Facing the Certainty of Our Own Death

2 Peter 1:13‑15

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

N

othing is certain but death and taxes. Such folk wisdom has been with us throughout the history of the race. However, in reality, not even taxes are certain; it seems that some (politicians in particular) are privileged to evade taxes. However, no one has managed to avoid death. The poet has written:

And come he slow, or come he fast,

Yet still ‘tis death that comes at last.

One of the darkest chapters of the entire Bible occurs early in the Book of Genesis. The fifth chapter of Genesis is a genealogy of Adam’s descendants to the time of Noah. What is depressing is that each individual is listed in succession, the time of his birth is listed, the name of the child through which Noah’s lineage is determined is listed, and the verses always conclude with the words, and then he died. It is as though we were visiting a cemetery and carefully noting what is written on the tombstones. Though there may be touching verses chiselled in the stone, and though there might be the sweetest of thoughts expressed, the real data is all in a hyphen. The tombstone gives a date of the birth of that individual and a date for their death, but the life is summed by with a hyphen.

In an earlier time, a time in which we lived closer to our own mortality, death was an integral part of life. Family members died at home in the presence of those they loved and with whom they had spent their days. There was an acknowledgement, however grudging it may have been conceded, that we are but frail creatures living under sentence of death. Today, at the time of death we are segregated from those who love us, filled with tubes and surrendered to the sterile environment of hospital rooms and the artificial compassion of professionals. Consequently, though we acknowledge death, we have raised a generation loath to admit their mortality or the inevitability of death.

As a pastor, I have too often witnessed the devastation visited on families following the death of a loved one. Widows, in particular, are often left in most uncomfortable situations. Surviving family members struggle to remember the wishes of a loved one concerning burial or arrangements for their affairs, wishes which probably were expressed in the vaguest of terms. Because I have witnessed this on so many occasions, I determined in a former congregation to provide some wise counsel before it was needed. I proposed to the board of that congregation that we invite a lawyer to visit to explain the value of a will, that we invite a funeral director to explain the procedure for preplanning for death, and that we invite a financial expert to speak about financial planning. I was astonished that the most vociferous rejection of this idea was from the elderly members of that board, those nearest to the time when such information would be needed. Upon exploring with them their opposition I discovered that they simply did not want to think about dying. I said to one man in particular who was adamantly opposed to thinking about death, “Well, it is the last thing we ever talk about.”

The Bible, in contradistinction to contemporary attitudes, does not take the approach of burying the thought of man’s mortality under a cover of euphemisms or denial. We are mortal, the consequence of the Fall of our first parents. We are under sentence of death. That death is readily seen in the progressive deterioration of our physical bodies, but what is unseen, but patently evident, is that our spirits are dead. Our condition in actuality is that we are dead in trespasses and sin. We need to be born a second time that our spirits may be alive to God and our souls delivered from death. Thus born again, we receive the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come, the redemption of our bodies. Therefore, the Bible boldly faces our present condition because the writers knew we were destined for something far greater.

Peter admitted his mortality; he knew that he was rapidly approaching the day of his own exodus, the time he would be called to transit the unseen boundary between this transient moment in which we currently exist and the eternal now. He was eager, therefore, to provide sound instruction for readers of this letter that after his death they might remember what was truly important. It is not Peter’s motive for providing this instruction which occupies our attention today, but it is rather the knowledge of his death and the freedom with which he spoke of that impending moment which is the focus of our study. For whether we have acknowledged it or not, we are mortal. We also are under sentence of death, and we must make preparation for that transition.

Each of Us Shall Soon Put this Present Life Aside – As at night we put off our clothes and lay them by, so at death we must put off our bodies. In fact, Peter spoke of his body as a tent – it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body. He used the same expression that Paul used in his second letter to the Corinthian Christians. Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come [2 Corinthians 5:1-5]. There, Paul contrasted the transient nature of our present existence to the permanence of our condition in heaven.

Peter refers by this expression to the impermanence of human existence. This body is suited only for this present, fallen world; thus it is temporary. You will no doubt recall that John cautions Christians that the world and its desires pass away [1 John 2:17]; surely this body which is suited only for this present, passing world is included in John’s statement. The body is but a tent for the soul; and it is an especially shabby and transient structure which can be easily moved. The strength of the young man is soon gone and the beauty of the young woman quickly fades, reminding us that we live in a tent.

