What Death Says
Death says many things. Sometimes death says some things we might not like to hear. So, let’s take a look at some things physical death has to say:
• There Has Been Life. Man has to live before he can die. The fifth book of Moses says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death” (Deut. 30:19). Life is from God (Gen. 2:7). Peter teaches us to “love life” (1 Pet. 3:10). James reminds us that life is brief, “even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:14).
• That Sin Is Real. Though some would reduce sin to a meaningless nothing, sin is for real. Sin brings about death. “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” (Rom. 5:12). Every time a person dies, it reminds us of sin.
• That a Man Is Two Men. Man is composed of a body and spirit. The Holy Spirit declared, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7). This is the reason James affirmed, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (Jas. 2:26). Ever wonder why Paul refers to “the outward and inward man” (2 Cor. 4:16)? The body and spirit separate when physical death comes, leaving the body dead while the spirit returns to the safe keeping of God. Have you heard the message of death?
• That There Is a Judgment Day. As surely as there is death, there will be a day of judgment. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). The judgment is but the reading of the eternal verdict as Matthew 25:46 registers, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” The judgment demands proper preparation (Matt. 25:1-13). Ready for the judgment?
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Truth
Magazine Vol. XLV: 11 p23
June 7,
2001