Tuesday, May 5, 2015
1 Corinthians 15:25-26 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
DEATH -- FRIEND OR DEFEATED ENEMY?
A magazine article tells how a "new doctrine" is emerging about death, "emphasizing that death is a natural part of life. We should not fear death [the new doctrine says], but accept it as the last 'passage,' the natural culmination of our lives. Some even urge that we welcome death as a friend...." Interesting approach. But a sad one and a wrong one.
The Bible hardly speaks about death as a friend. It speaks of it as unnatural -- as the consequence of sin. "For dust you are, and to dust you shall return" God told Adam after he sinned (Genesis 3:19). "...By the one man's offense death reigned..." (Romans 5:17) and "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), writes Paul.
God is the creator and author of life. Satan is the architect of sin and death. By Christ's innocent death on the cross for us, and triumphant resurrection from the dead, Satan has been defeated and destroyed. "That through death [Christ] might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14f). There is no need to euphemize death as a friend, to paint a pretty face upon it, or to call it natural. Rather, learn to know Jesus Christ and what He has done to defeat, destroy, abolish that ugly enemy
In the 16th century the great Lutheran Reformer, Dr. Martin Luther, took chalk and wrote in huge letters on his desk: VIVIT -- Latin for "He lives!" Imprint those words as a motto over the mantel of your door and over the bed where you repose. And then sing your "alleluias" in death's face!
-- abridged from "The Lutheran Spokesman"
