yours.