Should the reality of our fallen condition be denied? We are born; we must die. On occasion I have had people complain to me that preachers are always talking about death. My usual response is that when people stop dying I will stop speaking about death. It is not insensitive to admonish people to prepare for what is a certainty. It is not callused to insist that people must face up to the results of the fall, results which include the knowledge that we occupy this body temporarily. Then, having occupied this tent, we will be called to give an account to God who created us.

It is common today to focus undue attention on the body; perhaps it was always a facet of the human condition. Why do we “hate” the crow’s feet, the liver spots, the laugh lines, and mousy hair? Isn’t it because each of these reminds us of our mortality? We adulate youth, and we try to maintain our youthful appearance. I never cease to marvel at the spectacle of older women trying to look like teenagers. The only thing more comical is the appearance of older men wearing leisure suits and trying to look as though they just stepped out of the sixties.

The camera may not lie, but it does sometimes hide the truth. Thus Hollywood notables appear to never age. Closer examination shows that their eyebrows are pulled up so high above their eyes that they have been reduced to mere slits because the skin of their face is pulled so tight to rid them of any wrinkles. According to the advertising of this age it is a sin to have grey or white hair, though the Word remind us that the hoary head is a crown of glory [Proverbs 16:31 KJV], and that grey hair is the splendour of the old [Proverbs 20:29].

Why do we resist admitting that we are now under sentence of death? Though readily acknowledging that others are mortal, few are willing to actually deal with their own mortality. Why should the acknowledgement of personal mortality be so offensive to this generation? Is it not because we have, consciously or unconsciously, elevated science to the level of a god only to be disappointed in the ability of scientists to save us. We imagined that scientific advances would free us from ageing and the concomitant curse of death. Instead, we discovered that scientific advances are neutral, and it is the moral quality of those administering these advances which determines whether scientific achievement shall bless or curse. We thought that we could be as God and we attempted to make gods after our own imaginations only to learn that they were not gods after all.

I was called on one occasion to perform a funeral for a woman who had died unexpectedly. An area funeral director had phoned me since the family had specified that they wished a Baptist minister to perform the funeral service. As is my custom, I phoned the family to arrange a visit. I was hoping to provide words of comfort and to learn something about the family so that the funeral service would not be something merely read out of a book.

At first the family was uninterested in a visit from the officiating minister, but eventually I was asked to drop by the following day after the son was finished with work. At the expected hour I arrived at the house, introduced myself and was let into the house. I expressed my condolences and asked if there was anything in particular concerning their mother which they thought important to remember. The brother abruptly stated: “We don’t want no hell-fire and brimstone message.”

I confess that I was somewhat taken aback by the abruptness of this interjection, but I responded by saying that I don’t seize the occasion of a funeral to excoriate the mourners. I did make plain that I would speak of Christ, His sacrifice and our responsibility to receive His grace.

The brother, clearly agitated, responded yet again that he would not tolerate a “hell-fire and brimstone message.”

Again, I tried to discover what he was speaking about while yet insisting that I was responsible before God to speak of the great issues of life. Attempting to find why this man felt the way he did, I asked why they wished a Baptist minister to officiate at the service. Most of us are distinguished as being somewhat fundamental in doctrinal issues.

The man again responded while his sister sat quietly listening that their mother had sent them to church as children. The church they had attended was a Baptist church. Though their mother never attended with them, and though she had never attended a church during the course of her life to their knowledge, they wanted a Baptist minister to officiate at her funeral. She was in heaven, the man assured me, because she was a good woman and had invested time in volunteer work. Because she was a good woman, he and his sister were united in wanting no “hell-fire and brimstone message.”

Having listened patiently as he forcefully delivered his diatribe, I iterated that I had no intention of presenting a “hell-fire and brimstone message,” but that I would speak of personal responsibility, of God and of Christ, of the judgement to come and the fact that all mankind shall be called to account. Again, I began to explain that this was my moral responsibility. The man was so agitated that he advanced in my direction with clenched fists, shouting that he would have no “hell-fire and brimstone message” at his mother’s funeral.

