Living in fear of death? Do Not Need To!
People are generally held in slavery by their fear of death. And the power of the devil orchestrates this fear. The fear of death is especially true for those who are faced with serious diseases and health worries, those who are persecuted for their belief in Christ around the world, and those who are held as hostages.
Frankenstein in Baghdad is a 2013 Arabic novel written by the Iraqi writer Ahmed Saadawi. The novel was translated into English by Jonathan Wright. The main theme of the novel is this – “Every day we’re dying from the same fear of dying.” The novel talks about the constant fear and uncertainty in the war-torn Bagdad during the time of the terrorist al-Queda.
Fear of death is normal to human beings in different parts of the world and Bible gives help and confidence to those who are in fear.
Listen how the Bible addresses our fear of death. I will also write about the cause of humanity’s death, the beautiful and undeserving gift of God to people.
Hebrews 2:14-15-“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Let me explain what the above verse means.
Because Children’s physical body works based on flesh and blood, He (the Son of God, Jesus Christ) also took our form humanity’s flesh and blood. This refers to His birth on that first Christmas day, so that He would die in our place, to pay for the sins committed. Jesus Himself said the purpose of His coming in Mark 10:45 and it says He “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to ‘give his life as a ransom for many.” The life purpose of Jesus, when He took the flesh and blood form of humanity, was uniquely distinct to give His life as a ransom for many.
Remember why people are dying is because of their sins. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” The sins get wages and what are the wage we earn by sinning? The death. The wages of sin is death-spiritual and physical. Sin separates and alienates people from the fellowship of God and finally results in physical death.
All people everywhere sin. No exceptions. (Romans 3:22-23). No one can claim they haven’t sinned. In words, thoughts, actions, and attitudes, we all sin.
Therefore, Jesus, the Son of God, who is divine, took humanity’s form. Then the verse says why He took our form and came in flesh and blood on his incarnation. The reason is to “break the power of the devil who ‘had’ the power of death and free us from the slavery of the fear of death.
In a nutshell, the devil’s power of death was to keep us in fear of death. However, the truth is this -God is the creator of life and always has the authority over life, death, and eternity. However, it is also true that the devil had the power to keep people in the slavery of the fear of death, reminding them about their sins and the consequent death.
Jesus said and it is stated in Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades”. I am ‘the Living One’ emphasizes his eternity and ongoing life. But He came in our form to pay for our sins by His death. However, now He is alive because He rose again from the dead, He triumphed over the power of death the Devil once had, by keeping people in fear. Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades and those who have Jesus in their lives do not need to fear death anymore.
Romans 6:23 says, if wages of sin is death, God’s redemptive story gets amazingly wonderful because read the second part of the verse that promises God’s gift available in Jesus.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Read it again, for those who earned death by sinning, the gift of God is eternal life. And where is the eternal life available for humans, the sinners? It says, ‘in Christ Jesus our Lord’.
Jesus said this at the tomb of Lazarus when Mary and Martha were sorrowful about their dear brother’s death, “I am the resurrection and life, and those who believe in Me shall live even if he dies.”
The trillions-dollar question is this – are you still in fear of death? You don’t need to. If you have Jesus or call upon the name of Jesus and believe Him as your savior now, you will not fear death any longer because at that moment of professing faith in God and Christ Jesus, you have crossed over from death to eternal life. (John 5:24). As Jesus promised above “those who believe in Me shall live even if he dies”, if you believe in Him (Jesus Christ), you passed from death to eternal life and will live with Him even if you die.
We hope and invite you to make that most fundamental and critical choice of life today. Would you?
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.