And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.
Hebrews 2:15
One of the greatest freedoms for the Christian is freedom from the fear of death. Although none of us want to die before our time, it doesn’t need to frighten us if we believe that death simply means leaving this temporary home to go to our eternal home where we will see God face to face. It is often said that dying is like going through a revolving door. We are here on Earth, and then the moment we die, we are in God’s presence if we are His children.
The word “death” is defined in the Vine’s Greek Dictionary as the separation of the soul (the spiritual part of man) from the body (the material part), the latter ceasing to function and turning to dust. God’s Word promises believers in Jesus Christ that they will ultimately have a new glorified body. I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to having one that has no wrinkles, no cellulite, no sagging chin or arms, and no pain or stiffness. When we think of dying, or of no longer being in this natural realm, we should think of what we will be gaining and not what we are losing.
Death does not mean that we cease to exist entirely, but we merely cease to exist in the form we are currently in. The most important part of us, the spiritual part, never ceases to exist.
The old saying, “The only thing you can really count on is death and taxes,” is not the most comforting expression for someone who is afraid of death. The fear of death is a primal fear across the board for humanity unless one has been delivered from it through faith in God. God promises us eternal life through our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. As Christians, we can truthfully say, “I will live forever!” Your address will change someday from Earth to Heaven, but you will never really die. Actually, no person really dies. Their body will cease to exist, but the spirit and soul of each person will go somewhere after their time on Earth is up. I am grateful to have the hope of a beautiful, peaceful place where there will be no more tears, pain, or dying, and we will live in the actual presence of God.
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4
Heaven, the eternal home of the believer in Jesus Christ, is described as not only totally peaceful, but it is stunningly beautiful according to descriptions in the Bible (see Revelation 21 and 22). Having faith that this is our destiny delivers us from the fear of death. Death is not an unknown nothingness, but a graduation into better things than what we have experienced on Earth.
For me to live is Christ [His life in me], and to die is gain [the gain of the glory of eternity].
Philippians 1:21
Believers were persecuted every day, so Paul was always in danger of death. He was especially hated because of his aggressive role in leading people to salvation through faith in Christ. His bold, outspoken declaration of the need for all to be saved from their sin, including the Jew who viewed himself as religious and righteous, brought him a lot of severe persecution. Paul made it clear that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Gentile was now equal with the Jew in God’s eyes through grace (unmerited favor). This absolutely infuriated the Jews because they prided themselves in being closer to God than other people, and they sought to silence Paul. Paul was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, starved, and hunted by those who would have gladly killed him, and yet he seemed to have no fear of death.
Then Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart like this? For I hold myself in readiness not only to be arrested and bound and imprisoned at Jerusalem, but also [even] to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 21:13
Paul had a proper mind-set toward death. He knew that it was inevitable for him just as it is for all of us, and he purposed to not allow the fear of it to prevent him from fulfilling the will of God. It is rather pointless to fear something that we have no way of preventing. We must not let the fear of death prevent us from truly living! Paul knew that death simply meant that he would cease to exist in the body, but he was also assured that he would be resurrected in a spiritual and better condition. That’s why he encouraged the Church in 2 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV) by saying to “be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord.”
We must not let the fear of death prevent us from truly living!
Paul had more things to say to the Corinthians about death and resurrection. He explained to them that even when a seed is planted in the ground, it dies or ceases to exist as a seed, and then it is resurrected or comes out of the ground as something entirely different. A seed might be planted in the ground and a tomato may come out! We have our flesh-and-bone bodies and when they are planted in death, they too are resurrected in another and better form. Please read these Scripture verses and be assured that death on Earth only means the putting off of the physical body, but it does not mean that we cease to exist.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. [The body] that is sown is perishable and decays, but [the body] that is resurrected is imperishable (immune to decay, immortal).
It is sown in dishonor and humiliation; it is raised in honor and glory. It is sown in infirmity and weakness; it is resurrected in strength and endued with power.
It is sown a natural (physical) body; it is raised a supernatural (a spiritual) body. [As surely as] there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:42–44
Death need not be feared when we receive by faith what God’s Word says about it. Live your life fully and know that when your time on Earth is ended, you will enter into a better life than you ever had here.
There are of course countless people who don’t believe in the Christian doctrine of salvation and eternal life with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Millions of people from various religions believe in some form of reincarnation. They believe they will die and then return in another form, but God says in His Word that it is appointed once for man to die and then the judgment (see Hebrews 9:27). I read a little bit about reincarnation in preparation to write this chapter, and to be honest, it makes me sad that some people choose to believe in this confusing deception about eternity. Is it possible that people believe in reincarnation simply because they cannot face death? Perhaps it is an escape mechanism for them, but I cannot help wondering how they truly feel at the moment of death. Or for that matter, how does an atheist feel or an agnostic, or an idol worshipper when they come face to face with death? The Christian is the only one who can die in peace—the Christian can even be enthusiastic about seeing God’s face.
I have often said that it seems to me it would be better to believe the Gospel than not to, because even if we are wrong (which we are not), we haven’t lost anything, but if the unbeliever is wrong, he is doomed to eternal misery.
I am glad that faith in God’s plan is simple. As a matter of fact, God said that we must come as a little child and simply believe what His Word teaches. If any person will look into God’s Word with their heart instead of their head, they will find faith there. God gives us faith and it is up to us where we place it. Everyone believes something. Even unbelief is a type of belief. Why not make what you believe something that will produce good, peaceful, joyful, hopeful living? Believe that God loves you, has a wonderful plan for your life, and He wants to deliver you from all fear, including the fear of death.