It was obvious that he was angry, and despite repeated assurances that I would deliver no “hell-fire and brimstone message” he was growing increasingly unreasonable. Standing up I stated that I would excuse myself from their home and from officiating. As I stood, he stepped back a bit and seemed to cool off somewhat. Believing then, and believing now, that I am responsible to speak for Christ and for good, I said: “If your mother had not had the audacity to die, I would not be compelled to speak of personal accountability. She did, however, die! She has already met her Judge, discovering the truths which you also must one day face. No minister of Christ can remain silent before this charge which he has received of the One who appointed him. I would recommend that you find a Unitarian or a Buddhist, for no Christian would dare ignore mention of our responsibility before God.”

That family later found a United Church minister who agreed to officiate and provide a service according to their wishes. The funeral director said the man neither mentioned Christ nor God as he told how heaven was enriched by this woman’s presence. “It was pitiful to see their desperation,” was the assessment of the funeral director.

I pitied that man and his sister. They had been raised in a home where mortality was denied, and when reality intruded in the form of death, they were forced to confront the unimaginable, and they were devastated. They had lived a lie so long that they felt compelled to continue the lie in the face of death. In this, they were not so very different from many Christians who, though knowing they are mortal, deny their mortality.

In the text before us today Peter also emphasises the brevity of life when he states, I know that I will soon put [this earthly existence] aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. Though the one living solely for this life is traumatised by the thought that they must soon put this life aside, that one whose eye has seen the glories Christ has prepared for those who love Him, while not eager to experience the pain of dying, will nevertheless anticipate the transition. The proximity of death will either paralyse us or push us to excel. If we live for this life only, we will be traumatised by the thought of our own death. For Peter, the nearness of his own death, its closeness emphasised in some fashion by the Lord Himself, served to make him diligent about his business. If you knew for a certainty that you were to die tomorrow, what would your actions be today? What concerns would motivate your decisions? What changes would that knowledge make in the conduct of your life?

That very question was asked of John Wesley on one occasion, and he responded by insisting that he would follow the schedule he had already laid out. In the morning he would preach at the place determined beforehand. In the afternoon he would preach at the place he had already determined. In the evening he would preach yet a third time in the appointed place. In other words, he so lived that he was ready to exit this life and enter into the presence of the Lord. He was active at the tasks he knew would glorify the Lord. Death is a certainty, and it is ever near. Let us, as people who believe the Christ the Lord, therefore determine that we will live as though we shall momentarily be in the presence of the Lord Christ.

Our Influence, for Good or for Evil, Continues after Our Departure – I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in this body… I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. Peter wanted to keep on refreshing (literal sense) the memories of his readers as long as he was allowed to do so by the Lord. His words are a poignant reminder that our influence lives on long after we are gone. Whether good or evil, we will leave something of ourselves when we are removed from this world. That good or evil may result in either blessing or cursing in eternity.

It is easy to see how the great of this world influence generations to come. Spurgeon was a great preacher, and his influence continues to this day. People are blessed by his insights into the word, and ministers still study his sermons to discover how to be more effective in communicating the glories of Christ and the grace of God. In our day, the work of Jonas Salk continues to bless multiplied millions who are spared the crippling results of polio, just as other millions are blessed by the work of Banting and Best in discovering the role of insulin in regulation of blood sugar. These are examples of good which continually bless in this life and we can see that readily.

Likewise, one need not think long to remember the evil influence of the specious speculations of Karl Marx, of Mao Tse Tung, or of Joseph Stalin. Adolph Hitler condemned a generation to war, and his racial policies put into practise the Darwinian logic espoused in Nazi concepts of the master race. Hitler’s embracing Nietzsche’s perverted philosophy continues to curse all mankind to this day.

Certainly the life and the thoughts of the great and the notable can influence this present world, and their influence extends beyond this moment called life, influencing decisions which have eternal consequences. Spurgeon did influence generations of preachers, and thousands were converted under his preaching, and hundreds more are converted to this day reading his sermons or hearing the concepts echoed in the preaching of others. Those so saved are eternally blessed with life in Christ. Just so, the influence of communist thinkers curse not only those living for time, but decisions their disciples make to live for time alone will curse them eternally.

