Scared of Death? - Audio
Easter Sunday 2011
Scared of Death?
1 Corinthians 15
In 2006 I went on a three week trip to Papua New Guinea, doing some leadership training in one of the major regional centres, doing a tour of remote villages along 2 river systems and visiting some Missionaries our church supported in another region.
It was a really significant trip for me; and I’ve spoken about it here before.
In preparing for that trip I made videos for each day that I would be away from home. Tim was not yet 4, Alyssa was about 18 months old. I read a Bible story for them from Tim’s children’s bible and I would update them on where I should be that day and what I should be doing.
I made another video, which I left in the care of one of the Elders of our church. It was a message for Carolyn and the kids if anything should happen to me while I was away. Preparing that video was a very confronting experience.
Today’s service has been very much a celebration of life. It’s been a celebration of how the life of Jesus has overcome death for all of us. That’s worth celebrating and it’s worth thinking about.
But first we need to do what many of us avoid doing at all costs. We need to think a little bit more about death.
Death is a reality we all face, yet most of us avoid thinking about it as much as possible.
I worry about what it would be like for my family to not have me around.
I worry about not having done the things that my life was meant to accomplish.
I worry about not leaving enough of a legacy in the lives of those I love and am called to make a difference to.
And as much as I know and hold on to what God has promised about life after death, I’m naturally nervous about the unknown.
What about you?
You might have different concerns about death.
Is there anything after death?
How can we know?
How can I know that I’m ready for it?
Is there some kind of judgement? If so, how will I go in that?
The topic of death brings up some big issues - uncomfortable issues.
In 2006 a study was published that had some very interesting findings to do with people’s fear of death[1].
It was seeking to compare people who are “religious” with people who are “spiritual”.
As Chris identified on Friday, many people think of religion in terms of rules and regulations. It’s what we do in order to be right with God, or more likely – to keep the priest happy. This idea of religion has lost touch with the heart of what religion actually is.
The real definition of religion is: “the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship”[2]
Of course, there are many religions in the world, but this study was only concerned with where people stood in regard to the Christian religion – the belief in and worship of the God of the Bible – the One True God.
People were ranked from those having no real belief in God and therefore no worship activity; to those whose belief in God was central to their lives, meaning that they sought to live in a way that pleases Him. Their morals, involvement in church and so on reflected their Christian convictions.
People identified as “spiritual” are those who are on their own journey of self-discovery. They tend to take ideas from various religions or philosophies, and they make up their own mind about what works for them. They emphasise their own spiritual enlightenment through practices like meditation, contemplative prayer and so on.
What difference does Christian belief and practice make to our fear of death? What difference does “spirituality“ make to our fear of death?
There were a number of very interesting findings. I will share three with you:
1. People with a strong faith in God and commitment to Christian living - but who don’t believe what the Bible says about life after death - register a high level of fear about death. There are sadly many churches that teach that Christianity is something that makes a difference for this life only, that there is no life after death. People who believe this are found to be very anxious about death.
2. On the other hand, people with a strong faith in God and commitment to Christian living who do believe what the Bible says about life after death are much less anxious about death.
3. People’s measurement of “spirituality” had no effect at all on their level of fear about death. Whether people considered themselves to be unspiritual or whether they devoted themselves completely to their spiritual journey made no difference to their anxiety about death. Spirituality was seen to make a positive difference to how people live, but no difference to how they feel about death.
I wonder where you’re at today when it comes to what you think about death and what the reality of death makes you feel.
Today I want to share with you the biblical truth that we have already celebrated throughout our service – we don’t need to be afraid of death anymore. The message of Easter Sunday is one of hope and comfort for everyone who will receive it, and that’s what the Apostle Paul reminds Christians in Corinth about when he writes to them in 1 Corinthians 15.
He starts off in verse 1 by saying:
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
Having written to the Christians in Corinth about a number of issues that they had asked him about, Paul is bringing the letter to a close. Before he finishes though he is prompted by the Holy Spirit to get back to the central truth of Christianity. It sounds like there may have been some false teachers around who were changing the message of Christianity to suit their own ideas. Paul needs to remind them of the true gospel – the real good news about Jesus.
2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
The truth about Jesus has the power to save us. The watered down ideas of the false teachers have no power to save. The Corinthians needed to hold firm to the truth that saved them. What is that truth?
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also
So Paul is reminding them of what he first told them. It was the key truth that he travelled around the Mediterranean world telling people about. It was the truth that got him thrown in prison, ridiculed, beaten and more, yet he would not stop talking about it. It is the most important thing he knows and the most important thing he teaches.
It starts with this: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
Do you want to be free from the fear of death? Do you want to be saved from the power of death? It starts with this: Christ died for your sins according to the Scriptures.
Isaiah 53:4-6
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
A lot of people live in hope that if there is a judgement to come, then on balance their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones.
But if God truly is perfectly righteous – if He always does what is just – then He must punish every evil action. What kind of Judge turns a blind eye to crime? Certainly not a perfect one!
We might not be as bad as the worst person on Earth, but neither is any of us sinless. We are all guilty of something. The Old Testament Scriptures that Paul is referring to in this passage contained laws such as the 10 Commandments. The whole point of those laws was to highlight the fact that we all break them!
We are all guilty and deserve punishment from God. This message is meant to be good news but at the moment it’s sounding terrible!
But the Old Testament Scriptures also taught that God did not create us in order to punish us, but to be in loving relationship with us. He knew before the world began that we would sin; and He knew what it was He would need to do in order to deal with it. That’s why God gave Isaiah these words which talk about the fact that He would send someone to take our guilt from us, to take our punishment for us.
