2 posts tagged “death”

Much ink has been spilled about the proper administering of the holy sacrament of baptism.  While this is of utmost importance, being one of the sacraments of the church, I have been meditating and ruminating on the view of baptism as a preparation for death.  The common liturgy for the administering of the baptism is “participating in the death of Christ in baptism, and raised again in the newness of life.” (I don’t have this exactly right, but bear with me or let me know what it actually is in a message).  While baptism as a public confession of faith is very important, I have been ruminating about baptism as a spiritual discipline.

I have been thinking that the attitude of baptism is necessary for all of life.  Let me set this up for you scripturally (because if I don’t, you shouldn’t listen to me).  Baptism was an ancient Hebrew practice of cleansing.  The temple scribes, as I understand it, would go submerge themselves in water before writing the name of the Lord (YHWH).  Then John started baptizing people in the wilderness outside of Jerusalem in a spiritual revival.  Jesus is baptized, and then passes on the sacrament of baptism during the Great Comission.  It becomes the way that believers publicly proclaim their faith.  On the subject of baptism, Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3-5, ESV)

In a similar fashion, Jesus commands us "Then If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)  We are called into a discipline of dying continually to ourselves, which means continually being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  When we first become a Christian and then become baptized, we participate in Jesus’ death.  And then every day after that, after we are confirmed in the faith, we pick up our cross, denying ourselves and declaring ourselves functionally dead (I have an earlier post on the subject of taking up your cross), and we follow Christ.  Daily we die to ourselves, being regenerated daily in the flesh.  We bury ourselves daily in a baptism of sorts, and then daily we participate in the Resurrection, walking in the newness of life.  How glorious it is!

Then, finally, when it comes time for us to be called home by the Father in Heaven, we do not fret for our future.  We have been dying every day for years; this is simply the culmination of all of our spiritual discipline.  We approach the door to Heaven, and Death, which used to have so much power which has been neutered by Jesus, opens the door to Heaven.  Our final death is our most glorious, as we suffer with Christ so that we might also be glorified with Christ. (Romans 8:17)  No longer is death the great beyond…it is the normal.  When we continually die to ourselves, our final death should come almost as an afterthought, but with great expectation, since we will finally fulfill the prophecy of our baptism, and “we were buried therefore with him [Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  Finally our flesh will be thrown off, and in heaven we will participate in a newness of life with the Creator and Source of all Life.  How amazing that day will be, how glorious our Father is, and how wonderful is the Son for mediating for us as our great high priest in order that we might gain access to this grace in which we stand, through faith, so that we might rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)  How deserving of our praise!  Amen.

I was working at a funeral today, and it forced me to think about what my funeral would look like.  I have been meditating a lot on death, and the mystery that is our death.  The thing is that we run from death; truly, apart from Christ, we are already dead.  And here is the thing: ever since Genesis 3, death is the ultimate and final punishment.  But then an odd thing happened.  In Hosea 13, the prophet is recorded as saying, "O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?" (13.14 ESV)  Hosea mocks death, but in hope and faith, not in reality.  He looked forward to Jesus, who finished this story of Death.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul closes his dissertation on the death and ressurrection of Jesus Christ by quoting this verse.  He applies this to Jesus.  THIS IS THE GOSPEL.  The victory of Jesus is the victory over death and sin and Satan.  And he says, "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 15.56-7)  What does he give us the victory over?  All of that.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, the defeater of death and of sin.  I think it was C.H. Spurgeon that taught that death has no more sting.  Instead of being the final judgment of God, it is the final victory.  Instead of opening the door to eternal pain and damnation, if we cleave to Jesus, death opens the door to Jesus.  Releasing us from the pains of this world, from our earthly bodies, and allowing us to shed off this mortal coil and put on our heavenly bodies.

I know that this is a roundabout way to talk about my own funeral.  But the gospel of Jesus' resurrection is of first importance.  You see, I want my funeral to be about Jesus.  I heard a lot of people today say, "God only takes the best, and this guy was one of the best."  Now, this guy could have been great; it sure sounded like it.  But Paul notes that "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Cor 1.27-29)  I want the sermon at my funeral to be about the grace of God.  That he elected me, in spite of ALL the crap in my life.  That his glory and his honor are of first importance.
Finally, I wish that at least one person at my funeral would say, "well, he beat us to Jesus."  Funerals are sad affairs, and understandably so.  Contrite metaphors and illustrations of heaven certainly don't help.  But death is no longer a curse.  It is a blessing.  Because if we hold fast to Jesus and the gospel, death beckons us enter into the UNINTERUPPED presence of God.
I must finish this blog with this remark: the manner in which I speak of death is ONLY applicable to those of the second Adam: Jesus.  Those who are of the first Adam, still living in sin unrepentant, hold no part in this blessing.  There are blessings meant for all: this is not one of them.  And so hold fast to Jesus.  For he is the Lord and Saviour, and the Judge of the Living and the Dead.  Amen.