We each have the choice to either receive the grace of God or to reject that grace; and that choice has eternal consequences. All who reject the knowledge of Christ are eternally condemned: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God [John 3:18-21].

Likewise, Jesus said: I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life [John 5:24].

Were influence confined to the great of history, it would be tragic enough, but each of us influence others either for good or for evil. Our life serves either as an excuse for someone to let slide the great issues of life or for someone to seize the moment, doing what is best and noblest. Either we live to glorify our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, resulting in eternal blessing to someone, or we live for self with the result that someone is cursed since the knowledge of Christ is obscured by our own selfish desire.

As a preacher I have heard the confession of many people coming to confess faith in Christ. Often I will ask, “What caused you to decide for Christ today.” I cannot remember anyone saying, “Your great sermon convinced me to trust Christ.” Seldom have I heard of one convincing argument which was the means by which another was won to faith in Jesus Christ. I have, however, often heard how one life lived out to the glory of God served to confront and challenge, to convict and convince.

Are you living for Christ? Are you aware that someone is watching you as you live out your life? As you quietly glorify Christ through doing all to the glory of God, through seeking to honour Him at work and in the home and among your neighbours, someone is watching. That someone may well be turned to faith because of your consistent efforts to live for Christ and to the praise of His glory.

I do not say that we should neglect to speak in His Name or to urge others to trust Him, for that is a vital part of the Christian life. I do say that we are often surprised that the opportunity to obtain a hearing is the result of living out a consistent, godly life. It should be the goal of each of us to lead someone to Christ, to influence another eternally. Each of us should this day determine that we will make every effort to bring our family, our friends and our colleagues to Christ that our influence may bear eternal fruit.

The role of the minister is to remind God’s people to remember that which God has said.

I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

they will never be silent day or night.

You who call on the LORD,

give yourselves no rest

[Isaiah 62:6].

So, Peter states that he will always remind readers of their Christian responsibility to grow. He was convinced of the propriety of a minister always refreshing the memory of readers. He accepted the responsibility to confront and to challenge as a watchman to the people of God. This is the work of any minister; and each Christian is a minister of Christ. It is nothing less than an acknowledgement that our influence continues throughout eternity.

I do want to draw your attention to one striking truth Peter presented. He was determined to always remind [readers] … even though [they were] firmly established in the truth. From what he has already written and from what is yet to follow in the letter, the lives of these saints was anything but commendatory. Yet, they were established Christians. Surely this is a warning that even mature Christians can all too easily fall into serious sin and doctrinal error. There is no safeguard against such wandering from the Faith save determined adherence to Christ as Lord of life.

Peter is especially sensitive to such a fall since on one occasion he had boasted of his determination to stand with the Lord. Though he pledged to stand with the Lord, even though it could mean prison or death, Jesus said, I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen [establish] your brothers [Luke 22:32]. Peter knew from experience how easy it is to fall, and he realised the imperative of establishing the strong and the mature since they, also, are susceptible to falling. Let us heed the apostolic admonition: if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall [1 Corinthians 10:12].

Any Work We Perform, Must be Done Now – The statistics on death are most impressive: one out of one die. Some wag has said that the real problem with this life is that you can’t get out of it alive. Peter knew that mortal life for him would soon end. He says he will soon put aside the tent he occupies since the Lord Jesus Christ made this clear to him. Whether Peter is referring to a revelation which is unrecorded in Scripture or whether he is referring to the incident recorded in John’s Gospel is unknown. Permit me to review that incident. It is recorded in John 21:15-19.

Jesus, risen from the tomb, had appeared to the disciples while they were fishing. Peter was prepared to desert his apostolic ministry since he considered himself a great failure. Jesus, however, was not finished with him. He asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter had responded with genuine humility that he liked the Master. The Master enjoined him to tend His lambs. Again the Master asked Peter if he loved Him, and Peter, no doubt feeling his unworthiness, responded that he liked the Master. The Master again instructed Peter to shepherd His sheep. At last Jesus asked Peter if he even like Him. Peter, deeply smitten for his failure in the time of trial, replied: Lord, You know all things; You know I [like] You [John 21:17]. One last time Jesus commanded him: Feed My sheep [John 21:17].

