Is death the #1 fear people have? The simple and complicated answer is: It depends. Fear of dying is a BIG fear in those that statistically are the least likely to die: the young. But fear of dying is very LOW for those on death row, the elderly, and the terminally ill.
I hope to convince you of a fourth group that shouldn’t fear death. It’s a group that all of us can be a member of: Those who understand that physical death is not the end.
In the Garden of Eden, God planted one tree that was off-limits, and He said that the penalty for eating from this tree was death (Genesis 2:16-17). satan tried to get Adam and Eve to doubt what God said, and after they ate the fruit, it appeared satan was correct—they didn’t die. At least not physically.
But their sin did something far, far worse—it separated them from God’s presence. Now when God appeared, Adam and Eve hid in fear. In fact, Jesus even told His followers that the greatest fear wasn’t physical death but spiritual death (Luke 12:4-5).
Jesus came to lift our hope to something beyond this physical world. He said, “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not die, but would have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Famed atheistBertrand Russell said, “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”
On the other hand, Jesus DID die for His beliefs and proved He was right by His resurrection!
Friend, listen to me—We’re definitely not living our best life now. We are all terminal. Unless Jesus returns, the chances of our physical death are 1-in-1.
But physical death is not the end! Death of the body means freedom for the soul. Jesus has defeated Death once for all! “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades,” Jesus said (Revelation 1:17-18)
Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
Invite Jesus into your life right this moment!!
Once you have invited Jesus into your life, and your sins have been forgiven, and your destiny following your physical death is assured, this is how you should now live:
Live in joyful hope. Not optimism—that’s just the belief in what you think you can do. But hope is the belief in what you know Jesus has already done!
Live free of all anxiety and the fear of death. Because nothing can separate you from God’s love and presence (Romans 8:38-39).
Live telling others about your Risen Savior. It’s the most loving thing that you could do for anyone.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that to be a Christian and to be fearful of death is a sin. A fearful Christian gives God no praise, robs Him of glory, and paints God in a bad light. A happy, secure Christian knows the Lord is his strength, his comfort, his supply. A happy Christian lifts God high and invites others to know this All-Good, All-Happy God too!
We can live this way because Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins that separated you from God, and He was resurrected back to life to assure you that your eternal home in God’s presence is secure!
Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
That seems unfair! We receive double(!) for our sins! Here’s a 2-minute video where I explain what this means culturally—
Only when invoices were paid-in-full did they get doubled-up.
The Bible tells us that we’ve all sinned, and that the invoice or penalty for our sin is death. We have the IOUs of sin nailed to the door of our heart where God says “You owe Me your life!” But we cannot pay this debt by ourselves.
But Jesus can. And Jesus did! Check this out—
He personally carried our sins in His body on the Cross…. (1 Peter 2:24 NLT)
Having canceled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us. This He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to His Cross. (Colossians 2:14 AMP)
That’s what is good about Good Friday. Jesus knew that taking our sins on His body, and then allowing His body to be nailed to the Cross, would double-up and nail-down our sin once and for all!
When Jesus said, “It is finished!” He was really saying, “It is paid-in-full!”
As Moses called the Israelites to keep three main feasts each year—Passover, Weeks (or Pentecost), and Tabernacles—he said the purpose was to remember.
Closely linked to all three of these feasts was another important word: celebrate (vv. 10, 13, 15).
This remembering and rejoicing on a regular schedule was to keep God’s people aligned with God’s intimate and ongoing involvement in their lives. As a result, an attitude and an action should become just as ongoing in the lives of God’s people—
The attitude: joyful gratitude (vv. 11, 14)
The action: joyful giving (vv. 10, 15, 17)
These three set times were to be a time of reorientation. They were not supposed to be the only three times God’s people remembered what God had done, celebrated His goodness, let joy overflow their hearts, and let giving overflow to others. These reorientation times should excite us to live like this every single day!
That’s why Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).
