Why Do People Die

Happy Sunday! Today we're going to begin a series about death, heaven, and later hell. Specifically, today I'm going to answer the question: why do we die? This year is not half over, and I've officiated 28 funerals thus far. The statistics on death are very impressive: one out of one will die.

Now, for you Bible scholars out there, yes, there have been two who did not die according to scripture: Enoch and Elijah, the one with a J. In Genesis 5:24 we read these words: "Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God took him." And we're told this about Elijah in 2 K kings 2:11: "As they continued walking and talking" (they refers to Elijah and his prot Elisha) "as they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them, and the then Elijah went up into heaven in the Whirlwind."

Now, the rest of us will likely not be exceptions to this rule, unless of course the Rapture comes, and that's another sermon series down the road. By the way, these are likely familiar words. They're from Ecclesiastes chapter 3: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die."

I've read articles over the past several years about billionaires sinking all sorts of money into medicines and treatments, trying to live forever. This quote came from a quick Google search: "Open AI Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Larry Allison, and Peter teal are among the wouldbe Immortals sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into startups and research based on the notion, as fellow Tech bro Peter dandis puts it, that aging is a disease that can be slowed, stopped, stopped, and perhaps even reversed." They're so afraid of death. Because of my faith, I have no desire to stay on this planet too long.

Hebrew Hebrews 9:27 lets us know this: "It's appointed for Mortals to die once, and after that the Judgment." Scripture is clear: death and judgment cannot be escaped. Doesn't matter how rich you are. So why do we die? Did God intend this to happen?

Listen to these words from Genesis 38-19, from the very beginning: "Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God Walking In The Garden at the time of the evening Breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. They hid among the Trees of the garden. But the Lord called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?' And Adam said, 'I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.' And God said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you not to eat?'"

Now the blame game Begins. "The man said, 'That woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I did eat.' And the Lord said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent, he he tricked me, and I ate.'"

Now the punishments begin, the curse if you will. "The Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you've done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures. Upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I'll put enmity between you and the woman, and between your Offspring and hers. He will strike your head; you'll strike his heel.'" Now to the woman: "God said, 'I'll make your pangs and childbirth exceedingly great. In pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"

And now it's Adam's turn. "And to the man God said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, "You shall not eat of it," cursed is the ground because of you. And toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you are taken. You are dust, and to dust you shall return.'"

So death is a curse from sin. Scriptures clear: death was not part of God's original plan. The sin of man calls death. Romans 6:23 puts it this way: "For the wages of sin is death." Over the years I've seen people people blame God for the death of a loved one. God gets to blame, yet death is the fault of sinful man.

Scripture does tell us that death is an enemy to God. God must really hate death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 says, "The Last Enemy to be destroyed is death." Let's look at that verse in context. I'll read verses 21 to 26 of 1 Corinthians 15: "For since death came through a human, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in its own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom of God to the father, and he has, after he has destroyed every ruler and every Authority and power. For he must Reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. And The Last Enemy to be destroyed is death."

Those verses give me hope. Yes, we die, but Jesus can make us alive, only Believers. The Apostle Paul was so excited about the prospect of dying that he wrote this in Philippians 1, um, verses 21 to 24. He said, "For to me, living in is Christ and dying is gain. If I'm to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; yet I cannot say which I will choose. I'm hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you." God still had work for him to do.

Yes, we all die. However, if you're a believer in Jesus, you have eternal life. If not, isn't it about time? We'll continue our study next week.

Pray with me. Lord God, I pray for comfort for those who have been, well, who have walked through the valley of the shadow of death with loved ones recently. I've been with too many families lately, but I thank you for the truth, and I thank you for believers, for those that are secure in Christ, that death is, well, just a portal into something much better. So in this study, in the next many weeks, we ask that you would, U, give us Clarity and help us to be comforted by your word and your spirit. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

God bless. Thanks for joining me today.