No Fear in Death
“No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.” (1)
This is a stanza from the song “In Christ Alone.” Aren’t these words beautiful? My favorite part to sing loudly with my hands raised is “no fear in death.” Being fearless about death is not something that many people can identify with, but as followers of Christ this should be one of the bullet points under the chapter, Confidence in Christ, in the metaphorical book of your life.
Death is scary, and it has always been meant to be. When God laid out the rules for Adam in the Garden of Eden, there was one rule – don’t touch that one tree – and only one punishment – death. The Garden’s two residents couldn’t have possibly understood exactly what God meant by death, but we have a better picture of it. We understand that it is complete separation from life. The Word of God sheds even more light on death, saying it is separation from this life, but also separation from God and the eternal life found in His Son, Jesus (Romans 5:12-17, Ephesians 2:1-9). If this is true, then how can we proudly and with confidence worship God by saying we do not fear the most severe manifestation of His holy wrath? That question may be best answered by identifying why people are scared of death.
The Fear: I’m scared of death because I don’t know what is to come in the next life (if there is one).
Our Confidence: Using the Bible as our source of absolute truth, we know that there is indeed eternal life after we die. Followers of Christ are promised eternity with God in heaven (John 14:2-3, Romans 6:23, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Revelation 21:3-4). Hell is the place reserved for those who have not surrendered their lives to Christ (Matthew 10:28, Matthew 13:41-42, Revelation 20:15).
The Fear: I’m scared of death because it usually entails pain and suffering of some sort.
Our Confidence: Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” If we were to fully comprehend what being in the presence of God for eternity is really like, we would truly scoff at weighing that pure joy against the temporary sufferings of this world.
The Fear: I’m scared of death because I don’t want to be separated from the things that I love and make me happy in this life.
Our Confidence: In response to the fear of losing our “treasures” here on earth, we can meditate on Jesus’ words in Matthew 6, “’Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal’” (vs. 19-20). We can also put our trust in David’s proclamation in Psalm 16:11 that says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Oh, that we could fully realized that true joy and pleasure are found in the presence of God, not in this fallen world.
The Fear: I’m scared of death because I am afraid that my good deeds do not outweigh my bad deeds and I will not be allowed to go to heaven when I die.
Our Confidence: This is the fear that the gospel speaks to with crushing authority. The good news of Christ is that He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:14-15), He died the death we deserved for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), and He resurrected three days later (John 20). Although the whole gospel can ease our fear of death, it is the resurrection that delivers such powerful truth in this regard. If Jesus lived perfectly and died an atoning death, but never resurrected, it would mean that the curse of death handed down in Genesis would still have full reign over all people. Death would have triumphed over God Himself. Praise God that is not the case! Jesus conquered death, and it wasn’t just for Himself; Jesus has always been and always will be, so conquering death for Himself was not His main purpose in resurrecting. The resurrection prevailed over death on our behalf (Romans 6:1-10). The curse of eternal death and separation from God has been nullified for the believer. We can say with Paul, “’Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)? Think about it this way: without Christ we spend our lives trying to avoid our inevitable death. Death is our master and we serve it with our trepidation. But then...Christ. In Christ, death is no longer something to be feared. In his 1991 sermon titled “The Death of a Spirit-Filled Man,” John Piper says, “Death is handed over, bound and defeated, as a servant to the church. We are more than conquerors because death is not just defeated and kept from destroying us; it is enslaved and made the servant of God's people.”(2) How does death serve you? It releases you from this fallen world and delivers you into the presence of you King. Can I get a “HALLELUJAH!”? And because of His life, death, and resurrection, we do not have to worry about earning our own salvation with our good deeds. Jesus won our freedom from the consequences of sin (death) and His salvation is non-negotiable.
So why is it a big deal that we not be scared of death? The gospel has made it a big deal. Christ is worthy of all glory and praise for having taken the curse of death upon Himself and destroying its power over His Bride, the church of believers. When we fear death, we steal that glory from Him. We make it seem as though His victory over death was not enough to ease our fears, like it just wasn’t quite sufficient for us. It’s like we give death back some of the power that Christ took from it, and that is not okay. God, please change our hearts to not fear what You have conquered for us!
Questions to Answer as a Family:
1. Are you scared of death?
2. Why should a Christian not fear death at all?
3. What do you look forward to most about eternal life with God?
4. What Bible verse can you memorize to help defeat the fear of death?
1. Getty, K., & Townend, S. (2001). In Christ Alone. [Recorded by Keith Getty & Kristyn Getty. ]. In Christ Alone Album [CD]. England: Kingsway Thankyou Music. (December 2006).
2. Piper, J. (1991, April 21). The Death of a Spirit-Filled Man. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/the-death-of-a-spirit-filled-man.
