Most folk have, perhaps understandably, a very dismal view of death, but John 11:11-13 brings before us a refreshing and comforting concept of the death of a Christian. Jesus said that Lazarus had fallen asleep. Very clearly from verse 14 Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead. This concept of the death of God's people is common throughout Scripture (Psalm 13:3, Acts 7:60, 1 Cor. 15:18, 1 Thess. 4:13-14).

The word “sleep” is used to show us that death for a Christian is not a terrible experience to be dreaded and feared. Matthew Henry said, “A good Christian, when he dies, does but sleep; he rests from the labors of the day past, and is refreshing himself for the next morning.” J.C. Ryle says that sleep “is a gentle and pathetic way of expressing the most painful of events that can befall man, and a most suitable one, when we remember that after death comes resurrection. In dying we are not annihilated. Like sleepers we lie down, to rise again.” The sleep spoken of is that of the body, not of the soul, and is only applied to the death of believers - never to the death of unbelievers.

Facing Death

Dying may be a problem for the Christian, with the pain and anguish that may be involved, but death itself should pose no problem. People without Christ are terrified by death, and quite rightly so, because after death there is the judgment. Vavasor Powell, the Welsh Puritan, said, “The fear of death is engrafted in the common nature of all men, but faith works it out of Christians.” This should be the experience of all believers, but, sadly, it is not always true, and we allow the world's attitude towards death to affect us.

It is not unusual that when a Christian is dying the family takes every precaution to keep the truth from him. Why is this? Is death for us so final and awful? If the family is not Christian and the person who is dying is not a Christian, then we can understand this attitude and the reasoning behind it. One might even go so far as to say that on a rare occasion, in certain circumstances, withholding the truth from a Christian may be wise, but surely not generally. Such a position makes ministering to the dying saint impossible, because everyone is acting a part, and the truth is being suppressed.

What a Christian needs, above all when he is dying, is to know the love and peace of God. To have the things of God ministered to him is his right and privilege. He must be reminded that death has lost its sting and the grave its victory; he must be shown again that the victory of Christ on his behalf is better than any medication.

What Happens When A Christian Dies?

The spirit, saved and washed in the blood of Jesus, goes immediately to heaven. Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” and that is why Paul could say with every confidence that “to die is gain”. In 2 Corinthians 5:8, the apostle tells us that to be away from the body is to be home with the Lord.

The body goes to the grave, to decay and corruption, to await the coming of the Lord and the resurrection. The promise of Jesus is that He will raise us up on the last day (see John 6:39, 40, 44, 54, and 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-57). At the resurrection the body and spirit will be united to be forever with the Lord.

All this means that for the Christian death is not some terrifying unknown. We know more about what will happen to us when we die than we do about what will happen to us next year. The Bible says we shall be with the Lord, and we shall be like Him. We shall awake to a new day. To quote Matthew Henry again, “It will be like putting our clothes off to be mended and pressed, ready for the great coronation day.”

Sickness & Death

in the

Christian Family

by Peter Jeffery