A Sermon on the State of the Dead
Key Text: Eccl. 9:5
Introduction
- Many think and talk of death as another form of life?
- What is death and what does the Bible really say about it?
- What’s man’s condition in death?
- Why should it matter?
Discussion
- We cannot fully understand what death is, until we know what life is.
- Body + breath of life = nephesh or a living soul/being (Gen. 2:7)
- A soul is not some immortal part of the human being, as many suppose.
- We do not have souls in us, we are souls
- The word soul is translating Hebrew nephesh, which means a living being. When the same word is used with reference to animals it is translated as creature (Gen. 1:28; 2:19; 6:17, 20; 7:4, 14; 8:17; 9:2, 10, 12). In none of these references is nephesh understood to mean an immortal part within an animal. It simply means a living animal. A creature.
- Just as humans were formed out of the dust of the ground and also have the breath of life in their nostrils, so also with animals in those two respects:
- Animals formed out of the ground (Gen. 2:19)
- Animals have breadth of life in their nostrils (6:17; 7:21-23)
- Humans and animals are the same in life and death (Eccl. 3:18-21)
- Contrary to popular beliefs, the human soul dies (Ezek. 18:4)
Unconscious in Death
- A popular belief in many cultures and religions is that the human soul survives death and continues in consciousness. The Bible, however, says:
- The dead do not and indeed cannot praise the Lord. Only the living can and have that privilege (Ps. 115:17-18)!
- David died, was buried, his grave is still among us because he did not ascend to heaven (Acts 2:29, 30, 34).
Authorised Comfort
- Understanding what the Bible teaches about the state of the dead is important in many ways:
- Believers have comfort in knowing that their loved ones will be raised in the last day (I Thess. 4:13-18). They are not languishing in purgatory or some such other place.
- Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Ps. 116:15).
- Blessed are those who die in the Lord (Rev. 14:13)
- Ghosts are not spirits of dead people visiting the living. Those are evil spirits working to deceive and mislead. The moment one believes that dead people are still living, they already have both feet firmly planted in spiritualism. It makes the devil very happy, for he can do so much to and with people in such a space.
Appeal
- As in many other areas, the Bible has a teaching that is contrary to popular culture on the state of the dead.
- Is it your desire to put your trust and confidence in God’s word, letting it be a light unto your path and a light for your feet (Ps. 119:105)?
- Do you have loved ones separated from you through death whom you long to see again when Jesus comes again? As for me, I do!
- When the time comes, is it your desire to die in the arms of the Lord with the hope of the resurrection of that great glorious morning?
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am but just a perishing thing of clay, born but for one brief day. Teach me to hide my life in you and to number my days, that I might obtain wisdom for my life. Teach me to trust your word above all other things. Amen!