Introduction to Bible Basics
Lesson 4
Death
What happens when a person dies, and the one hope the Bible holds out.
Where we are going
The one appointment nobody misses
A disaster is invariably headline news. Sudden and violent death arouses curiosity; but the subject of ‘death’ itself is not news nor, strangely enough, does it generate much interest.
Yet, in the time that it has taken you to read the previous two sentences, it is estimated that 25-30 people have died (that is, over 6,250 people an hour or 150,000 a day).
One day you will be one of them!
The chances are not that you will be involved in one of the disasters, which account for relatively few deaths, but that on one otherwise ordinary day your daily routine will cease and the world will carry on without you. This is why a study of the subject of death is of prime importance.
Lesson 4
By the end of this lesson
You will be able to:
- Observe three attitudes to death which people may take, noting the biblical viewpoint
- Explain what the Bible means by the word soul, and why that matters
- Trace how death came into the world, and why it passes to everyone
- Say what sin is, in the Bible's own terms
- Describe the one hope the Bible holds out, and when it is given
Look up and read each Bible reference as you come to it.
Part 1 of 6
Three attitudes to death
Thoughts of death raise three questions, and people answer them in three ways. Only one of the three looks the thing in the face.
Three attitudes
The questions death asks
Thoughts of death give rise to the questions, ‘What am I?’ ‘What happens to me when I die?’ ‘How do I fit in with God's purpose in creation?’
- What am I?
- What happens to me when I die?
- How do I fit in with God's purpose in creation?
Basically there are three possible attitudes to death: Ignore it. Take the view that it is not really what it seems to be. Face its stark reality and look for a way of escape. Let us look more closely at these three attitudes.
Three attitudes
What people do about it
Open all three.
1. Ignore death
This is the attitude of a growing section of those who are influenced by Western culture. The goals of materialism, the philosophy which predominates in Western society, are centred in science.
The scientific approach to the problems of life deals with these things which can be measured. Speculations such as ‘What happens after death?’ do not lend themselves to the scientific method and therefore they are largely ignored.
Many people, dazzled by the bewildering array of marvels which science has produced, dismiss all thoughts of death from their minds as much as possible.
2. Death is not really what it seems to be
This is the age-old view taken by the vast majority of the world's religions. Death, it is said, is not the end of life but the gateway to eternity.
At the root of the great variety of forms which this belief takes is the idea that man has an ‘immortal soul’; that there is something in man which cannot die, but which at death is released from the body and lives on in another form.
But these ideas cannot be proved from experience nor from the religious books of the world which, apart from the Bible (2 Timothy 3 v 16), are only the speculations of minds groping in the dark. The experiments in telepathy and extra-sensory perception may prove that there is more to man than science has yet discovered, but they do not prove that ‘something’ lives on when the body dies.
3. Face the stark reality, and look for a way of escape
Man needs a reliable revelation from God, his Creator, on the subject of death. The Bible is the only book which provides this. It demands that man must face the stark reality of death and look for a way of escape.
Three attitudes
What the Bible actually says
Nowhere in the Bible can be found the idea that man has an immortal soul which lives on after death.
This may come as a shock to those who hold orthodox Christian beliefs. But the Bible says:
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything”
Ecclesiastes 9 v 5
“There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest”
Ecclesiastes 9 v 10
This fact may not be very comforting to contemplate, but it should be a cause for humility and should provoke a realization of man's urgent need for a way of escape.
Check your understanding 1 of 10
Part 2 of 6
A question of attitude
Before anything else can be said, there is a question of attitude. God says who he will look to, and it is not the proud.
Humility
Salvation commences with humility
God has declared:
“To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word”
Isaiah 66 v 2
The description “poor” means that the man recognizes that he has nothing of value while he is mortal. The word “contrite” means humble.
Humility
Why the idea is so popular
Man is naturally a proud creature. The idea of having an immortal soul appeals to his inborn pride.
But if we want the whole truth, we do well to cast aside all preconceived ideas, however flattering, and to consider carefully what God has revealed about man's natural condition.
Check your understanding 2 of 10
Part 3 of 6
The nature of man
The Bible goes to the very root of this vital subject. It tells how, in the beginning of human existence, death came about.
The nature of man
Dust, and breath
The record of the first human beings, Adam and Eve, is no myth! Consider the deep significance of the facts recorded in the opening chapter of the Bible.
