The Funeral
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Ephesians 4:15
The subject I have been asked to write about was one of my greatest fears upon entrance into pastoral ministry. But today I consider it one of my greatest privileges. Why? Because of the historicity and glorious message of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Obviously, I do not delight in the fact of someone’s death. But I rejoice in the opportunity that the death of a believer opens for communicating the majesty of Christ and the glories of the gospel while comforting the family and friends and presenting salvation by grace to those who are lost but have come to “pay their respects.” But what about an unbeliever’s funeral? Believe it or not, I also count this an opportunity to appropriately, truthfully, and compassionately share the gospel. I am constantly amazed at how wide the door opens for effective gospel communication at the funeral of an unbeliever. Clearly, the preacher cannot “preach someone into heaven” or give false assurances, but there is a way to carefully turn everyone’s attention to the realities of eternity and their need of the Savior.
Let’s address the challenge of an unbeliever’s funeral first. How do you preach the gospel at funerals for unbelievers? First, you must be committed to doing it. Second, you have to be compassionate while doing it. The implications will be obvious to any who listen to what you are thoughtfully yet pointedly saying about the gospel. The eternal state of the unbeliever who has died is revealed by the truth of the gospel. Let’s be clear. We are not called to make pronouncements about a person’s soul any more than we are allowed to give false assurances concerning his eternal state. Why? God alone is in the position of knowing that person’s heart and making pronouncements concerning his eternal destination — we do not know if perhaps he experienced a deathbed conversion. Instead, we are to preach the gospel and direct all in attendance to their need of the Savior in light of eternity.
The question from some would be, “Don’t you have a responsibility to tell them that the unbeliever who died is under the judgment of God?” The answer is no. We have a responsibility to say that any and all who have not put their trust in Christ are rightly under the judgment of God. The individual’s heart, I do not know. God alone is able and positioned to disclose and declare the condition of his heart and his eternal destination. What I must do is make clear that entrance into eternal life is only through Christ.
So, what about the death of believers? I have a confession to make. It is all that I can do to sit in a funeral service where the preacher begins with clichés of sentimentality that we somehow think will comfort people. In funerals, pastors must preach as they would in any preaching opportunity. We are to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). To paraphrase a Puritan divine, “Truth without love is barbarity and love without truth is cruelty.” Here is a practical suggestion to assist in this objective: always encourage the family members to ask someone who knows the individual well and can testify to his Christianity as well as his lifetime contributions to give a brief eulogy. A well-given eulogy allows the preacher to focus on the gospel, the glorious truth of forgiveness because of the cross and the bodily resurrection of Christ. A family eulogy positions the preacher to comfort the family, encourage believers, and evangelize any who are lost.
Personal remarks in the sermon are necessary and helpful, but remember that all true and lasting comfort comes in the gospel promises of redemption and resurrection fulfilled in the death and bodily resurrection of Christ. Because Christ is risen, the one who has died is “home.” Everyone sitting in the funeral service is not. The question to them is, “Where will you spend eternity?” One other practical suggestion. I love to use the Bible of the one who has gone to be with the Lord. I enjoy searching through it, securing notes from it, and noting places in it where he has underlined or written thoughts. Then, I love to use it and let everyone know that I am using it in the funeral. At the graveside after the benediction, I always place the Bible into the hands of the spouse or closest relative while giving words of personal comfort.
The preeminence of Christ our Redeemer and the truth of the gospel with the glorious promise of the resurrection must be simply, thoughtfully, and clearly articulated. Your challenge is that everyone in attendance has to undergo a paradigm shift. Most of your listeners believe their loved one or friend has just gone from “the land of the living” to “the land of the dying.” You must proclaim to them that the exact opposite is actually true. They have not left the “land of the living” to go to the “land of the dying”; they have left the “land of the dying” to go to “the land of the living.” As D.L. Moody told a New York journalist concerning the truth of the gospel and his approaching death: “Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”
Dr. Harry L. Reeder III is senior pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Ala. He is author of several books, including From Embers to a Flame.
