A Christian’s Fear of Death is Irrational

We often fear what we don’t understand.  We fear what we have never experienced before.  A common fear nearly all of us struggle with is the fear of death. No one ever comes back from the grave to tell us about their death experience so it remains a great mystery.

 My six year old son was about to drift off to sleep the other night when he called out to me, “Daddy, there is a face staring at me from my closet.”  I looked in his closet and sure enough, there was an Iron Man mask staring outward.  So, I shoved it deeper in his closet and covered it up with some of his other toys and my son drifted off to sleep.  The fear of death is the monster in every closet.  We don’t want to talk about it or think about it.  We prefer to shove it back in the dark recesses of our mind and pretend it’s not there.

We were visiting our friend’s house recently.  My wife, Shannon, and I were talking to his elderly mother.  Shannon has an uncanny ability to discern when others are troubled.  I was surprised when she asked ‘Gran’ if she was alright.  Gran replied, “Oh, I’m a little discouraged.”   “Why, what’s wrong,” my wife asked.  “Well, I took my friend shopping yesterday and she just wasn’t doing so well, you know, forgetful and tired acting.”  So I asked her, “How old is your friend?”  “Oh, she is 95”, she said in a matter-of-fact manner.  “How old are you,” I asked.  “I’m only 92,” she boasted.  I sensed Gran was denying old age and she seemed to be unfettered by the fear of death.

Death is the shadow in everyone’s future.  There are many things we don’t know in life.  Some people dedicate their entire lives to the discovery of things we know nothing of.  There are so many uncertainties in life, but we are all certain of one thing; “for the living know that they will die.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) But “no man knows when his hour will come.” (9:12)

Man’s first experience with death was perpetrated by Cain.  Imagine the pain and horror the first family felt as they witnessed the death of their son, their brother.  They were stunned by the solemn realization, as they looked on the dead body of Abel, that “it is appointed unto man once to die.” (Hebrews 9:27)    David wrote of this universal fear when he penned Psalm 23:4  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

When a Christian fears death he is being irrational.  A Christian’s belief in the deity of Christ eliminates his fear of death.  Jesus didn’t mince any words when it came to proclaiming that he was divine.  The Jewish leaders came to him and asked, “Who do you think you are?”  (John 8:53)  “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”  Calling Jesus a Samaritan was the equivalent of using the “N” word in today’s culture.  Jesus was willing to risk his life to tell them the truth.

“I am not possessed by a demon,” he said.  (John 8:49)  “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was, I am!” (John 8:58)  He was declaring to them that he and the Father were one in their eternal nature.  They were enraged by this truth and commenced to pick up stones and tried to kill him but he escaped.

Jesus said something even more shocking earlier in this passage.  He clearly proclaimed his divine nature to them.  “If you knew me you would know my Father.” (John 8:19)  Jesus had made very plain to them that he and his Father were in perfect agreement as to what his purpose was when he took on humanity and came into this world.  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”.  (John 3:17)   His enemies were shocked that Jesus would claim to be God,  they were astonished that he claimed power to bring salvation to their souls.  This was a day for them to remember because they had never heard any man utter such outrageous things.

Perhaps most shocking of all, Jesus told them that if they believe in his divinity, if they accepted the fact that the only path to salvation was through Jesus Christ, the son of God, “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word…(long drum roll here)… he will never see death!”  (John 8:51)  What?  “Did they hear him right?”  Yes.  Jesus told them that his divinity qualified him to be their Savior, if they would believe, confess their sins and accept his gift of righteousness, they would never see death.

Keep in mind Jesus didn’t say, “You will never die,” he said, “You will never see death.”  When his opponents were trying to clarify what they had heard they changed it a bit by asking him, “Are you saying that if we keep your commandments we will never taste death?”  They substituted the word ‘taste’ for ‘see’ but Jesus never corrected them. 

While they were speaking of physical death Jesus was speaking of spiritual death.  Jesus didn’t deny that all men would die physically.  Nevertheless, he was teaching them that at the point of physical death the soul leaves the body and ascends to another dwelling place.  The life of the soul continues uninterrupted by the physical death of the body.  This is all possible because Jesus laid down his life down for the sheep.  He arose from the dead, thereby, eliminating the sting of death for all those who believe in him.  He provided us an opportunity to be righteous.  He satisfied the cry of his Father’s pure heart for justice and he permanently shut the gates of hell to those who are stamped with his image.

