How Bad Is Death? -- 7/23/06 (Eternal Realities)

Sunday, July 23, 2006

HOW BAD IS DEATH?

How many of you remember Dr. Kevorkian? I haven’t heard of him for some time, but in the 80’s he was constantly in the news. Though he was a doctor, his work was not what you would expect of a doctor. He was popularly known as "Dr. Death." Rather than saving people’s lives, he helped people to die. This phenomenon was called "Doctor-Assisted Suicide." In order that people might not have to suffer, Dr. Kevorkian would help an individual to commit suicide. He was very public in his actions, hoping to call attention to this issue. His goal was to get laws passed which would make it legal for doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients who were suffering. The state of Oregon actually passed such a law.

Why would I want to remind us of such a thing? I do so in order to help us understand what people in our society think about death. In our society, death is not feared as it once was. Totally apart from faith in God and His Son Jesus, there are many who will look you in the eye and tell you they are ready to die.

Last week we looked at the first three chapters of Genesis. We saw that the pinnacle of God’s creation was man, whom He made in His own image. And whatever is included in being made in the image of God, the key element is the fact that God made man with a capacity for a relationship with Him. And God put that first man Adam in the Garden of Eden. That Garden was truly a paradise, but the Lord told Adam there was one tree from which he must not eat. He said to Adam, "The day you eat from it, you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17). And then God made a helper suitable to Adam, the woman we know as Eve. In Genesis 3, we have the account of how Adam and Eve chose to trust the words of the serpent (Satan) rather than the words of God. Rather than trust God, they struck out on their own and became independent agents. But God was true to His Word. When they ate the fruit, they died. They died in their relationship to God. That is why they experienced guilt and shame. That is why they hid and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. 930 years later, Adam would also experience physical death.

Then we looked at Romans 5:12. Let’s read it again. Rom 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" The context of verses 13-14 indicates that we have all sinned in Adam. If there is any question, verse 19 removes all doubts. Rom 5:19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." We are sinners because we are descendants of Adam. That is, we are sinners by nature. And because we are sinners by nature, we do what sinners do – we sin.

The founders of this American society knew these truths well. While there may have been some differences of belief, these truths were foundational a couple of hundred years ago. But I suggest to you that a dominant attitude today says, "What is so bad about death?"

Most of you know Romans 6:23 well. The first part reads, "For the wages of sin is death." We know what wages are. Jake and Trey take a job building a fence. They work at it for 9 hours and complete the job. That’s nice, but that isn’t the whole story. By doing that job, they earn something. The man for whom they built the fence takes out his wallet and gives them $75 apiece. That money is their wage. A wage is what a person earns for the work he does. Our sins earn for us a wage, and that wage is death. "For the wages of sin is death." But much of mankind scoffs at that idea and says, "What can be so bad about death?" For most, there is no connection between sin and death.

Where did this attitude come from? How is that man can look death in the face and seemingly be unafraid? What accounts for such bold defiance? Let’s look at two attitudes that are summarized by two little sayings. The first is this…

I. Death Will Be a Pleasant Experience for Everyone

Have you ever heard that? If you haven’t, you will. This is widely taught in our society. The more educated a person is, the more likely he is to believe this teaching.
And what can account for this belief? The most important factor is the eroding of the authority of God’s Word. If a person believes God’s Word, he will never swallow this lie. But take away the Bible, and man is vulnerable to most any kind of belief.

We could investigate the beginnings of this teaching, but I’m not sure that would be of much benefit. What is much more important to us is the thing that has reinforced this lie and made it acceptable to so many people. I am speaking of what is commonly called "near-death" experiences.

A typical account of such an experience might go something like this. "Several years ago I was lying in a hospital bed, not knowing whether I would live or die. And finally, I did die. After I died, I saw a bright light. Someone was motioning for me to come to the light. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of great peace. Then suddenly it was over. I was back in the hospital bed. I believe God sent me back to let everyone know that death is nothing to fear." Now that is oversimplified, but there are many testimonies along that line.

This kind of testimony is very powerful because many people testify that this was their experience, and the experiences sound very similar. If this has happened to quite a number of people, how can we deny their experience?

First of all, it isn’t a matter of denying anything. Rather, it is a matter of authority. Where is our authority? Is it in experience? Or, is it in the Word of God? Can we trust the experiences of man over the Word of God? Can we trust our own personal experience over the Word of God? Ultimately, the deciding factor in all such matters, is this – What saith the scripture?

And so, what does the Bible say? In the context of Christ dying for our sins and then His coming again, we read these words in Heb 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment…" According to God’s Word, those people who say they died are mistaken. When we truly die, we will then face the judgment. And that judgment will involve sin and the death of Christ, just as the context of these words emphasizes.

