What about Cremation?

Cremation has become an increasingly popular practice today, not only in other nations, but in America as well. The general attitude is, "It doesn't matter how you are buried or if you are buried or what happens to your body." Increasingly, professing evangelical Christians are supportive of the practice of cremation, saying, "It doesn't really matter--I will be in heaven anyway."

I recently heard on the radio a leading Baptist pastor of one of the largest and most influential Baptist churches in Texas. He was speaking about the resurrection and about the hope believers have in Christ after death. In the midst of his message, he stated that it doesn't matter if we are buried or cremated, and that the Bible doesn't have any more support for one view than the other.

Is he correct? Is the Bible neutral on the subject? Is cremation a biblically sanctioned practice? For us today, we can simply ask the question--is cremation Christian? Is it something a Christian should embrace?

The Bible does show that heathen nations practiced evil types of cremation in the context of demon worship and a complete departure from the worship of the true God. The Scriptures also teach theologically that the body of the Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit and ought not to be desecrated. If the physical body of the Christian has become holy, as the very temple of God Himself, then it ought never to be willfully destroyed by a man-made practice that is not condoned in Scripture.

But perhaps the greatest answer is the example we find in Scripture of what those in Old Testament and the New Testament times did with the bodies of their dead. The simple answer is that they buried them. Burial was the practice, never cremation.

Abraham's wife, Sarah, was buried- "After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in the land of Canaan." - Genesis 23:19

Moses was buried- "Isaac and Ismael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, east of Mamre . . . there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife." - Genesis 25:9

Deborah, Rebekah's servant and nurse, was buried by Jacob- "And Deborah died and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he [Jacob] called its name Allon-bacuth [weeping]." - Genesis 35:8

Rachel was buried- "So Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb." - Genesis 35:19 (See also Gen. 48:7)

Isaac was buried- "And Isaac breathed his last and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him."
- Genesis 35:29

Jacob requested to be buried in Canaan, not in Egypt- "Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place." - Genesis 47:29-30 (See also 49:29)

Moses was buried by God Himself - "So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he [God] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Bethpeor, but no one knows the place of his burial to this day." - Deut. 34:5-7

In the New Testament, Lazarus was buried (John 11) and Jesus was buried, as were all others referred to in Scripture specifically.

If the example of the godly saints in Scripture means anything (and it does), then cremation is simply not a valid or God-honoring practice that any Christian should condone or consider.

Cremation is neither biblical or exemplary for the Christian today and we ought not to let the standard down just because some are going the way of the world, adopting heathen practices.

- Mack Tomlinson

Justification

Justification in its essence is a legal or forensic term, a term that belongs to the realm of the Law Court. It means "to declare just," and "to declare righteous." It is the opposite of condemnation. The Christian has moved from a state of "condemnation" to one of "justification." For this reason the Apostle starts this 8th chapter by saying, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."

Paul is taking up again the argument he had left off at the end of chapter 5, where he had been working out some of the consequences of justification. His constant emphasis concerning this is that it is something which is done by God, "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified." In other words we do not justify ourselves before God. God justifies us, and He does it--and this is the argument of the first four chapters--entirely apart from us and our works. It is not the result of any merit that is in us. One verse that states this clearly and beyond any doubt is the 5th verse in the 4th chapter: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." God justifies the "ungodly"; not the "righteous," but the "ungodly."

He argues the same point in chapter 5, verses 6-8: "When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It is the action of God, and exclusively the action of God. This is the central argument of this Epistle. It is the declaration made by God concerning those who believe in Christ. We are justified in Christ, but through faith and belief. The belief is the instrument.

Let us emphasize again certain other aspects of this doctrine. Justification does not merely mean forgiveness. It includes forgiveness, but it is much bigger than forgiveness. It means in addition that God declares us to be entirely guiltless; He regards us as if we had never sinned at all. He pronounces us to be just and to be righteous. In doing so He is answering any declaration that the Law may make with respect to us. It is the judge upon the bench not merely saying that the prisoner at the Bar is forgiven, but that he pronounces him to be a just and righteous person.

In justifying us God tells us that He has taken our sins and our guilt, and has "imputed" them to, "put them to the account of," the Lord Jesus Christ and punished them in Him. He announces also that, having done that, He now puts to our account, or "imputes" to us, the perfect righteousness of His own dear Son. The Lord Jesus Christ obeyed the Law perfectly; He never broke it in any respect. He gave a full and a perfect satisfaction to all its demands. That full obedience constitutes His righteousness. What God does is to put to our account, to put upon us, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In declaring us to be justified, God proclaims that He now looks on us, not as we are, but as clothed with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. A hymn by the Moravian Count Zinzendorf, and translated by John Wesley, expresses it thus:

Jesus, Thy robe of righteousness
My beauty is, my glorious dress;
'Midst flaming worlds, in this arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Zinzendorf proceeds in the hymn to defy anyone and anything to bring a charge against us, because we are clothed and robed with this "righteousness" of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such, then, is the meaning of justification, and it is entirely the action of God. It is, I repeat, the forensic, legal declaration of God that we are not only forgiven but guiltless, and that as we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ we shall continue in that condition. In other words, we are given a new standing and a new status in the presence of God.