That’s why we have Good Friday. On the ugliest of all days when humanity showed it’s most despicable side, crucifying the One who gave us life – on this awful day God was doing something truly good. He was taking away our sin and putting it upon Himself through Jesus. He was breaking the relationship between Father and Son that had existed before the creation of the world in order that He might make possible the relationship between us and Him.
If you believe this truth about Jesus you can look back at Good Friday and say “God has taken away my guilt and shame. God has forgiven me and cleansed me so that I can have a new life as His child. I don’t need to be afraid of His judgment. I can bask in the magnitude of His love and grace. Jesus died for my sins according to the Scriptures. The punishment that brought me peace was upon Him.
Having died for our sins Jesus was buried in a tomb. It was sealed up and a Roman guard was placed in front of it to make sure no-one tried to steal His body.
But as we continue to read from verse 4…
he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
That’s what we’ve been celebrating this morning – it’s what Easter Sunday is all about.
Again Paul reminds us that this is not some recently invented fairytale. This is something God promised centuries ago – it happened according to the promise of the Scriptures.
The best example of this is found in Psalm 16, where King David wrote:
you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
David was not writing about himself but about his descendant Jesus, the ultimate King of his line that God had promised to send.
The resurrection of Jesus is proof that God has indeed granted eternal life to all who believe in Jesus. It is proof that sin and death have been defeated. It is proof that Jesus is who He said He was, because He promised that it would happen.
But apparently there were some people around Corinth teaching that you could be a Christian without believing in life after death. They found that idea a little hard to believe. After all, how can there be life once this body stops working? How can there be consciousness once the brain ceases to function?
For them Christianity worked best as a way of living this life only. A moral code. A religious idea that helps us find meaning and purpose, and teaches a bit of self restraint so that we can maintain a reasonably civilized society.
That’s not what Jesus was all about, and Paul was not going to sit by and let people be misled by that sort of nonsense.
Listen to what he says a bit later on in 1 Corinthians 15:
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. [3]
If you go to many churches today, you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s only for this life that we have hope in Christ. Some people teach that Jesus wants to build your bank account or keep your body free from sickness. That’s just plainly untrue to the Bible and to Jesus Himself.
Others will teach that Jesus wants to fix your relationships and fill your life with many other kinds of blessing. That’s definitely true. Following the teachings of Jesus is the best thing you can do in this life – both for yourself and for those around you. But if that’s all our faith is about, we’re worse off than those who don’t even believe, according to Paul!
The study I referred to earlier identifies this, because people who approach Christianity that way are more scared of dying than people who aren’t religious at all!
Christianity only makes sense when you believe the whole truth about Jesus. If Jesus was not telling the truth about rising again on the third day in fulfilment of the prophecy given to Hosea many hundreds of years earlier (Hosea 6:2), then He cannot be trusted when He says that He is the way to the Father. None of His teachings can be trusted if He lied about His resurrection.
But He wasn’t lying and He wasn’t crazy. He rose from the dead and was seen by all the people Paul mentions here and more.
He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried and raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
If you believe these things then you don’t need to be afraid of death any more. You know that Jesus is the Saviour. He’s the One who took your punishment so that you might be forgiven and receive from God what God created you for – eternal life with Him.
You also know that Jesus is Lord. He is the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the One who will rule an eternal Kingdom and He rules your life right now. That’s how we know that you have been saved – your live as someone who wants to please your Saviour. You don’t want to continue doing the things that caused His suffering. You don’t want to continue in sin. Instead you allow Him to shape your life according to His good purpose for you.
So how am I going with my own fears about death?
I know Jesus as my Saviour and Lord. I am convinced of the truth of His death for my sins and His resurrection as my living Lord.
Do my anxieties about death immediately vanish?
Nope!
Sometimes they pop up again with surprising force, and I can find myself worrying about my life and what would happen if it were to end too soon.
Here’s how I cope with that as a Christian:
- I remember the certainty of my eternal home with God. Jesus has achieved it for me and I have received it by faith in Him. As much as I know that I do not deserve God’s grace, yet I know that I have it because of who He is and what He has done for me.
That deals with my anxieties over what will happen to me, but what about my legacy? What about the people I will leave behind?
- I remember the promise of Romans 8:28 which says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
Therefore regardless of when and how I leave this earth, God is at work for my good and the good of those I care about who are also called according to His good purpose.
My family and this church family needs me right now because this is where God’s called me to serve Him. He’s called me to be a husband and father and pastor and He wants to do good things through me. So while I am here I will strive to live up to my calling with His help.
But when in His sovereign goodness He calls me to my ultimate home to be with Him; I know that He will still be at work for the good of my family, this church and anyone else I may have been important to. I probably won’t understand how at the time, but I know enough of God to be confident that it is true.
Later on in Romans 8 Paul talks about the fact that even in death we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. As scary as it is to me in my natural self, through the eyes of faith I know that God in His power works good things even through death. Even through my death. Not that I in any way seek it out, but if it is God’s will for me it is something I can accept and trust Him in.
Do you have that assurance today?
Do you have that assurance for yourself, and for those who matter to you? It’s what Easter Sunday is all about. It’s a better gift than Easter Eggs or anything else that can steal the focus of the day.
Some of you may have felt that this message has been unnecessarily heavy and confronting. Some of you may prefer to continue to avoid thinking about the reality of your own mortality, and what lies beyond.
My hope is that you will face these issues with courage and faith today, and be filled with joy as you realise that your reasons for fear have been dealt with by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for you.
[1] Wink, P. (2006). "Who is afraid of death? Religiousness, spirituality, and death anxiety in late adulthood". Journal of Religion, Spirituality, & Aging 18: 93–110.
[2] http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/religion
[3]All Scriptures from The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
