The Death of the Christian

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:6–7).

Every man and woman on earth must face death. Only those alive when our Lord returns will escape the moment of physical death. Thus, the question that comes before each of us is: Will we die in faith or in sin? But what does it mean to die in faith?

Faith is a word that has become cheap in our day. For some people, faith is almost the same thing as magic and superstition. In the Bible, however, faith means trust. It is one thing to believe that there is a God, but it is something else to put your trust in this God for life and for death. True faith expresses itself in a life lived as a warrior for God. Notice how Paul expresses this in 2 Timothy 4:7. First he says he has fought the good fight. Of course, the Bible makes it clear that Christians are not to be belligerent people, but at the same time there are certain struggles in which we are called to engage. We are to struggle against the world, the sinful flesh, and the Devil, for instance. And, when we get a serious illness, God is honored when we fight it tooth and nail.

Then Paul shifts to the imagery of a race. Anybody can be a Christian for five minutes or five years, but the recurring theme in the Scriptures is that he who endures to the end is the one who experiences redemption (Matthew 24:13). The race Paul speaks of here is not a 100-yard dash, but a marathon.

As Christians we want to die trusting God, not abandoning hope in Him. The New Testament tells us that the just shall live by faith, but it is also clear that the just shall die in faith. Paul was given a sense that he was about to die, as these verses show. Job was not given such a sense of impending death, but he demonstrated what it means to die in faith when in his awful agony he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him” (Job 13:15).

How do you want to be remembered? What on your tombstone would you like to be a teaching reminder for all who pause to read it? If you died today, would the memory of your life match the message of your epitaph?

Holiness and Eternal Life

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:22–23).

As Romans 6 draws to a close, Paul speaks of the consequences of our lives. In verse 21 he writes, “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” Think back, Paul says, to the days before Christ turned your life upside down. What good did that life do for you? It could only lead to death and shame. By way of contrast, in Christ you are now reaping benefits that result in eternal life.

Romans 6 ends with a glorious summation of the Gospel in verse 23. Paul says that “the wages of sin is death.” You were a slave of sin, but you were a slave who earned some wages. Wages are given in response to merit. What did you merit from your sin? What did you earn? Paul makes it clear: You could only earn death.

On the other hand, “the gift of God is eternal life.” Notice that life is not earned but is given freely by God. You once lived as a wage-earner to sin, but now you live a life that is graciously given apart from merit.

At first glance it looks as if verse 23 contradicts verse 22 which says that eternal life is the end point of the fruit of holiness and righteousness. Holiness and righteousness are the result of yielding as a slave to Christ. But this does not mean that eternal life comes to us as a result of our earning it through righteousness. Rather, the entire process, from conversion to glory, is a gift of God. Our salvation is gracious from beginning to end. All that we have is of God’s grace, from regeneration to glorification.

As Romans 6 comes to a close, consider this: God assures you that your old life is dead, and that you have full access to a new life. Are you taking advantage of this gift? Are there areas in your life—behavior patterns, relationships, secret desires—that you know are incompatible with the new life in Christ? Take time to ask the Spirit of God to bring before your mind things that need to be changed, and then resolve to live in the newness of the resurrection life that is guaranteed you in Christ Jesus.

Through Christ’s Death We Were Rescued from Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15)

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 

The children of God, perhaps you friend, were once held in servitude by your enemy, Satan. Since we are human, our Captain, Jesus Christ, had to become human and die for us, in order to rescue us. But by doing so He was able to destroy Satan. 

The Hebrews' author doesn't mean that Satan ceased to exist or to be active. Rather the word he used for “destroy” (katargēsē) indicates the annulment of his power over those whom Christ redeems. In speaking of the devil as wielding the power of death, the writer means that Satan uses people’s fear of death to enslave them to his will. Often people make wrong moral choices out of their intense desire for self-preservation. We are being reminded that we are no longer subject to such slavery and that we can face death with the same confidence in God our Captain had.

Remember today that whatever our needs or trials, our Lord Jesus is adequate to help us since He ministers to Abraham’s descendants, not angels. The expression “Abraham’s descendants” (lit., “Abraham’s seed”) may point to the Jewishness of the writer’s audience, but even Gentile Christians can claim to be the “seed of Abraham” in a spiritual sense (Gal. 3:29). 

The help which the Lord gives to His followers is again predicated on the fact that He was made like His brothers in every way (Heb. 2:17), that is, both in terms of becoming incarnate and by virtue of suffering. 

What depth of mercy that Christ joyfully stands with His brothers! He not only grants them the name of brothers, but also the experience of His brothers, especially in trials.

Chapter 2 closes by speaking of how we have a merciful and faithful High Priest (vv. 17–18). Both of these descriptions of our High Priest are needed. If Christ were not merciful, sinners could have no confidence in coming to God. If Christ were not faithful, believers would not have a continued boldness to come before God. 

Thank God that Christ has rescued us from Satan and set us free!