“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”
Genesis 2 v 7
Adam's body was made from the elements which form the basis of all matter. These elements were shaped by the all-powerful Creator into the marvellous complexity of the human body, with all its delicate and interrelated organs. In principle the same marvel occurs today in the development of a baby in the womb.
Adam's body of dust was given life from God who “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” and what otherwise would have been a lifeless body “became a living soul”.
Check your understanding 3 of 10
The nature of man
The soul
Open each one.
Life is a mysterious, indefinable, but readily recognizable quality imparted to dead matter. There is no evidence to suggest that life can exist independently of the body.
The Bible reveals and experience shows the ‘body’ and ‘life’ are interdependent and together constitute a “living soul” or ‘creature’.
The word ‘soul’ is widely applied in the Bible both to man and to the animal creation. It is translated, ‘mind’, ‘beast’, ‘man’, ‘creature’, but it is never connected in any way with the idea of immortality.
The soul cannot live on separately from man or animal. The verses quoted show that man is entirely dependent upon God for his life. If God withdraws the breath, or spirit, of life from a man, he becomes a dead creature.
Ecclesiastes 12 v 7 proves man's dependence upon God for his existence:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it”
Ecclesiastes 12 v 7
It does not prove that man goes to heaven when he dies. See John 3 v 13 and note in particular the words, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven.” Man dies because of sin: “...the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” And in Romans 3 v 23 we read, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Therefore it follows that all die and become unconscious until the resurrection. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 deals with the hope of the resurrection in some detail.
The nature of man
A living soul
The statement in Genesis 2 v 7: “And man became a living soul”, means that man became a living creature along with all the other creatures God had created. See Ecclesiastes 3 v 19 to 20. The word “soul” means “creature”.
“For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again”
Ecclesiastes 3 v 19 to 20
It is essential to understand this, as many Christians hold the view that man has an immortal soul that lives on after death. This is not taught in the Bible. This was, in fact, the serpent's lie in the garden of Eden. He said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die” - a direct contradiction of what God had said to Adam and Eve.
Check your understanding 4 of 10
The nature of man
Why man was made
The purpose of man's creation was, as with that of all creation, to give God pleasure.
“Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”
Revelation 4 v 11
Unlike the animal creation, man was given free will to obey or to disobey, so that he could exercise a certain degree of choice over his behaviour.
We can appreciate how much more pleasure man could give God by using his free will to please God and not himself. It is a pleasure which, on a lower scale, parents gain from children who voluntarily obey and respect them.
Check your understanding 5 of 10
Part 4 of 6
How death came
One command, one choice, and one sentence. The whole of human experience since rests on what happened in that garden.
How death came
Man's failure
To test man's response to the use of his free will, God gave a simple test to Adam and Eve. They were told:
“Of every tree ... thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”
Genesis 2 v 16 to 17
Man failed and so brought upon himself the sentence of death. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent's suggestion that they would be as gods, knowing good and evil, and because the fruit looked tempting and good to eat. In this way their pride and lust overcame them.
These two characteristics have formed the basis of human behaviour ever since. Note carefully the words of the serpent tempting Eve,
Read these chapters
- Genesis 2
- Genesis 3
How death came
The first lie
Before you read it, what do you think the serpent said?
“Ye shall not surely die”
Genesis 3 v 4
This was a lie, a denial of God's word, the lie which has formed the basis of man-made religions ever since.
How death came
Two voices, and they still sound the same
Sort them.
Sort themSelect a card, then select the column it belongs in
Which of these does the Bible teach, and which repeat the serpent's sentence?
God's word
The serpent's sentence
How death came
Man's condemnation
Adam and Eve were subjected to the just condemnation of God. The words of the sentence pronounced upon them are significant for they give us the basic definition of death.
“Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”
Genesis 3 v 19
That is, when a man dies he ceases to exist and decomposes into the elements of which he was made.
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish”
Psalm 146 v 4
Death is a punishment for disobedience. After God had pronounced this sentence, He set a guard to prevent man from eating of the tree of life, “lest he... live for ever”. Death is a punishment for sin.
How death came
Put the sentence back together
Put the missing words backSelect a word, then select the gap it fills
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his ; in that very day his perish”Psalm 146 v 4
Check your understanding 6 of 10
Part 5 of 6
Sin
If death is the punishment, it is worth being exact about the crime. The Bible is.
