With the terrible happenings in the country, so many people are paralyzed by the fear of death. Death is a sure future for all and nobody knows the day he or she will die.
But one thing is certain: one day your stay on earth will expire and you will die. So, today, we want to deliberate on “HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF DEATH!”
“…that through death He might destroy him, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through FEAR OF DEATH were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15).
Should Christians be afraid of death? The answer is no! The Bible says that the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:54). If you are afraid to die now, it shows that you are not ready for death yet. But the Bible commands us to be ready because no one knows when it will come.
Death, in and of itself, is painless. The events that lead up to death can certainly be painful. But at death, your brain stops recording. That’s it!
Immediately before death, your brain noticing that it is very low in oxygen, will provide you with an experience which seems to be tied to your beliefs, or lack thereof, and then it fades to nothing.
Death is a sure future for all, and nobody knows the day he or she will die. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is APPOINTED unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
But one thing is certain: one day your stay on earth will expire and you will die.
There are two types of death: Physical death, and Spiritual death. What is physical death? Physical death is the separation of your human spirit from your physical body.
What is spiritual death? Spiritual death is the separation of your human spirit from God forever.
What really happens at physical death? First of all realize that man is made of three parts (spirit, soul and body):
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole (1) spirit and (2) soul and (3) body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23).
At your last breath, you will give up the ghost. Your human spirit will separate from your physical body (earth suite). Thereafter, your physical body will decompose into its component chemical elements. Consequently, your physical body goes back to dust from where it came until the resurrection day.
Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Genesis 3:19 says, “…for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Ecclesiastes 3:20 says, “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
What is the meaning of “ALL” here? “All” means the physical body, the house in which your human spirit lives.
The life of every person on earth will end as dust. “…all whose lives will end as dust” (Ps. 22:29c).
Your real self (your spirit-man) will then come out of your physical body and return to God to be judged.
If you were foolish to reject Jesus Christ while you were on earth, you will go straight to be with the devil and his demons in hell where you’ll be tormented forever.
But if you were wise enough to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour while you were here on earth, your spirit will go to be with the LORD in Heaven where you’ll be celebrated forever (Jn. 3:3-7; Jn. 14:6; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 2:11-13; Col. 1:14; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5).
As your spirit detaches and steps out of your physical body, you’ll instantly receive a transformed glorious body.
And in your transformed body, you’ll be escorted by angels to Heaven.
You will see the most brilliant place which will cause all other beauties you knew on earth to instantly fade from your memory.
You will feel more athletic in your transformed body than in your physical body.
Now, the issue is not that you died. The big question is where will you go to after you die? After judgment your spirit-man will go to one of two places: (1) Heaven or (2) Hell.
The death of a sinner is a death unto death. “…14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire according to their works. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in The Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15).
What of the death of the righteous? 1. The death of the righteous is a death of celebration. Heaven warmly welcomes the righteous.
2. The death of the righteous is a death of consolation (comfort). Everyone that made it to Heaven followed the narrow path and as such must have suffered a lot of persecutions while on earth. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).
Apostle Paul said, “… 18 Wherefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do” (1 Thess. 5:9-11).
3. The death of the righteous is the death of rest. The death of the righteous is like divine retirement.
God gives rest to the righteous through death. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may REST from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Rev. 14:13).
4. The death of the righteous is not a disaster. It is gain. Apostle Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
The Bible says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15).
Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-8).
How then can one overcome the fear of death?
1. Remember that God has not given us the spirit of fear… (2 Tim. 1:7).
2. Trusting in God overcomes the fear of death. When we trust God, we don’t need to fear anything.
3. We have the confident assurance that He is with us in any circumstance. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? …Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom. 8:31, 37).
- Be careful not to leave God out of your thinking (Isa. 26:3; Phil. 4:8; Josh. 1:8, Ps. 1:1-3).
- Focus your mind on the things above (Col. 3:1-3). Focusing your mind on the glories and wonders of Heaven will remove the fear of death from your life.
Conclusion: Knowing this much about your eternal destination is enough to neutralize the fear of death in your life!
· Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi
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