- D. M. Lloyd-Jones

Don't Preach When You Pray

Beware of the evil of mistaking preaching for prayer. The friends who were reputed to be ‘gifted’ indulged themselves in public prayer with a review of their own experience, a recalling of their creed, an occasional running commentary upon a chapter or Psalm, or even a criticism upon the Pastor and his sermons. It was too often quite forgotten that the brother was addressing the divine Majesty, before whose wisdom a display of our own knowledge is impertinence, and before whose glory an attempt at swelling words and pompous periods is little short of profanity; the lecture was evidently intended for man rather than God, and on some occasions did not contain a single petition from the beginning to end.

We hope that good men are stopping this unhallowed practice, and are beginning to see that sermons and doctrinal dissertations are miserable substitutes for earnest wrestling prayers, when our place is before the mercy-seat, and our engagement is intercession with the Most High. If each person will offer the petition most pressing upon his heart by the Holy Spirit, and then make room for another, the evening will be far more profitable, and the prayers incomparably more fervent than if each brother ran round the whole circle of petition without dwelling on one point. Compare your topics of prayer to so many nails; it will be better for an intercessor to drive one nail home with repeated blows, than to deal one ineffectual tap to them one after another.

Let as many as possible take part in the prayer of the church’s desires; the change of voice will prevent weariness, and the variety of subjects will excite attention. Better to have six pleading earnestly, than two drowsily; far better for the whole meeting, that the many needs should be represented experimentally by many intercessors, than formally by two or three.

- Charles Spurgeon

Family Sickness

"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered!" Matthew 10:30
Dear friend,

My dear wife has been quite ill. Sickness is a bitter pill to swallow. Yet the Lord is good; He knows what we need, and when we need it. We must and shall have it--whether it is sweet, bitter, or sour--for He will withhold no good thing from those who fear and love Him.

He upholds and enlightens the planets and stars. He weighs the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance. At the same time, He is providing for the lions and ravens, and supporting all the ants and worms that creep upon the earth!

And with equal accuracy, He adjusts all that concerns us! Worms as we are, He is attentive to everything that relates to our peace and welfare, as though we, each of us individually were the sole objects of His providential care! Yes, His eye and His heart are attentively fixed upon you and worthless me! Well may we say, "Who is a God like unto You!"

- John Newton

The Infinite Ocean of Christ's Love

Turn on your speakers--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8RPEzhi3Gw

The Lord Reigns -- A Letter from John Newton

"The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and is armed with strength!" Psalm 93:1

"The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble!" Psalm 99:1

The Lord reigns! He who once bore our sins, and carried our sorrows is seated upon a throne of glory, and exercises all power in heaven and on earth! Thrones, principalities, and powers, bow before Him. Every being and event are under His rule. His providence pervades and manages the whole, and is as minutely attentive to every part as if there were only that single object in His view.

From the tallest archangel, to the meanest ant or fly--all depend on Him for their being, their preservation, and their powers! He directs the sparrows where to build their nests, and to find their food. He overrules the rise and fall of nations; and bends, with an invincible energy and unerring wisdom all events! So that, while many intend otherwise in the outcome, their designs all concur and coincide in the accomplishment of His holy will. He restrains with a mighty hand, the still more formidable efforts of the powers of darkness; and Satan, with all his hosts, cannot exert their malice a hair's breadth beyond the limits of His permission. Satan may rage, but he is a chained enemy!
This is He, who is the Redeemer and Husband of His believing people. How happy are those whom it is His good pleasure to bless! Howsafe are those whom He has engaged to protect! How honored and privileged are those whom He enables and warrants to claim Him as their friend and their portion! Having redeemed them by His own blood, He sets a high value upon them! He esteems them His treasure, His jewels! He guards them as the pupil of His eye. They shall not lack; they need not fear!

His eye is upon them in every situation, His ear is open to their prayers, and His everlasting arms are under them for their sure support.

On earth, He guides their steps, controls their enemies, and directs all His dispensations for their good! While, in heaven, He is pleading their cause, preparing a place for them, and communicating down to them reviving foretastes of the glory that shall shortly be theirs!

"The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 146:10

- John Newton

When Jesus Comes

One sat alone, beside the highway begging,
His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.

From home and friends the evil spirits drove him,
Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon powers possessed him,
Then Jesus came and set the captive free.

Their hearts were sad, as in the tomb they laid him,
For death had come and taken him away;
Their night was dark and bitter tears were falling,
Then Jesus came and night was turned to day.

"Unclean, unclean!" the leper cried in torment,
The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim,
Then Jesus came and cast out every fear.

So men today have found the Savior able,
They cannot conquer passion, lust, and sin;
Their broken hearts have left them sad and lonely,
Then Jesus comes and dwells Himself within.

When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken,
When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away;
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

- Oswald J. Smith