Sin
Sin brings death
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die”
Ezekiel 18 v 4
There is a simple logic in this statement. Sin brings death.
It is therefore of the utmost importance to find out what ‘sin’ is if we are to find a way to escape eternal death.
Sin is the disbelief of God's Word and disobedience to His will. Its effects are universal.
“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
Romans 3 v 23
Sin
The flaw, and what comes out of it
Adam and Eve have passed on this fatal tendency to all their descendants. This flaw in man constitutes ‘human nature’ or what the Bible calls ‘the flesh’, or ‘the carnal mind’.
It can take many aspects,
“The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like”
Galatians 5 v 19 to 21
These are the natural consequences of the way of life upon which Adam and Eve embarked six thousand years ago. Obstinate disregard for God's way has brought the world to its present troubled state.
Check your understanding 7 of 10
Part 6 of 6
The only hope
Justice is not the only thing the Bible says about God, and the rest of it is the reason there is any hope at all.
The only hope
Two more of God's attributes
In Study 2 some of God's characteristics were examined. Some of man's have now been briefly considered. The obvious and startling contrast is expressed by God in these words.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”
Isaiah 55 v 8 to 9
It is clear then not only why man dies but why he must die. God is just and His justice cannot permit sinners to live for ever. But two of God's many attributes are His mercy and His forgiveness.
“There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared”
Psalm 130 v 4
There is a vital need for God's forgiveness, because man cannot stop sinning. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”. 1 John 1 v 8.
The only hope
The way, in a phrase, is through faith
The Bible describes in detail God's way - the only way to be set free from the vice-like grip of sin and death. The faith which God requires is a very special quality. It is defined as:
“the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”
Hebrews 11 v 1
Faith is not blind credulity or belief in the absurd. It is complete trust in God and the firm belief that He really means to carry out what He has promised, even if its fulfilment appears to be an impossibility.
Our faith then has to be demonstrated by obedience to God's commands. The eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews describes many practical examples of faith. Foremost among these is the faith shown by Abraham. “He believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness”. Genesis 15 v 6. His faith was then shown by his obedience to God. Read James 2 v 17 to 26.
Read this passage
- James 2 v 17 to 26
Thus faith and obedience can, in God's mercy, secure the forgiveness of our sins and, in consequence, death also can be overcome.
Check your understanding 8 of 10
The only hope
A gift, and when it is given
Eternal life is, in truth, a gift.
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
Romans 6 v 23
The way in which this has been made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is dealt with in a later Study. Eternal life is to be given at a future time when there will be a resurrection of the dead:
“Many of them that sleep (that is, who are dead) in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life”
Daniel 12 v 2
Then those who are worthy of this precious gift will be changed into immortal beings. The resurrection will occur when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.
The resurrection of the dead may sound incredible but it is one of those things which God requires us to believe. We know that all things are possible with God.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven ... and the dead in Christ shall rise first”
1 Thessalonians 4 v 16
Some of the signs which tell us that these momentous events are very near will be explained in Study 9. We need to be ready for that day.
Check your understanding 9 of 10
Check your understanding 10 of 10
Lesson 4
Summary
- Death is the end of life, not the gateway to eternity.
- Salvation begins with humility.
- Death is caused by sin.
- Sin is disbelief of God's Word and disobedience to His will.
- Man cannot stop sinning.
- Man can obtain forgiveness by belief in God's Word and obedience to His will.
- Faith is belief of God's Word and is shown by obedience to it.
- Eternal life is the gift of God, to be given to His faithful children.
- Eternal life will be given at the resurrection, when Jesus Christ returns to the earth; this is man's only hope of obtaining immortality.
Before you go
Passages for Bible reading
Read these passages
- Genesis 2 and 3
- Psalms 49 and 146
- Ecclesiastes 9
- Romans 5 and 6
- 1 Corinthians 15
Have a question?
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You have finished lesson 4
You looked at the three attitudes people take to death, at what the Bible means by the word soul, at how death came into the world, at what sin is, and at the one hope the Bible holds out.
Lesson 4 complete
Next: Lesson 5, The Promises of God
Death is not the last word. The next lesson follows the promises God made to Noah and to Abraham, and what they have to do with you.
Go to lesson 5