My dear readers,

Afraid of Death?

1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

According to a report by the World Economic Forum in 2017, 150,000 people die daily. This means that 6,250 persons die per hour and 104 persons every second. That is a frightful statistic. It is no wonder that people are afraid of death - their own and of loved ones.

A quick search of the many views on death via the internet reveals quite a few well-meaning thoughts on life and death but these are vain attempts to inject some hope into a life that is hopeless. No matter how hard man tries, death remains as dark and ugly as a pitch black bottomless pit. The reason is that the certainty of death cannot be erased or even delayed by a nanosecond. Man has a better chance of turning the Sahara Desert into an ocean with a water pistol than to stop death. Death is heartless and icy cold in its vice-like grip. Once it catches hold of any man, there is no escape. Death is no respecter of persons. Kings and queens and paupers will die, as well as the famous, brilliant and ignorant. Nothing on earth has the power to ward off death when it comes knocking. It is a hopeless and sorrow-filled finite world that mankind is slogging in. The following are a few examples of man’s sad perspective of life in the face of death: “Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.” -- Haruki Murakami. “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” -- Chuck Palahniuk. “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” -- Kahlil Gibran.

These representative sayings may inject the tiniest of meanings into the brevity of life. But alas when death occurs it still leaves behind a very bitter taste. Death wipes away all the deeds of man in one fell swoop! Like a gluttonous Epicurean, many have resorted to live in delusion and eat, drink and be merry, “for tomorrow we die”. This seems to be the best that man can have to live a full and yet empty life. This is the foolish paradox. Man still fears death. The veil of life after death is an impenetrable barrier to man’s naked eyes. This earth seems to be all that sinful man has, describing “mother earth” as man’s only home. This seems to be the view of the majority in this age of reason and self-righteous carnality! Thus man strives to save this earth for future generations as if she is eternal. Pretending not to fear death is to pretend like the proverbial foolish ostrich that all is well! The grave is the final destination that all flesh will traverse to. As long as man follows man and clings on to the words of man, all are doomed to die. 

However, the lives of Christians are markedly different. They sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving in the death of loved ones who died in Christ! They have indeed found the secret and power to overcome death! Hence the saying, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor 15:55). Borrowing the imagery of a scorpion’s sting, the Bible categorically challenges death and rhetorically declares that the sting or most excruciating pain of death is gone forever in the believer's life. The sting is not a description of the manner of death but the life after a sinner dies in his sin. Every sinner who dies in his sin will end up in hell and ultimately the Lake of Fire. It is a place of eternal pain and gnashing of teeth and banishment from heaven. However, the believer has nothing to be afraid of! Death has been soundly and eternally defeated in the believer’s life. When he dies his body is buried but his spirit goes home to heaven to his heavenly Father and to Christ who saved him. The grave has no power to keep the body buried! The body will be raised from the grave one day. This is the contextual teaching on the matter in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Removal of Sin, Removes the Sting of Death – Mankind is surrounded by a dying world. The trees and grass and earth and birds and fish all die daily. Creation dies because of man’s sin. Adam the first man was given dominion over all of God's creation at the end of creation on day six. By this representative principle, when Adam fell into sin all creation fell with him. Therefore thorns and thistles also appeared as part of man’s sin. Earthquakes, tornados, typhoons and all natural disasters occur because of man’s sin. By this same principle, when believers are glorified at the end of the world, creation will also be restored to its former glory of goodness, a place of safety for them to dwell in peace. Romans 8:19-22: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” [Emphasis added] This is a description of how the world will be saved.

Man cannot get rid of his own sin. God had to help and save man. God sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to live and die for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ came to save sinful man. When sinful man is saved so also will the world. Christ took on flesh and blood, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived and suffered and died on Calvary’s cross as man’s vicarious sacrifice and took upon Him the punishment of the sins of the world. God accepted all that Christ did as man’s perfect sacrifice and raised Him from the dead for man’s forgiveness and justification. Any sinner who believes and receives into his heart Jesus Christ to be his only Lord and Saviour will have all his sins forgiven by Christ. When all sins are washed away by the blood of Christ, the sting of death is removed forever from the sinner’s life. He will no longer die in his sins but in Christ. When he dies in Christ, his spirit will enter safely into the arms of his Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ; whereas the sinner who dies in sin will end up in hell, which is the sting of death.

Through the law of God, especially the Ten Commandments, man is revealed as great sinners before God. Man thinks that when he commits adultery he sins only against his fellow man (eg: his wife). With the giving of the Ten Commandments he learns that he sins against God as well. The sin by a sinful man against another sinful man can be forgiven especially after restitutions are made. But his sin against the thrice-holy God cannot be mitigated by a mere apology. God has declared that all who sin must die! Through the Ten Commandments man also knows that even a covetous heart is a sin against God. Man is made to know that he is a very great sinner before God. The law of God reveals the strength, i.e. the greatness, of sin in a sinner’s life.

Victory over Death is through Christ Alone – Thank God for Jesus Christ. If He had not come to die for man, all mankind would have been doomed to die in sin and end up in hell. But in Christ man does not need to fear death. Christ has defeated death when He died for man. This is completely God’s doing. Thanks be to God alone. No man can do anything to save himself because he is born in sin. If God did not intervene to give hope to this hopeless world, man would all perish in their sins. The good news of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation from sin. 

If a sinner rejects Christ and holds on to his already condemned life, he will face certain death. The sting of death will afflict him. Only when he believes and receives Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour will the sting of death be destroyed.

Food For thought – The fear of death drives us to Christ!