On Death

On Death was written for those facing their own possible death, those facing the death of a loved one, and those who have lost loved ones.

Fear of Death

It is divided into two sections, the first is The Fear of Death, which deals with facing your own death. Timothy Keller considers why in our modern Western culture, we are less prepared for death than our ancestors and how modern people don’t live as if they are going to die.

He encourages us, rather than living in the fear of death, to see it as ‘spiritual smelling salts’ to waken us out of the false belief that we will live forever. He reminds us that everything in life will be taken away from us except for God’s love, “which can go into death with us and take us into His arms.”

Heb 2:10 says that to save us, Jesus became “the pioneer” of our salvation. In the same way as David and Goliath fought as champions on behalf of their respective armies, where the army of the winner won the battle without even fighting, Jesus took on our greatest enemies, sin and death as our substitute. Unlike David who risked his life, Jesus died in our place, but because He was perfect, death couldn’t hold Him down; He rose from the dead guaranteeing the future resurrection of all who unite with Him by faith. When you know and believe that, death will have no power over you.

The Rupture of Death

The second section, The Rupture of Death and is about facing the death of loved ones. 1Th 4:13-14 says that as believers, “…do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” Basically, we are to grieve but with hope. The example given is Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb where He was weeping, grieving, and angry, even though He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He was angry because death was not in God’s original design for the world and humankind but is a distortion of God’s creation.

Timothy Keller comments that the ‘stiff upper lip’ reaction to grief and death are wrong. Death is not right; it’s not the way it ought to be. Jesus was grieving and so should we. Not only that but the Bible says that we should weep with those who are weeping (Rom 12:15). He finishes by saying ‘we have a lot of crying to do.’

Also, in this section there is an excellent discussion on the Power of Christian Hope where Timothy Keller examines the features of the hope we have in Jesus – personal, material, beatific and assured. He uses the example of Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead and how He took her hand and lifted her through death. If Jesus has us by the hand, and we know Him through faith in grace nothing can hurt us. Even death.

Personal Reflection…

I can’t recommend this book highly enough, not only to the intended audience, but to everyone because after all, death is something we all have to face. Timothy Keller uses Scripture to inform and encourage readers to trust in the finished work of our Saviour. The section on Hope was particularly important to me and gave me a wider understanding of the different facets of the hope we have. Any doubt I had about my future has been dispelled and I know that as Timothy Keller says, that when death comes upon me, it will be like waking from a night’s sleep and I will fully become who God intended me to be. Praise Him.

Until next time

Lyn