https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Death.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Job 14:1-15<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Death is first mentioned in Genesis 2:17 as a consequence for partaking of the fruit of the\ntree of the knowledge of Good and Evil\n
A. In the punishment of Adam, death is mentioned – Genesis 3:19<\/p>\n
B. Yet, Adam lived 930 years before dying – Genesis 5:5<\/p>\n C. God said they would die in the day that they eat of the fruit. Obviously, God had\na different meaning in mind than physical death.\n
II. Death is a separation<\/p>\n A. In the day Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, they were thrown out of the garden –\nGenesis 3:23-24\n
1. Their sin had separated them from God<\/p>\n
B. Luke 15:24 – His son was dead, but now alive<\/p>\n
1. His son was separated, but has now returned.<\/p>\n C. Ephesians 2:5 – Our sins cause us to be dead, but God has made a way for us to\nreturn to life.\n D. Revelation 20:11-15 – The second death is a permanent separation from God. One\nwhere there is no return to life.\n
III. Physical death is the separation of the body from the spirit and soul – James 2:26<\/p>\n A. Since we cannot see the spirit, we have difficulty in determining exactly when a\nperson dies.\n 1. Clinical death – a person has stopped breathing and their heart stops\npumping\n
2. Biological death – the body tissues begin to decay<\/p>\n
3. Legal death – when there is no response to resuscitation efforts.<\/p>\n
B. You cannot see a spirit, but you know its effects – John 3:8<\/p>\n 1. We know that somehow the spirit sustains the body, but we don’t know\nhow or when that substance ends until the effects stop.\n
IV. Attitudes toward death<\/p>\n
A. Most people are loathe to change. Change is scary.<\/p>\n
1. We like things to stay somewhat constant and predictable.<\/p>\n 2. We get nervous when we don’t know what to expect or what is expected\nof us\n a. A new job, moving to a new location — any major change brings\non fears of the unknown.\n 3. Death is the ultimate uncertainty. We don’t know what the other side is\nlike. Everything we take for granted in this physical world will not apply\nin the spiritual. It is a scary thought!\n
B. A prime focus of religion is an explanation of what happens after death<\/p>\n
1. The Egyptians<\/p>\n
a. Believed the physical affected the spiritual.<\/p>\n
b. The body was preserved so that the spirit would go on living.<\/p>\n
c. Things were buried with the dead so they would have there use.<\/p>\n
2. Hindu<\/p>\n
a. Predominately a religion of India<\/p>\n b. Described as a “vague, amorphous, many-sided, and all things to\nall men.”\n (1) It welcomes the worship of a large number of diverse\ndieties\n (2) It accepts “truths” from many different and often\ncontradictory sources.\n (3) A devout Hindu believes there is room in Hinduism for\nJesus, Mohammad, Zoroaster, and Moses.\n
c. Two fundamental beliefs<\/p>\n
(1) There is a rigid hierarchical ranking of society into castes.<\/p>\n (a) There are 2,000 castes in India, organized into 5\ngeneral groups\n (b) Brahmans (priests) are at the top followed by\nwarriors, commoners, serfs, and the untouchables.\n
(2) Reincarnation of the soul after death<\/p>\n (a) A person’s status in his reincarnated life is\ndetermined by how he lived in a previous life.\n (b) A morally upright untouchable may be rewarded by\nreturning to life as a serf in the next life.\n (c) Animals and gender differences are also included in\nthis system.\n i) An upright woman may be rewarded by\nreturning as a man\n ii) An evil individual could be demoted to a\nlower caste, or even return as a bug.\n (d) The top of the earthly cycle of lives is being\nreincarnated as a cow, hence the sacredness of cows\nin India.\n d. The goal of the Hindu, through all of these deaths and rebirths,\npromotions and demotions, is to reach a state of release from the\ncycle of earthly life and become a part of the cosmic\nconsciousness.\n
3. Buddhism<\/p>\n a. Like Hinduism, includes a broad mix of beliefs and ideas borrowed\nfrom numerous sources. It is difficult to list a set of beliefs and say\nthis is what a Buddhist believes.\n
b. Started by Buddha in sixth century B.C. <\/p>\n (1) Claimed that he was the source of truth, which he found\nthrough his own efforts and qualified him to teach others.\n
c. The central idea is to obtain Nirvana.<\/p>\n (1) However, Buddha would not define what Nirvana was, only\nhow to live one’s life so as to attain it.\n (2) An over-simplification might be to say that Nirvana to a\nBuddhist is like salvation to a Christian.\n (a) There is an idea that it can be obtained while living\nhere on earth.\n (b) After death, Nirvana brings greater blessings to\nthose entering the spiritual realm.\n (3) Buddhist believe this material world is an illusion and the\nspirit world is all that is real.\n (4) One obtains Nirvana when he finally succeeds in making\nthat belief consume his thinking and causes him to abandon\nmaterial thoughts and possessions until he united with the\nspirit world.\n d. Buddhist’s idea of a soul is different from Christians or even\nHindus\n (1) They believe in reincarnation, but the soul that returns is\nnot literally the same being that died, but a new inheritor of\nthe results of the previous life’s actions.\n
e. Buddhist believe in a multiple levels of heavens, hells, and in-between life (including animals like Hindus).<\/p>\n
4. Chinese<\/p>\n a. Believe in impersonal, abstract powers associated with natural\nforces and objects.\n b. These mini-gods are thought to be the souls of the deceased. The\nspirits of the dead are thought to be able to influence the events\namong the living. Dead ancestors are venerated so as to gain favor\nupon life’s activities.\n c. A person of distinction might attain the status of one of the nature\ngods, becoming a god of a place or activity he had been associated\nwith during life.\n
d. There is no belief in punishment after death.<\/p>\n e. Confucianism and Taoism generally centered men’s thoughts on\nachieving harmony with nature and fellow men, and gaining\nprosperity in this present life.\n f. Most Chinese accept the basic “this life only” outlook and do not\nconcern themselves with life after death.\n