“These all died in faith … . Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:13, 16).
Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1 Cor. 15:50
Mat 25:41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Notes
The book of Revelation pronounces blessing on “the dead who die in the Lord . . . that they may rest from their labors” (Rev. 14:13). Their “rest” is not a state of unconscious “soul sleep” (as some have contended). Rather, the souls of Christian martyrs appeal to God for justice and receive His word of comfort (Rev. 6:9–11; see Rev. 20:4). They are a multitude that has passed through great tribulation to worship before God’s throne and the Lamb (Rev. 7:9–17). They reign on heavenly thrones with Christ (Rev. 20:4).
Scripture says little about the intermediate state of unbelievers, but Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) offers a clue. The parable’s point is that even a resurrection from the dead will not convince those who spurn Scripture. To support that conclusion, Jesus portrays the post-death conscious existence of a righteous beggar and a heartless tycoon. In this-worldly imagery, Jesus symbolizes comfort for the souls of the faithful (“Abraham’s side”), torment suffered by the souls of the ungodly (“this flame”), and the unbridgeable “chasm” that precludes unbelievers’ repentance and relief after death.
God’s Word tells us that there are only two possible ways to pass from this life into the next. One will bring us into eternal glory, the other will bring us eternal damnation. If we die in our sins, we will be counted among the goats that are excluded from the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 25:31–46). These goats are those who never placed their faith in Christ alone (John 8:24). Those without a living and persevering faith in the Lord Jesus will not enter glory at their deaths (James 2:14–26; Matt. 25:41–46).
Quotes
There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.
- Charles Spurgeon
How divinely full of glory and pleasure shall that hour be when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God shall meet together and stand around Him, with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise! How astonishing will be the glory and the joy of that day when all the saints shall join together in one common song of gratitude and love, and of everlasting thankfulness to this Redeemer! With that unknown delight, and inexpressible satisfaction, shall all that are saved from the ruins of sin and hell address the Lamb that was slain, and rejoice in His presence!
- Isaac Watts
Without holiness on earth we shall never be prepared to enjoy heaven. Heaven is a holy place. The Lord of heaven is a holy Being. The angels are holy creatures. Holiness is written on everything in heaven... How shall we ever be at home and happy in heaven if we die unholy?
- J. C. Ryle
Multitudes of people who expect to go to Heaven will go to a Hell of torment. Thousands of "good" people, "moral" people, church members, even church workers - yes, and, alas, even prophets, priests and preachers - will find themselves lost when they expected to be saved, condemned when they expected approval, cast out of Heaven when they expected to be received into eternal bliss. That is the explicit meaning of the words of our Lord... [Spoken in Matthew 7:21-23.]
- John R. Rice
The nearer anyone is to heaven, the more earnestly he desires to be there, because Christ is there.
- John Owen
The dust of Lazarus was dear to Jesus; He would not leave it in the rocky tomb. So is the dust of every Lazarus dear in His sight. He will not lose so much as one of them. Wherever they lie, it matters not - beneath the deep blue sea, or on some distant battlefield, or consumed in flame and smoke - the Lord Jesus will yet collect their scattered dust, sand make them like His own glorious body.
- Robert Murray McCheyne
We don't seek to escape this life by dreaming of heaven. But we do find we can endure this life because of the certainty of heaven. Heaven is eternal. Earth is temporal. Those who fix all their affections of the fleeting things of this world are the real escapists, because they are vainly attempting to avoid facing eternity - by hiding in the fleeting shadows of things that are only transient.
- John MacArthur
Dying in Faith : The New Testament warns about false assurance. Can we ever be sure that we are saved? From Ligonier’s 2016 National Conference, R.C. Sproul and Ian Hamilton explain what it really means to be assured of our salvation. When you have biblical and theological questions, just ask Ligonier. Visit https://ask.ligonier.org/
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