You Don't Have to Be Afraid

By Pastor KC Smith

The most powerful and universal fear in this world is the fear of death. Even people who follow a religion are still prey to that fear. But what if I told you that you will never die; that one way or another and one place or the other, you would never cease to exist?

Who could make such a foolish statement? Someone who believes the promises of Jesus Christ. In John 11:26, Jesus says, “and whoever believes in Me shall never die.”

Death does not mean you will cease to exist.

Let’s examine chapter 11 to see what Jesus means. The chapter opens with a man named Lazarus lying gravely ill. In fact, he dies. Jesus gets word of it and tells His disciples in verse 11, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up.” The disciples, totally without a sense of spiritual understanding or reality, took His statement in the natural sense and thought Jesus really meant that Lazarus was sleeping. Finally, in verse 14,  Jesus said in terms they would understand, “Lazarus is dead.”

When they reached the tomb, Jesus told Martha, Lazarus’ sister, that he would rise again. Martha agreed that Lazarus would indeed rise at the resurrection, but Jesus set her straight on His deity and power when He replied in verse 25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”

Jesus is once again speaking spiritual truth and not from earthly reasoning. But how could what Jesus said be true? If you believe the Bible to be the true Word of God, it makes sense.

Genesis 1:26 gives us the answer. The New Living Translation of the Bible makes it very clear. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make human beings in Our image to be like Us.’” By “image,” God is speaking of His triune (3-part)  being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created us triune also. We are body, soul, and spirit.

In the story, Lazarus’ body died, but not his soul and spirit. The Apostle Paul verifies this when he writes, “to be absent from the (physical) body is to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:8). The instant our bodies die, our soul and spirit will also depart and be with the Lord. Jesus is simply making the point that we will live on forever. And at the resurrection of the dead (bodies), our spirit/soul will be reunited with our re-made glorified bodies. Our new bodies will be “glorified”-perfect and eternal like Jesus. This is true, of course, for Christians.

Those who have never come to Christ in prayer, confessing their sins, asking for forgiveness, and asking Him to save them from hell will not be counted in. Those who have rejected God’s wonderful offer of forgiveness and salvation will also have their bodies resurrected on that day, but their eternal home will be hell.

It's because of the Cross that we don't have to fear death anymore!

 So, in reality, Jesus spoke the truth. He always does. No one really totally dies; just our physical bodies, and that is only temporary.

At the end of verse 26 in chapter 11, Jesus asks all of us a question: “Do you believe this?”

Your answer will determine where and with whom you will spend eternity.