Christians Have No Need to Fear Death

Today’s text comes once again from the book of Hebrews. As I’ve mentioned last week, the entire book speaks specifically of the superiority of Jesus to angels, His superiority over Moses, His superiority over the Levitical priesthood, and the superiority of the new covenant over the Old Covenant because He died as our propitiatory sacrifice – our atoning sacrifice – on the Cross when, through His death, He appeased God’s wrath for our sins.

 

Today we focus on the last few verses of chapter two. For the sake of time, I won’t read the full chapter. I encourage you to do that on your own. So, beginning with verse 14 of the second chapter:

 

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

 

I will make only two major points from this short text as it appears in context with the whole of Scripture: First, the true Christian has no reason to fear death, and second, I want us to understand WHY the true Christian has no reason to fear death. I’ll address the second point first, because in doing so, the first point becomes clearer.

 

What does it mean that Jesus made ‘propitiation’ for our sins? The word takes us back to the sacrificial system found in the Books of Moses, especially during the Day of Atonement. On that day each year the High Priest sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the Ark of the Covenant, thereby appeasing God’s wrath against Israel’s sins. His wrath was pacified by the bloody death of the sacrificial animal. ‘Propitiation’ – the appeasement of God’s wrath by that sacrifice – explains how a just and holy God can fully judge sin while at the same time offer His mercy to the sinner. In New Testament terms, the bloody propitiatory sacrifice of the sinless Son of God on Calvary’s cross appeased God’s wrath against our sin and allows His justice to offer mercy to the penitent sinner.

 

We find the word ‘propitiation’ [‘appeasement] in passages such as Romans 3:23-26  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – [no exceptions, except for Christ Jesus] – being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness . . .  for the demonstration of His righteousness. . .so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

 

We see it again in 1 John 2:1-2 “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.”

 

But all this talk of appeasing God should raise the question – WHY do we need to appease God? Isn’t God a God of love and mercy and compassion?  Yes, of course, He is. That is why the concept and the act of His propitiation in and through His sinless Son is so marvelous, so wonderful a truth – because God’s mercy makes (present tense) – God makes a way for His enemies to be brought near to Him in intimate, loving relationship.

 

Enemies of God.

 

Let’s pause a moment and examine a Biblical truth which is uncomfortable for many people. Before we come to Christ in repentance, we are all enemies of God. Of course, modern sophisticated men and women don’t like being told God calls them His enemies. But if we believe what He tells us through the Scriptures, we cannot avoid or soften that reality.

 

James writes, (James 4:4) “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

St Paul adds, (Romans 5:8-10) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

 

As I said, people without an obedient faith in Christ don’t like to hear that they’re God’s enemies, yet it proves to be a somber thread throughout the Old and New Testaments. When anyone refuses to bow the knee to God in confession and repentance, they do exactly what Satan did before his fall. As I demonstrated a week or so ago from Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan was the most beautiful of the holy angels until the sin of pride was found in him; Pride. He wanted to dethrone God.

 

And just to be clear, you and I do the same thing when we make ourselves our own little gods, doing whatever is right in our own eyes, placing ourselves on the throne of our lives where only God belongs.

 

This is not complicated. Enthroning ourselves on the place only God belongs makes us God’s enemy. And THAT is why this passage at the end of Hebrews 2 is so heartening and encouraging because it tells us God Himself took on human flesh, lived an utterly sinless life, and became a propitiation, an atonement, an appeasement of His wrath against our sin – a propitiation for all who want to be made right with God.

 

Listen! God does not spend His wrath on his friends. He spends His wrath on His enemies. And as the writer to the Hebrews will say later: (Hebrews 10:31) “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

God WANTS to reconcile all humanity to Himself through our obedient faith in Jesus, His Son.  And so, Christ stands at the door of each heart, waiting for us to open that door and invite Him to His rightful place on the Throne of our heart.

 

I hope you have all done that – not only once, but repeatedly, because we each, repeatedly and consciously or unconsciously – want to dethrone Him and take His rightful place on our heart’s throne.

 

And now that we know WHY God sent His Son to Calvary’s cross, to wash away our sins with His blood, we can better understand why the Christian needs not to fear death. As a reminder, here is that particular text from today’s section in Hebrews: “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 

 

There are many reasons people fear death. Some are afraid to die because it is an unknown. From my experience over the years talking with Christians, I’ve spoken to those who sit in church pews each week and who are unsure about what happens to them after death. They think eternity is a huge question mark. But for the Christian, the unknown is not as unknown as non-believers think of it. God gives us enough information about death for the Christian that no child of God should fear the grave. Let’s look only at two texts that speak directly to those who belong to Christ.