Believe that God loves you, has a wonderful plan for your life, and He wants to deliver you from all fear, including the fear of death.
We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and sin demands the penalty of death. We could not pay the great debt we owed to God, so Jesus came from Heaven to Earth to reconcile us to God by paying for our sins and dying in our place. He took our punishment, and through great suffering and the spilling of His precious blood, He redeemed us (see Romans 3:23–25; Isaiah 53:4–5; Luke 23; 1 Peter 1:19).
But, thankfully, the story doesn’t end with Jesus’ death. On the third day after His death and burial, He was resurrected from the dead (see Luke 24). Death could not hold Him. He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God. Because death had no power over Him, it has no power over us either through our faith in Him.
The Muslims believe in the teachings of a prophet named Muhammad, who is dead. The Buddhist believes in the teachings of a man named Buddha, who is also dead. Many other religions base their faith on someone who is dead, but we believe in Jesus who is alive!
Is there any historical proof of the resurrection? There were numerous accounts from Christ’s disciples of an empty tomb with the grave clothes left behind. There were also numerous eyewitness accounts of people seeing Jesus on Earth after His crucifixion. He appeared to them, ate with them, and talked with them. Historically speaking, the Bible has been proven to be accurate, and more evidence to that fact is being uncovered all the time. As true believers in Christ, historical proof only validates what we already know in our hearts to be true—Jesus is alive! And because He lives, we never need to fear death.
The fear of death actually has a name like most fears do. It is “thanatophobia,” and it is a phobia rather than a simple fear that one might experience occasionally. In my opinion, faith in God’s Word and belief in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead is the way to be free from the haunting fear of death. If we believe that our sins are forgiven, we are placed in right standing with God through our faith in Jesus Christ, and we will see God face-to-face the moment we die, so what is there to fear?
William Randolph Hearst built the great Hearst Castle near Morro Bay. He filled the structure with the most beautiful objects and art of our world. Yet whenever anyone visited, he had a standing rule that no guest in his home could ever mention the word “death.” Each night, he was afraid to go to sleep because he was tormented by the fear of death.1
Mr. Hearst’s fear of death did not prevent him from dying. It was a negative emotion and wrong mind-set that stole his joy of living, and he ultimately had to face his greatest fear anyway.
I am sure his story is only representative of the stories of multitudes of people who are tormented continually by the fear of death. But here is another story about a Christian man and his faith in God.
Seeking to know God better, John Chrysostom became a hermit in the mountains near Antioch in AD 373. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he learned that with God at his side, he could stand alone against anyone or anything. That lesson served Chrysostom well. In AD 398 he was appointed patriarch of Constantinople, where his zeal for reform antagonized the Empress Eudoxia, who had him exiled. Allowed to return after a short time, Chrysostom again infuriated Eudoxia, who sent him away again. How did Chrysostom respond to such persecution? With these words: “What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness are the Lord’s. Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for; and from death I do not shrink.”2
The depth of faith that a person has in God determines whether or not they will fear death. John Chrysostom knew his God, and he trusted His promises; therefore, he had nothing to fear—not even death.
Perhaps the fear of dying is actually greater than the fear of death. I was once in an airplane that lost oxygen pressure in the cabin and the pilots had to nose-dive from 30,000 feet to 10,000 feet so we would have breathable air. They were in action mode and couldn’t take time to tell us what was happening. We could feel the plane rapidly losing altitude and we saw the pilots with their oxygen on… a little spooky to say the least! I remember thinking, Well Lord, I may be coming home, but I wonder if this is going to hurt! I wasn’t concerned about being dead, but I was a bit concerned about dying and what it might take to do it.
Sickness, disease, and often a long and painful process may precede death, and none of us would look forward to that. I am sure like me, you may pray that when your time comes to leave Earth you will just go to sleep one night and then wake up in Heaven. My thought is, “You have not because you ask not” (see James 4:2), so why not ask for something painless? However, we can be assured that whatever it takes to get out of this world, God will enable us to do it without fear.
All fear is rooted in wrong belief systems or thought habits, and I believe we can change them with God’s help. Learning to trust God to take care of us is the ultimate answer to freedom from the fear of dying. I cannot promise that dying will be painless because like you, I haven’t experienced it yet. However, I do believe I can say with confidence that God will be with us and He will give us the grace we need at the time we need it. I have met amazing people going through very painful sicknesses who always have a smile and a kind word for others. When I have asked how they can do it, without fail, they say, “It is the grace of God.”
Whether the process of my dying is short or long, painful or painless, I trust that God will give me what I need to do it gracefully. Because of that trust, I have peace about it. If you are not enjoying that peace, I pray you will take to heart the things you are reading and realize that you need not fear the unknown. We should remember that Jesus has gone before us to prepare the way, and He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). He is with us in life and He will be with us in death.
Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.
In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you.
And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.
John 14:1–3
I have heard many, many stories of people on their deathbeds saying, “Jesus is here for me now. I have to go.” Or, “I see the light and I must follow it.” My life has been beautiful, and I want my death to be beautiful also. I believe we can prepare for death properly by simply not being afraid of it. We are all going to have to do it eventually, so why not do it afraid?