5. Islam<\/p>\n
a. Started by Mohammed ibn Abdullah of Mecca about A.D. 610.<\/p>\n b. Much of his religion was borrowed from Judaism and Christianity. \nThe major focus of his teaching was his concept of judgment day.\n c. Islam believes in a resurrection of the dead and the living to appear\nat a great judgment.\n (1) The Muslim judgment scene is walking a tightrope over the\nflames of Hell. The unrighteous fall off, while the\nrighteous reach Paradise on the other side.\n d. Paradise is suppose to consist of delicious foods, abundant cool\nwater, shade, and beautiful women for the enjoyment of men.\n e. Hell is suppose to consist of torture, rotten food, hot water to drink,\nand foul odors.\n
C. Death is not an annihilation or extinction.<\/p>\n
1. Some read Matthew 10:28 and think that destroy means ceasing to exist<\/p>\n
a. Romans 14:15 – the same word, but does not mean annihilation.<\/p>\n
b. In Romans 14:21 – destroy is equated with causing to stumble.<\/p>\n c. Luke 16:19-31 – Abraham, the rich man, and Lazarus all die, but\ncontinue to exist.\n (1) They discuss, feel their environment, and remember their\npast life.\n
D. Death is not a punishment on individuals<\/p>\n
1. God said the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23<\/p>\n
a. But this refers to spiritual death, not physical<\/p>\n
2. Jesus showed this false line of reasoning – Luke 13:1-5<\/p>\n 3. God did use death as a consequence on occasion, but it was rare and never\nused as often as people sinned.\n
4. Sinful living can hasten death – Proverbs 1:17-19<\/p>\n 5. When people die at an early age from disease, accident, or calamity; it is\nnot evidence that God singled them out for punishment.\n
V. It is proper to weep for the dead<\/p>\n
A. Examples<\/p>\n
1. Abraham wept for Sarah – Genesis 23:1-2<\/p>\n
2. The disciples wept for Dorcas – Acts 9:36-39<\/p>\n
3. Jesus, Mary, and some of the Jews wept for Lazarus – John 11:31-36<\/p>\n
B. Grief is not a sign of a lack of faith, but to say “I will miss you.”<\/p>\n C. For Christians, grief is not permanent. We know our separation is temporary – I\nThessalonians 4:13-18\n D. If you are not a Christian, how will people grieve for you? As one who is lost to\nthem forever because you would not obey the Savior’s call? Or, as a fellow\ntraveler who has reached our destination in advance?\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 14:1-15 I. Death is first mentioned in Genesis 2:17 as a consequence for partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil A. In the punishment of Adam, death is mentioned – Genesis 3:19 B. Yet, Adam lived 930 years before dying – Genesis 5:5 C. God…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[743,1412,109,505,361,362,1368],"class_list":["post-25467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-buddhism","tag-confucianism","tag-death","tag-hinduism","tag-islam","tag-muslims","tag-taoism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-people-have-to-die\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":0},"title":"Why do people have to die?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why do people have to die? When you think about it, it can make people mad at God, or it will drive them away. Why does God let suffering happen? Suffering is hard for people. Answer: To understand why people die, we have to go back to when death\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-consequences-of-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":1},"title":"What are the consequences of sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the consequences of sin? Answer: Whenever we sin, there are consequences that come as a result of sin. Some of those consequences are spiritual and some are physical. When Adam and Eve sinned they experienced both physical and spiritual consequences (Genesis 3). The first result of their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48944,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-sin-spread-if-it-was-not-inherent-in-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":2},"title":"How did sin spread if it was not inherent in men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I agree with your belief that the Bible does not speak of inheriting a \"sin nature\" from Adam. If you wrote your own version of the Bible, how would you translate Romans 5:12? Or, can you explain how death \"spread\" to all men, since it's our own personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-there-have-been-a-gap-between-genesis-11-and-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":3},"title":"Could there have been a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are you familiar with the \"Gap Theory?\" Since the Bible isn't exhaustive, could something have taken place between\u00a0Genesis 1:1\u00a0and\u00a01:2? Answer: Ever since evolution was espoused in the late 1800s, people have struggled with making the Bible conform to the current popular scientific theories. Of course, it is a never-ending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91321,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/questions-about-the-body-soul-spirit-and-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":4},"title":"Questions about the body, soul, spirit, and death","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Jeffrey, I listened to your Bible lesson on the body, spirit, and soul, and it was very helpful. I have some questions and thought I would like to run them by you (my Bible quotes are from KJV): The Body, Soul, and Death Genesis 2:7 breathed into his nostrils\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-eve-commit-adultery-with-the-serpent\/","url_meta":{"origin":25467,"position":5},"title":"Did Eve commit adultery with the serpent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that Eve committed adultery with the serpent? Where was Adam when this sin was committed? If the serpent was a beast why was Cain a proper human being? What is the biblical position on this issue? Answer: Questions like these wouldn't even come up if people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}