What celebrations can you build into your life that will help you
You are the children of the Lord your God… (Deuteronomy 14:1).
I am a child of the King of kings.
He is the King of Endless Supply.
He has no lack, no deficiencies, no quotas.
He IS Abundance!
So why would I live like a pauper—scraping by and scrambling to provide for myself? Why would I live like an orphan—with a scarcity mindset?
My Heavenly Father knows what I have need of before I even ask, and He has already promised to supply for all of my needs (Matthew 6:8; Philippians 4:19).
As a child of God, I should have a joy-filled, peace-filled, abundance mentality. With this mindset I can…
I’m not trying to build a bankroll here. My inheritance is secure in Heaven. As a child of the King of kings, I can expect Him to provide all I need.
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)
With the same measure I use to bless others, I will be blessed. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. (Luke 6:38)
I need to live as a child of the Abundant King, not as a helpless orphan with no one on whom to call for help!
Whether it’s a doctor’s diagnosis of cancer, or a rapidly-spreading virus, or a painful relationship, Lynn Eib helps us keep these unexpected things in perspective. These may have taken us by surprise, but nothing takes God by surprise. No diagnosis nor prognostication can limit God’s power and love.
As David learned in his painful time: “God has spoken once, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belong mercy and loving-kindness” (Psalm 62:11-12). He is All-Powerful andAll-Loving.
Let these declarations Lynn made when receiving her cancer diagnosis help put things in perspective for you—
I refuse to believe my diagnosis is a death sentence.
I believe God is on the side of my healing because His unbreakable Word says so.
I believe treatment is effective against this illness, especially the skillful efforts of scientific medicine with my strategies for replacing lying thoughts with truth.
I believe my hormones and immune system are on the side of my healing and are even now working to overcome this illness.
I believe I am personally responsible for my treatment and for managing it.
I believe hope is a choice. I choose hope, not hopelessness.
My major aim is to have a mind fully submitted to the Spirit of God and His truth, not just to see better lab results or improvement in physical symptoms.
I believe I am on earth to share Christ, hope, and joy with others. I am here only to love others, regardless of my physical condition.
I believe that God’s will is good.
I believe that He loves me and wants only the best for me—whatever He is allowing me to experience right now.
I can recover from this illness and live a rich, productive life of service. But whether I recover or not, I am going to leave this life someday regardless. Until then I can live a full life of service every day for as long as I am given.
In 1948, World War II had come to a close and the nuclear age had dawned. The Cold War was beginning to ratchet up and the fear of nuclear annihilation was gripping people’s hearts.
In this environment, C.S. Lewis wrote an essay entitled On Living In An Atomic Age. I have changed the word “atomic” for “COVID-19,” and I think you will see the relevance.
In one way we think a great deal too much of the COVID-19 virus. “How are we to live in a COVID-19 age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the COVID-19 virus was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by the COVID-19 virus, let that virus when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about viruses. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.
For Christians, I would urge you to think in ways in which I am certain C.S. Lewis would agree:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. (Romans 12:12)
This thought—and even the phrase itself—permeates the Bible. From the very beginning of Time itself, whatever God says—happens!
His word is His bond: What He had promised (v. 1b). There are no loopholes, no equivocations. When God says it, it is signed, sealed, delivered!
When is His word accomplished? From the moment He says it. His word cannot be altered nor delayed. We simply wait for its fulfillment: At the very time God had promised (v. 2).
This also means that I must obey what God says. If His word is immutable, my faith and obedience must be just as steadfast. Just like Abraham: Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him (v. 4).
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would help remind us of everything God has said. The same Word that tells us God’s promises is also the same Word that sparks the faith to believe His Word (Romans 10:17).
Get God’s Word.
Believe He will fulfill it in His timing.
Obey everything He says.
Laugh in joy when you see His word accomplished: God has brought me laughter (v. 6)!
Every day is a fresh beginning,
Craig T. Owens 