Are you afraid to die? We might say NO at this moment but we may act differently when we truly face death. All of us will die once and some will die twice (die here on earth and eternally die, Rev. 20:20). But on this earth, we will only die once unless Christ comes and takes us home. Should Christians fear death? Does it matter? Remember the remarkable words of Paul the apostle, “For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21) “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Phil. 1:23) For Paul death is GAIN and death is FAR BETTER because He will be with Christ. World magazine cites Dr. Alex Lickerman, former director of primary care at the University of Chicago who wrote, “I'm always surprised by people who say they’re not afraid to die… I’ve always wondered if that answer hides a denial so deeply seated it cannot be faced by most.” That is, he believes those who do not fear death is denying reality and that they are not facing what is inevitable. Then he adds, “Certainly, this has been the case with me. I love being here and don’t want to leave… Whenever I’ve tried wrapping my mind around the concept of my own demise — [that is] truly envisioned the world continuing on without me, the essence of what I am utterly gone forever — I’ve unearthed a fear so overwhelming[,] my mind has been turned aside.” Yes “a fear so overwhelming” that he is forced to turn his mind aside from pondering his demise.
But in this passage, we learn that Christ came to deliver us from our fear of death. Paul often writes of Christ conquering death itself (objective, 1 Cor. 15) but this passage deals with our subjective fear of death.
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Dr. Mark Herzer has been the pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church (P.C.A.) in Warminster, PA since 1997. Before this, he was ordained to labor as an Assistant Pastor of Korean United Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia (1992-1995). He received his M.A.R. and Ph. D....
