You Will Never Die

I was asked to conduct a funeral recently. I had never met the deceased. I know his adult son. I was told by another close relative that, “He wasn’t a religious man.”

The night before the funeral I was up late. My thoughts were all over the place. What should I say? How should I say it? How could I be respectful to the grieving non-Christians, but speak the truth without compromise? Here is what I decided to say.

When it comes to death, we all have some things in common. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who disagrees with these three points:

1. All of us will die. We can ignore it, not talk about it, avoid it for a while, but the mortality rate among humans is 100%. We may not know when. We may not know how. But we do know this: We will all die.

2. All of us hate funerals. Let’s be honest. I’m guessing we’d all be just fine if we never had to set foot in a funeral home again. Wouldn’t you rather go to a party than a funeral? Well, wise old King Solomon (the Old Testament king who wrote a couple books in the Old Testament of the Bible) said something that seems a little crazy to us: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting” (Ecclesiastes 7:2, NASV). Another version of the Bible translates that this way: “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties” (NLT). I know it sounds weird. Maybe you’re thinking Solomon was senile when he wrote that. But listen to what he wrote next—he tells us why he thinks funerals are better than parties: “…for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” We all hate funerals, but you’ve got to admit. It forces us to think about some important things. Ask some important questions.

3. All of us have questions. All of us wonder about what it will be like to die. Will we see a bright light at the end of a tunnel? Will we see angels? Will we be able to just hang around our family and friends and haunt them? Have you thought about this today: (The deceased) knows. He knows the answers to all those questions about death and what lies beyond it!

There’s only two ways I can think of to find out for sure what’s on the other side of that door we call death: 1) Die and 2) If someone who knows (i.e., God) tells us.

Of course, I believe He (God) has. The Bible claims to be “God-breathed”— spoken by God Himself. It claims that God moved men to write down exactly what God wanted them to write. Look, I have no desire to force my beliefs on anyone. But, I do think everyone should at least be aware of and consider what this book–the Bible–has to say. It is an undeniable fact that the Bible is very different than any book ever written. It is an undeniable fact that the Bible has changed the world since it was written. It is an undeniable fact that the Bible has been the best-selling, most respected spiritual text of all time. It is an undeniable fact that the Bible speaks with great authority about the most important subjects that have ever occupied the thoughts of mankind—including death. So, rather than give you my opinions and speculations about what happens after death, I want to give you a short list of what the Bible tells us. (I encourage you to read it for yourself—check to see if I’ve read it correctly). If God has truly spoken to us in the Bible, then the implications about death and what lies beyond it are immeasurable. And if it’s all true, then knowing beforehand is infinitely valuable information. The Bible has answered most of my questions about death—I hope this brief list will answer some of your questions:

1) Death wasn’t part of the original plan. It is the result of sin. Sin infected all of us like a disease—the wages (result) of sin is death. I don’t like that. It seems unfair to me at times, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is what the Bible tells us. God allowed sin and death. But it wasn’t what He really wanted for us. And, the Bible promises that it won’t always be this way.

2) Death is not the end. The Bible is very clear that our spirits or souls live on forever after our physical bodies die. Death is simply separation of our spirits from our bodies. (The deceased) isn’t there anymore—that’s pretty obvious. That’s an empty shell in that casket. But if the Bible can be trusted, he still lives. His spirit is still alive even though it has been separated from his body.

3) Death is followed by judgment. In other words, we are held accountable after we die for how we lived in this life. After death, we are either with the Lord in heaven or separated from Him in hell. I’m not saying you have to like this, but I am saying the Bible could not be clearer on this point. I can’t say for sure what hell will be like exactly, but I do believe the worst part will be eternal separation from God and all that is good. I can’t say for sure what heaven will be like, but I do believe that the best part will be living forever in the close, constant presence of the God who made us; Who designed us to find fulfillment and true satisfaction only in Him.

4) Death was conquered by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. I won’t go into all the details this morning–you’ve probably heard all this before. But there’s a lot of confusion over this. Most people believe that people who live pretty good lives go to heaven and people who live pretty bad lives go to hell. But, if the Bible is true (and I’m convinced it is), then none of us are able to live good enough lives to earn heaven. But, if we go to the One who conquered death, He will give us eternal life as a gift. In other words, if we’re willing to trust Jesus Christ with our eternal destiny, He will give us life in heaven with God forever. If not—and we don’t want Him to interfere with our lives—then He gives us what we want: separation from Him.

I love the story of when Jesus went to a funeral. His friend Lazarus had died and Jesus went up to the tomb where they had put his body and called out, “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus did. Imagine that—imagine how that would change the atmosphere of a funeral? But Jesus didn’t show up at every funeral. He showed up at that one to make a point. In fact, everyone—including Lazarus’ family—thought He was way too late. They thought He should have come in time to keep Lazarus from dying in the first place. But Jesus waited until Lazarus died so He could raise him up. He said this to Lazarus’ sister: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). Do you see? Jesus didn’t say “if you live a good life, you will never die.” He said, “He who believes in me will live…” It’s all about who He is and the life He offers as a gift.

I hope you’ll take to heart what Jesus said: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…” And I hope you’ll think about how you would answer that question if Jesus looked in your eyes and asked: “Do you believe this?”