Here is Revelation 22: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea . . . And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new . . . . and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

 

Here is what the apostle Paul had to say about death: (2 Corinthians 5:1-8) “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. . . . Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

 

I hope you heard that last line: Absent from the body and home with the Lord. As the Lord Jesus said to the penitent thief on the cross: “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”(Luke 23:43)

 

For the Christian, death is like walking through the doorway leading out of your apartment. THAT is what the death of the body is like for the faithful follower of Christ – walking through the doorway leading from this life to life eternal. Immediately in the presence of God. No such thing as what some call ‘soul-sleep.’ No further cleansing or purging of our sins necessary in a place some call ‘purgatory.’ Scripture could not be clearer: The Christian closes their eyes in death and immediately opens them in the presence of their Savior. Absent from this life means to be present in eternal life.

That being the case, WHY would any Christian fear death when what we have waiting for us on the other side of that door is eternal joy in the presence of God? Eternal joy in the company of all our family and friends in Christ who have gone on before us – gone to that Promised Land where there is no longer death, sickness, loss, pain, or loneliness.

But there are those in and outside of the pews who argue within themselves, “I am such a bad person. You don’t know the horrible things I’ve done. How can God really forgive me?”

 

Surely, I don’t know the horrible things some have done in their life, but let’s let the infallible and wholly inspired word of God answer their question. Here is what He tells us through Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth – a church FILLED with those who came out of sinful lifestyles:

 

“Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, HCSB) 

We all need to hear this. It’s important: Despite the litany of damnable sins Paul cites in this text – the Holy Spirit quickly focuses attention on the good news in verse 11: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” 

Let’s unwrap this verse. “You were washed,” means the person’s sins were completely, thoroughly, utterly cleansed through their baptism and ongoing confession and repentance of their sins.

 

“You were sanctified,” means God had purified them from those sins. He pronounced them ‘pure.’ He set them apart for His work and declared them to be holy because they were covered with the propitiatory blood of Jesus.

 

And finally, Paul tells them, “You were justified,” meaning, God pronounced them righteous, innocent, and without guilt. And if GOD Himself pronounces us to be without guilt – He means what He says and He says what He means. God declares the penitent sinner to be righteous and innocent and without guilt. Period. Full stop. End of sentence.

 

I will pause again and make another important comment: If you are not a Christian, do you want to be one? Do you want to have no fear of death and – for you – the inevitable and eternal judgment? Then trust God’s promises to wash you, sanctify you and justify you as soon as you confess to Him your sins and repent – meaning you purposely and intentionally turn from them.

 

And, speaking of that judgment, let’s look at yet another reason some fear death. They fear it because they fear their final and eternal Judgment. For good reason the non-believer, the non-Christian fears that judgment because it will be devastating, agonizing, and eternal. But for the one who has come to God through obedient faith in Christ, they have no reason whatsoever to fear eternal judgment – because, as I have said repeatedly in this message, God has ALREADY and forever judged their sins on Calvary’s cross.

 

Let me reiterate what I just said because it is so important to our peace of mind when we think of our own death. Christian! One hundred percent of God’s wrath against your sins – 100% pressed down, shaken together, and running over – it was all spent on Jesus.

 

Not one fraction of a fraction of God’s wrath is held in reserve for any of His children covered by the propitiatory blood of Jesus. As the apostle John tells us: (1 John 4:15-18) “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God . . . By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment . . . There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”

 

I hope you caught that. There’s no fear of punishment after death for the Christian. That’s one reason St Paul tells us, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1) and “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1-2).

 

Listen, please – and I need to hear this as much as anyone – the more our love for God is perfected, the more we will trust God to be true to His promises. If we love God only a little, then we will trust God only a little. But the more perfectly we love God the greater peace we will have at death because we know Whom we have believed, and are persuaded that He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until that final day. (see 2 Timothy 1:12)

I will close with these final words of reminder: The Christian – and ONLY the Christian has no Biblical reason to fear death because death no longer has any sting for us. Listen again to God’s word: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)

 

If you belong to Christ, He has set you free from death’s chains. Why? Because Jesus became your propitiatory sacrifice. He death appeased God’s wrath against your sins.

 

And if you do not yet belong to Christ – why would you delay? God WANTS to reconcile you to Himself; And so He stands right now at the door of your heart, urging you to open that door and invite Him to His rightful place on the Throne of our heart.

 

And so, the Christian can ever say, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”