Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

Because of the human ability to reason, it is natural for us to question our existence. How did we get here? What is the purpose of life? What will happen when we die? Is the life after death? Is there a supreme bring that decides what happens to us when we die?

Every religion attempts to answer these questions in its own beliefs. Even aetheists have a belief about what happens after death - nothing - we simply disintegrate into base molecules.

Fear enters into these questions when we don’t have much confidence that our beliefs will actually come to pass. Hebrews 2:14-15 reiterates this principle “ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

The devil is constantly trying to put doubts in our minds about what will happen after death, putting us in slavery to this fear of death.

For people who adhere to the Christian faith, fear of death can still be a real issue to wrestle with. When our relationship with God is quite shallow or distant, our faith can be weak. At these times we may doubt that God loves us and that he has forgiven our sins. We may think and/or feel that our eternal destiny is punishment in hell. Doubt at that level can lead to debilitating fear of death. 

But there is no need for such fear. The bible says faith comes from hearing the word (Romans 10:8-17). We need to hear the truth of God’s promises about what will happen to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Consider the following:

John 5:21-29
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Jesus says “very truly” which means pay special attention to this truth. Everyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life - period - they have passed over from death to life.

1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

The apostle John is declaring that we can know this truth as absolute certainty. This is what a mature and strong faith is all about. Hebrews 11:1 in the Amplified version says “ Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

When we have a mature and strong faith, the fear of death is gone. We are so knowledgeable about what God has said and promised in the bible, we have total assurance that we can trust what he has promised, we have eternal life, we have passed from death to life. This kind of faith only develops from diligent reading, study, meditating and memorizing what God has said in his Word. It is available to every Christian.

November 14 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report