Scripture teaches extensively on death so that Christians can have no reason to fear it. The Apostle Paul wrote many of the passages dealing with the subject. Telling of the great future that lies on the other side of death. Even going as far as to proclaim that for those who place their faith in Christ, it is better to die than live. Because death means leaving behind this broken world of pain and suffering to be with Christ. In the Kingdom of Heaven where all that plagues this world will be no more. While all this is true for those who believe, it doesn’t apply to the whole world. The inverse is in fact true for the lost as for them living is better than dying.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)
9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
Philippians 1:20–21 (ESV)
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
2 Corinthians 5:6–8 (ESV)
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 (ESV)
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Revelation 21:4 (ESV)
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
It’s hard to think about wasting away, battling cancer, or living life in the hospital as the better option. But when compared to what waits for those who die, losing any one of those things and much more is better than the alternative. Through the centuries man has learned how to numb the pain, to ease all levels of suffering, and improve the comfort of life. Yet, in hell none of that will matter there will be nothing to take away the anguish and pain. No sleep to drift away and forget your problems for a few hours. Nothing to distract you from where you are. Instead those in hell must continue living it for eternity with nothing to dull the experience.
Matthew 13:49–50 (ESV)
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
John 3:18 (ESV)
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Revelation 20:15 (ESV)
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8 (ESV)
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
As Christians we often live removed from the worries of hell because our salvation is sure. We chose to leave the path of wickedness, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Which the scripture promises will result in eternal salvation in Heaven. We have the peace and comfort that comes from knowing the Lord. All great things but things can often cause us to view death in the same way for all people. Forgetting just how horrible it is going to be for those who are lost.
Our first reaction when we hear that someone has passed is to say well they are in a better place now or at least they no longer have to suffer. Which is true for those who lived a life for Christ. Paul wrote in that case we have no reason to be sad because we know they will rise again.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV)
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
But in the case of those who are lost, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. No matter what suffering they faced in life it is nothing compared to the pain they will face in death. For them it would have been better to keep on living in our world than by dying move to the next. When the lost die they are not in a better place or a place without suffering. In fact, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that they are in a much worse place that only consists of suffering.
Our knowledge of this should cause our hearts to break all the more when we hear of those who chose suicide. They hoped to end their suffering. Hoping that by dying they could finally find the peace they longed for. But in reality they only ushered themselves into more and worse suffering. Suffering that they will never be able to end or change no matter what they do. Had they only kept living they may have found the peace they longed for in God. Every suicide is a great tragedy because the devil tricked a poor soul into believing dying was their best option. When for them living was so much better if they only could have seen it.
For so many in this world living is better than dying because they do not share in the blessed assurance that we do. When they die they will face things that could have never been imagined. Knowing this should have an effect on us. It should cause us to work even harder to share our faith with everyone we can. Praying that they will accept Christ and alter their future. So that they can live with the same hope that we do. In which dying is better than living because of the glory we shall receive. Glory that will outshine any bad we ever faced in this life.
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 8:17–18 (ESV)
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
People you know are going to die and instead of rest they will find suffering if you do not lead them to the Gospel. It is not pretty but that is the truth directly from the scripture. You have the power to change that by sharing your faith with them. On this website I have said it many times and I will say it again. If you are saved you have all the knowledge you need to lead someone else to salvation. You know what opened your eyes to Christ and you know the steps you followed in the plan of salvation. You can take someone from the place in which living is better than dying to the place in which dying is better than living. If you will only take the time to share with them the life saving knowledge you possess.
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