Death Part 1

Death I. die: intr. To lose life, cease to live, suffer death; to expire. II. Scripture identifies six types of death: A. Spiritual death in trespasses and sin. GEN 2:17; EPH 2:1. B. Separation from fellowship and accord with God. JAM 5:19-20; EPH 5:14; 1TI 5:6. C. Physical death. JAM 2:26. D. Reproductive death. ROM 4:19. E. Death unto sin (repentance, sanctification). ROM 6:11; GAL 5:24; ROM 8:13; 1CO 15:31 c/w LUK 9:23. 1. This is a death we should desire and work for. 2. Sin has no power over a dead man. 3. Death unto sin is a form of resurrection unto life. EPH 5:14. F. The second death or eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. REV 20:14; 21:8. III. This study concerns itself with physical death and its subsequents. It will be helpful to remember that man is a tripartite being. 1TH 5:23. IV. Death is the result of sin. It is earned; salvation is not earned. ROM 6:23; JAM 1:15. A. Death came by sin, which was preceded by law. 1JO 3:4. B. Sin and death came by one man's (Adam) disobedience. ROM 5:12, 17. 1. Adam, by himself, DEFILED his children with sin. 2. Jesus Christ, by Himself, PURGED His childrens' sins. HEB 1:3. 3. Eve is the mother of all living (GEN 3:20); Adam is the father of all dying. a. Sin passes from man, not from woman. b. This is how God could become a man born of a virgin and sinless. Jesus did not inherit the sin principle and nature from an earthly father. c. Since death came from sin, and that from Adam, no Christian should believe in the evolutionary concept of death and bloodshed on earth prior to Adam's sin. C. Since death is the consequence of sin, how can some say that infants have no sin, and yet some of them die? 1. If infants have no sin, they do not need a Savior. 2. Men are conceived in sin and are sinners by nature before commission of sin. PSA 51:5; ROM 9:11; EPH 2:3. V. Death and the grave is an appointment which all must keep until the return of Christ. JOB 30:23; HEB 9:27. A. Enoch and Elijah are exceptions to the rule. 2KI 2:11; HEB 11:5. 1. Exceptions do not nullify a rule, they qualify a rule. Making an exception into a rule played a role in how sin and death entered. GEN 2:16-17; 3:1. 2. Saints which are alive and remain at Christ's coming also escape the rule. 1TH 4:15-18. 3. Yet all are reckoned as legally dead and judged in Christ Who suffered death and the grave for them. GAL 2:20; COL 3:3. B. The days of our life on earth are by the appointment of God. JOB 7:1; 14:5. C. Only God knows that appointed day of death and He may alter it at His discretion. ISA 38:1-5. Death 2-2-25 Page 1 D. As a general rule, godly living will be rewarded with a lengthy life. PRO 11:4; EPH 6:2-3; 1PE 3:10. E. God may bring the righteous to the grave prematurely as an act of mercy. ISA 57:1-2; 2KI 22:20. F. The designs of rebels and fools to avoid the natural consequence of their sins amount to nothing. ECC 8:8; ISA 28:14-15, 18. 1. Cryogenics is a fool’s dream pretending to claim God’s power to raise the dead. The only departed spirit that has power to return to quicken its own flesh is Christ’s. ROM 8:11 c/w JOH 10:17-18. 2. Transhumanism has a mad goal of uploading human consciousness to “the cloud” to evade the demands of death. Here’s hoping they figure out how to not upload sin along with the consciousness or there would only be cyber-misery. 3. Our hope is not in a vain covenant with death but that God made a covenant with us to save us in Christ. 2SAM 23:5 c/w HEB 13:20-21. G. The lifespan of man has undergone drastic reductions since the time of the flood of Noah. 1. Man's lifespan decreased rapidly from multiple hundreds of years to less than 200 at Abraham's time. GEN 25:7-8. 2. It eventually levelled off to an average of 70. PSA 90:10. a. Let Moses’ words sink in. There are still exceptional lifespans of 100+ years to this day but don’t assume that the spring of youth continues in great age. ECC 12:1-7. b. We should make the best of the life we have in the fear of God, not the fear of death, working good for our Master with zeal. ECC 9:10 c/w JOH 9:4. c. The resurrection gives true liberty, not the false liberty of hedonism to counter death. 1CO 15:32. H. It is the height of folly to assume we have plenty of time left in this world to do well and prepare to meet our God. PRO 27:1; JAM 4:13-15. 1. It behooves us to number our days. PSA 90:12; EPH 5:16. 2. Prepare to meet God on good terms. 1JO 2:28-29 ct/w AMO 4:12. Death 2-2-25 Page 2