Therefore, it is irrational for the Christian to fear death when Christ himself has taken away the sting (fear) of death and promised us eternal life.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Are You Afraid To Die?



The Fear of Death Confounds Me



One of the more prevalent fears haunting us is the fear of disease, especially a debilitating disease like cancer.  My mother suffered from severe dementia before she died and I often catch myself dreading the possibility that I, too, may suffer the same horrible fate.  Following closely behind the fear of debilitating disease is the fear of dying. 

Of all the tormenting fears that afflict people, the fear of dying is certainly one of the most common.  Many fear losing their job but not everyone loses their job.  The fear of public speaking is a particularly common fear but most can avoid public speaking if they choose.  If you are tormented by the fear of spiders or snakes you can easily avoid places where those critters can be found.  Most of our fears are founded on things we find difficult to control such as the fear of rejection, the fear of poverty or the fear of loneliness. 

We can make accommodations for all the fears listed above accept one.  You can fill your life with people if you are lonely.  You can eat right, exercise and try to get plenty of sleep if you fear poor health.  But no one can successfully run from death.  The Grim Reaper comes to claim everyone.   We are born to live and eventually to die.  Life for many is difficult because of all of its uncertainties.  The only true certainty in life is death.  Well, actually Ben Franklin added one other certainty, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Necrophobia, or the fear of death is closely connected with xenophobia, the fear of the unknown.  There is a German proverb that says, “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he us.”  Conspiracy theorists thrive on the fear of the unknown.  We look into the vast and diamond studded velvet sky in the moonless night and we imagine Martians or aliens because we don’t know what is out there.  The fear of the future caused world panic before Y2K and it appears to be returning as we begin the year 2012. The fear of death is so prevalent because it is something new, something we’ve never experienced before.  We long for someone to die and then come back and comfort us about dying. 

The Bible seems to confirm the idea that everyone must die, it also confirms that everyone must face the judgment of God.  Perhaps the real fear of dying is grounded in the latter fact rather than the former.  “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”  (Hebrew 9:27)  But let’s back up.  The Bible also teaches that there were two men who never died.  “And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:  And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24-25)  The writer of Hebrews confirms this:  “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”  (Hebrews 11:5)

The other biblical figure who escaped death was Elijah.  The Lord took “Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind…there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”  (2 Kings 2:1,11)  Are these two incidents not contradicted by Hebrews 9:27…”It is appointed unto man once to die”? 

John the Revelator envisioned two witnesses which he wrote about in Revelation chapter 11.  These two will share gospel truth with the Jewish people and then they will be brutally murdered by the “beast that rises from the bottomless pit.” (Revelation 11:7)  If Elijah and Enoch are the witnesses foretold here then the requirement that all men taste of death would be satisfied.

Having established that none shall escape the Angel of Death, what can be done to reduce or eliminate the fear of death?  John Donne addresses the topic in his poem, “Death, Be Not Proud.”

“Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,

For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures bee,
                   Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow.

It may sound arrogant for Donne to claim that death cannot kill him but he has a supernatural hope that destroys his fear of death.  His faith is founded in the promise of Christ.  Christ is the one who has died and come back to comfort us regarding our fear of death.  The Apostle Paul speaks of this promise in 1 Corinthians 15.  Paul asserts the reality of a resurrection based on the fact that because Christ arose from the dead he is qualified to fulfill his promise to raise us from the dead also.

Donne reveals the impermanence of death by comparing it to rest and sleep.  Because of the hope of the resurrection death becomes nothing more than a prolonged period of sleep before we are brought again to life by the grace and power of Christ himself.  Our fear of death makes the wolf bigger than it really is. 

The poet turns the tables on death and portrays it as something powerless and inadequate:

“One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.”

Paul wrote comforting words to Titus (1:2) when he declared that God cannot lie.  He has promised us eternal life from the beginning of time.  Let us rejoice in His salvation! Through him we have eternal life. We must trust him to prepare us for it and preserve us to it. It is our great privilege to draw deeply from the wells of his salvation.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.