The amazing thing about the world’s claim that death is a pleasant experience for everyone is that it has no regard for the kind of life the person lives. And this is exactly what is so appealing. A man can easily draw the conclusion: "In the end, it doesn’t matter what I believe or how I live, because death is going to be pleasant for everyone."

Now, of course, the infiltration of eastern religion and the new age has added another dimension, because it has deceived many into believing in reincarnation. Those who embrace this doctrine believe that after death, we will be reborn into another life on this earth. Again, such teaching contradicts the Word of God. God’s Word does not teach that man will have another life. Rather, it emphasizes the importance of submitting to God and trusting Christ, for there will not be a second chance. God has appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

Now let’s pause to review for just a moment. Many embrace these false teachings because they have swallowed the lie that man is just like any other animal. In other words, he doesn’t believe that man was created in the image of God. I Pet. 4:5 tells us that everyone must give an account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead. But many choose to believe that there is no personal God with whom we have to do.

The Bible teaches that death is basically separation, and there are three aspects of death. First of all, there is…

Spiritual death – man’s spirit is separated from God. This is what happened to Adam in the Garden of Eden. He died when he ate the fruit. Because he disobeyed God, he was cut off from God. And that death passed upon all men, because we have all sinned in Adam. That is why Paul says in Eph. 2:1, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." We are born dead, dead in our sins. When we come into this world, we are already separated from God; we are spiritually dead.

Physical death – separation of the spirit from the body. This happened to Adam 930 years after he died spiritually. This physical death is also a consequence of sin, but it doesn’t happen right away. Man doesn’t teach that he will not die physically, because death all around convinces him that he too will die. However, a man may convince himself that it will be later rather than sooner!

Eternal death – separation from God forever. This is simply a continuation of spiritual death. Man is already spiritually dead when he comes into this world. There comes a point at which no remedy is possible; it is too late. This eternal death is wage of sin, and is far more serious than physical death. When a man dies eternally, he is destined to pay for his sins forever and ever, being cast into hell, where he is tormented without any relief.

To speak in this way is serious business. It has a most sobering effect. Things get quiet. But by dismissing these truths from the Word of God, our society is able to continue life as if it were one big party. Even the prospect of hell doesn’t seem to change anything. And that brings us to the second attitude of defiance, which is summarized by the little saying…

II. I May Go to Hell, but All My Friends Will Be There

Have you ever heard that? I have heard that and similar statements. Another might say, "Well, if there’s a hell, you can bet that I’m gonna be there." I have heard people say, "Well, God may send me to hell, but this is what I’m going to do." I remember talking to a professing Christian about his particular lifestyle. He assured me that he understood the seriousness of it and acknowledged that it might cause him to go to hell. Nevertheless, he wasn’t moved. Even people who acknowledge there is a hell fail to understand its nature.

And why is this? Again, the root of it is a forsaking of the Word of God. When we read and believe what the Word says about hell, we will never joke about it. We will never take it lightly. It has been pointed out by many that Jesus said more about hell than He did about heaven. If you want a taste of what He said, try Mark 9:42-48…
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

I am well aware that some translations do not have verses 44 and 46, (others designate that they are not in the early mss., etc). Nevertheless, those same words are there in all versions of verse 48. It is also true, as some translations note, that the words "into the fire that never shall be quenched" at the end of verse 45 are not found in some manuscripts. But if we don’t like it there, we cannot escape those same words, which appear in all manuscripts at the end of verse 43. The picture is clear. Hell is a place where the fire never goes out.

The word translated "Hell" is literally "Gehenna." It refers to the Valley of Hinnon, which was outside of Jerusalem. It was the local garbage dump. There kings such as Ahaz (II Chron 28:1-3) and Manasseh (IIChron 33:6) by their own examples, led God’s people to sacrifice their sons to false gods by burning them in the fire. Bacause of those actions, God led King Josiah to defile the Valley of Hinnon. II Kings 23:10, "And he defiled Topheth [a place in that valley], which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech." Basically, he turned it into the city dump so that no one would ever again use it as a place of child sacrifice to pagan gods. There in the Valley of Hinnon worms lived in the garbage, and fires were frequently lit to burn the rubbish. The dead bodies of animals and some criminals were thrown into the continual fires. By the time of Jesus, the term "Gehenna" was used to refer to a place of future punishment. As the Valley of Hinnon became the garbage dump of Jerusalem, so hell is the garbage dump of all human history.

The torment of hell will be so severe that all friendship and fellowship will be cut off. There are no friends in hell. Physical pain and an even greater spiritual pain will so totally consume those in hell that they will be conscious of nothing else.