Then Jesus continued by giving Peter a revelation which in light of contemporary society appears unwarranted and undesirable. I tell you the truth, said Jesus, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go [John 21:18]. So that no one need miss the intent of Jesus’ words, John includes this commentary: Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God [John 21:19]. Peter would be crucified when he was elderly! Perhaps Jesus also indicated the time of his departure at that time in an unrecorded statement, perhaps not. Clearly, Peter knew the means by which he would die. However he knew, Peter anticipated his own death imminently; and he said this knowledge was the result of divine revelation.

It is an interesting observation that death has replaced sex in this generation as the forbidden subject of conversation. It would appear that we refuse to face realistically that which we deem most frightening. Perhaps this is the reason authors such as Stephen King and movies presenting demonic themes are so popular, they present the most terrifying scenario imaginable. This generation, ignorant of true life, longs to be frightened by that which is most terrifying to it – death. Our forebears lived with death, and because they possessed an absolute faith in the Risen Son of God they did not fear death. It was said of the early Christians, “These Christians die well.” They could not be cowed by threat of death. Wedded to the moment and living for the immediate, we have traded security and peace for a handful of pottage.

Polycarp, a friend and pupil of the Apostle John was also the pastor of the church at Smyrna. He died a martyr’s death in a.d. 155. Hailed before the proconsul and adjured to deny his King and Saviour, the aged saint of God refused. Admonished to deny the atheists (for that is what the Christians were then called), he waved at the stadium and said, “Away with the atheists.” Threatened with burning at the stake, he claimed that he had served Christ for eighty-six years. How could he deny the One whom he had served for such a long time? He joyfully went to the stake, embraced it and refused rope saying that God would give him strength to endure the trial. As the flames licked his body he was last heard praising God for having deemed him worthy “to be numbered among His martyrs, to drink the cup of Christ’s sufferings, unto the eternal resurrection of the soul and body in the incorruption of the Holy Spirit.” These Christians indeed died well. No wonder that the ancient world was evangelised within a generation by that breed of valiant stalwarts!

I suggest that it was the freedom from fear of death which set Christians of another era free to accomplish such great things in the Name of Christ. Did you ever read that passage early in the Book of Hebrews, considering the teaching it presents in light of the thought of our fear of death and our failure to accomplish anything of lasting note? Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death [Hebrews 2:14,15]. If I am free of the fear of death, I am free to fulfil the Lord’s will for my life and to accomplish great deeds in His Name.

Peter had lived for years with death. First Stephen and then James were killed. Multiplied others had been threatened with death or had actually been slain. Peter himself had been incarcerated with the intention that he would be executed by Herod. Yet he speaks of death in this wonderful way, apparently without fear or regret. It means entry into the everlasting kingdom. It means the exit from this world to some other place prepared for us by the Father. It means the laying aside of the tent we have inhabited.

Our freedoms are fragile. I am no prophet, but one need not be a prophet to see the very real possibility that conscientious Christians may soon be threatened with removal of the freedom to speak and to worship as conscience dictates. One need not be a prophet to realise that but a brief moment in time separates us from official persecution and even death. I pray such will not happen, but there are no guarantees. Governments are capricious, and we have nothing to protect us save our freedom from attachment to the accoutrements of this passing world. Therefore, if we will accomplish anything of note for the cause of Christ, it must be now while it is day.

In this context, we do well to recall Paul’s admonition in the Ephesian encyclical. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil [Ephesians 5:8-16].

Will we accomplish anything of note for Christ? It must be now, while we have opportunity. Will you fulfil your ministry which Christ has assigned? It must be now. In light of the brevity of life and in light of the certainty of our own death, each of us must decide whether we will invest our strength in Christ’s work, or whether we will waste that strength on the moment.

I call on outsiders to consider that they also must die, and having died they must face the Living God to give an account of their failure to trust Christ as Lord. How awesome that prospect! Do you, my lost friend, not hear the call of the Master? I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me [John 5:25-30].

I call on believers to remember that each of us is responsible to honour Christ with our life. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad [2 Corinthians 5:6-10]. We are to escape the corruption in this world caused by evil desires. We are to grow, to progress in the Faith. We are to make our calling and election sure. Are you doing this? Let us each, with determined hearts, insure that we from this day forward fulfil the will of God for our lives. Amen.