� Passing of loved one turns thoughts to consider the �Big Questions� of life
� Where did we come from?
� Why are we here?
� Where are we going?
� Why do we die?
� Every person has beliefs about how to answer these questions � a worldview
� Compare two worldviews�especially in regard to what they have to say about death
� Secular Humanism, as promoted in our schools and the media
� Christianity, as taught by the Bible
Question |
Secular Humanism |
Christianity |
Where did we come from? |
� Mankind is simply the product of time and chance: highly-evolved pond scum � We are here by �cosmic accident� |
� �In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth� � God directly created all living things, and by His Spirit, gave them life |
Why are we here? |
� We are here only for this life: there is nothing more � We have no ultimate purpose or relevance�just existence � Life is akin to a carnival ride: round and round we go until the music stops at death � Nothing to live for, nothing worth dying for |
� Man alone was created in the image of God as the apex of God�s creatures on earth � Unlike the animals, who are not created in God�s image, man was given the intelligence necessary to exercise dominion of God�s creation � We are here to seek God, to know Him, and to do His will � Our ultimate purpose is to know God and to worship Him forever |
Where are we going? |
� After death: nothing�oblivion, we cease to exist � No heaven, no hell, living for the moment � John Lennon: �Imagine there�s no heaven. It�s easy if you try. No hell below us. Above us, only sky. Imagine all the people, LIVING FOR TODAY� � How ideal, noble, and beautiful is this really? � No judge, no judgment, no accountability�we are free to do as we please � No fear of God � Our experiences, personal growth, attained wisdom are ultimately for naught�eroded and eventually dissolved in an eternity of nothingness to follow � Secular humanism is bankrupt when it comes to offering hope beyond the grave |
� This life is not all there is � It is just the first phase in God�s plan for the development of our character, maturity, and wisdom in His service � Whether we know God or reject Him, every person has eternal existence � When this life ends, we will either exist eternally with God or eternally separated from God |
Why do we die? |
� Death is �necessary��after all, death produced man by way of mutation and natural selection operating over millions of years � Death is to be accepted as �natural,� part of the �circle of life� � John Muir: �Let children walk with nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life, and that the grave has no victory, for it never fights. All is divine harmony.� [A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf] � One wonders how �stingless� and �beautiful� Muir found the battle with pneumonia which brought about his eventual demise. � Death has no relation to sin within mankind�there is, after all, no fundamental flaw to be found in mankind.
|
� Death is not �natural��it was not part of the original creation which God declared to be �very good� � Death is a result of man�s rebellion against God�his desire to remain independent from his Creator � Death is a huge fracture in the original created order: an enormous sign-post indicating something is seriously wrong � Man brought about death�the exact opposite of the evolutionary view that death brought about man � As anyone who has ministered among the terminally ill recognizes, death is an enemy, a curse: �In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread �till you return to the ground. For out of it your were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return� (Gen. 3:19) |
Hope beyond the Grave
� This hope is found in the ministry and person of Jesus Christ
� God entered history as a man, born of a virgin the only perfect man ever to walk the face of the earth
� The Bible calls Jesus the "lamb of God.� He was born to die, born "to take away the sin of the world"
� On many occasions, prior to His crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated His power over death, but one in particular stands out: the illness and eventual death of His friend Lazarus recorded in the 11th chapter of the New Testament book of John
� When Lazarus becomes seriously ill, his sisters send word to Jesus to come quickly.
� Oddly, Jesus purposefully delayed several days: in order that Lazarus would die
� Eventually departing for the home of Lazarus, Jesus told His disciples, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe."
� When Jesus finally arrives, Lazarus' body has already been in the tomb four days�the corpse had already begun to decompose
� As soon as [Lazarus's sister, Martha] heard that Jesus was coming, [she] went and met Him ... Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:2026)
� The question that Jesus asked Mary God asks each of us today: do YOU believe this?
� Eternal life is available by a simple act of faith: trusting and accepting what God has revealed and done on our behalf by sending His Son to pay the penalty of our sin
� By this simple act of faith, we can be assured eternal life.
� More than this, we can break free from the bondage of fear in this life:
� Through death, Jesus destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and released those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (cf. Heb. 2:14-15)