Furthermore, hell is place of total darkness. On three separate occasions, Jesus refers to hell as a place of outer darkness…
Mat 8:12 "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Mat 22:13 "Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Mat 25:30 "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

We see also that hell will be a place of terrible torment. But how can there be fire and no light? That is a problem for our logical minds, but it is no problem to the Creator who made light upon the earth before He created the sun and the moon and the stars. There is no fellowship where there is no light. Hell is a place of utter loneliness.

In II Thes. 1:7-9, we find that the words of Paul confirm what Jesus said about hell…
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Now there are those who object to the idea of this punishment lasting forever. Some professing Christians teach that hell means annihilation of the body, not continuing punishment. In other words, the suffering will last only for a short time, and then the person will be gone, as if he were just one of the animals. The problem with such teaching is that it denies the clear statements of Jesus and God’s Word. Jesus speaks of "everlasting punishment" (Mt. 25:46); "everlasting fire" (Matt. 18:8); "the fire that will never be quenched" (Mk. 9:45); "the worm that never dies" (Mk. 9:46). We just read where Paul refers to hell as a "flaming fire" and a place of "everlasting destruction" (II Thes. 1:8-9). Jude speaks of it as "everlasting chains" (Jude 6) and "eternal fire" (Jude 7).

But some say that fire always destroys. If hell is intense fire, then it will quickly destroy whatever it touches. However, I do remember something about a bush that burned and was not consumed. We must remember that we are dealing with Almighty God. Is there anything He cannot do? Is there anything He cannot create?

Listen to Jesus’ words in Matt. 25, that passage about Jesus dividing the sheep from the goats, setting some on His right hand and others on His left. Speaking to those who have done His will, He says in Mat 25:45-46, "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Notice those contrasting terms – "everlasting punishment" and "life eternal." These terms are perfectly parallel. The same word is used of the punishment and the life – literally, "punishment everlasting" and "life everlasting." According to Jesus, if heaven is everlasting, then hell must be everlasting. If there is everlasting reward, then there is everlasting punishment. We can’t take one and discard the other, for Jesus uses the exact same word for both, and that word means just what it says – everlasting. Put another way, we believe that God’s holiness is eternal, that His righteousness is eternal, that His love is eternal. Then how can we suddenly say that His wrath is not eternal? His wrath is just as eternal as His love.

Do you ever think about "forever," about "eternity"? Jonathan Edwards, that distinguished preacher from a former century gives this illustration… (From "The Future Punishment of the Wicked")
…Imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven, or of a great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasioned by accidentally touching a coal of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, all the while full of quick sense; what horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace! And how long would that quarter of an hour seem to you! And after you had endured it for one minute, how overbearing would it be to you to think that you had it to endure the other fourteen!But what would be the effect on your soul, if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full for twenty-four hours! And how much greater would be the effect, if you knew you must endure it for a whole year; and how vastly greater still, if you knew you must endure it for a thousand years! O then, how would your heart sink, if you thought, if you knew, that you must bear it forever and ever! That there would be no end! That after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end, than ever it was; and that you never, never should be delivered! But your torment in hell will be immensely greater than this illustration represents. How then will the heart of a poor creature sink under it! How utterly inexpressible and inconceivable must the sinking of the soul be in such a case! This is the death threatened in the law. This is dying in the highest sense of the word.

What could be more sobering? And yet much of the human race races on, scoffing at the idea of judgment and hell. And it is no wonder – it’s much easier to try to laugh hell away than to face it. To take hell seriously is to be forced to deal with sin and rebellion. Who wants to do that?

Unfortunately, a number of Christians reinforce this ignoring of hell by using the term and concept lightly. How many of you have used the term "hell" in statements such as, "It was hell on earth"? Or, "He’s been through hell"? You say, "Oh, those are just expressions." Or maybe you think, "If you’d been through what I’ve been through, you would call it "hell" too? Hear me, brothers and sisters, friends and seekers. No one here this morning and on one you have ever met has been through hell. To speak that way is to make light of what God intended us to take deadly seriously. There is no place on this earth, there is no circumstance you can endure, where there is not something of the presence of God. But in hell, there is none of God – except the memory of the loving God that was rejected and spurned. If we speak of hell, may we use it consciously and carefully, reserving for the term the full force of what the Bible says.

Conclusion

In general, we would say that fear is a bad thing. The enemy can use fear to cripple us. While that is certainly true, fear is not always a bad thing. Jesus made this statement: "And fear not them which kill the body, but not the soul, but fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). Don’t take hell lightly.

Lord willing, next Sunday we will deal with the big question. We have talked about death in its three aspects – separation from God, which is spiritual death; separation of the body from the spirit at physical death; and finally eternal death, where the person is cut off from God forever and will suffer everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. We have spent a lot of time talking about hell, as that place of everlasting punishment. So next week the big queston – Who will be in hell?

Assignment… Spend 15 minutes this week thinking only about eternal things.