Lewis
Member
It is time for this question again.
Should Christians Be Cremated?
The average cost of a funeral and burial is more than $10,000.
It costs about $5,000 to be cremated with a memorial service. A cremation with no service costs about $1,000. A funeral might be the third most expensive purchase you'll ever make -- behind a home and car. I know people who had to finance a funeral and years later they're still making monthly payments.
Thirty-five percent of people who die in America are cremated. More than 99 percent of people in Japan are cremated. It is almost impossible to buy a grave for burial in Tokyo.
Christians spend their entire lives preparing to die and meet Jesus. Have you considered if you'll be buried or cremated? Should Christians be cremated?
The Bible does not condemn cremation. I Kings 16:18 and II Kings 21:6 are examples of people being burned to death, but these are not cremations. Lev. 20:14 says to burn to death a man who marries a lady and her mother. Also, a priest's daughter who becomes a prostitute must be burned (Lev. 21:9).
These are examples of God's judgment on sin. Cremation was practiced during biblical times, but it wasn't commonly practiced by the Israelites or New Testament believers. During Bible times most people were buried in a cave, tomb or in the ground. Jesus was buried in a tomb cut out of rock (Matthew 27:60).
Some Christians object to cremation because it does not recognize that God will one day resurrect them and unite them with their spirit. You might worry that if you've been cremated you would miss the Resurrection on physical grounds. I Thessalonians 4:16 says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."
If you've been cremated, how can you rise first to meet the Lord?
When believers die, they immediately go into the presence of the Lord (II Cor. 5:8). Once you are saved, there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation (Eph. 1:13-14). The New Testament encourages us to view our own death not with fear but with joy at the prospect of going to be with Christ.
Death can't separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Whatever remains of our physical body, even if dust, will be taken by God, transformed and used to make a new resurrection body (I Cor. 15:42-44). God told us we are made of dust and to dust we will return (Genesis 3:19).
Buried bodies begin to disintegrate. If we focus on what to do with a body after death, we have neglected the importance of what we did while alive.
The Bible says nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). God can put back together anyone's life -- alive or dead. Jesus was dead and God raised Him and He went on a seven-mile walk to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). This was the same Man who was so weak He couldn't carry His cross to the crucifixion site (Luke 23:26).
Financial and personal preferences should determine if someone is cremated. The Bible does not condemn it, thus removing any religious factors when deciding burial or cremation.
Jesus told us, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:60).
Our focus isn't on the dead. Once someone is dead, they no longer have the opportunity to be saved. Their fate has been determined for eternity. Our focus is proclaiming Jesus.
The issue is not whether buried or cremated -- rather am I prepared to meet God with how I'm living my life? Jesus said God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20:38). Buried, cremated, or running from God -- Jesus can breathe new life into you -- preparing you to identify with Him in the Resurrection.
By DANIEL AUSBUN
First Baptist Church, Moreland
Should Christians Be Cremated?
The average cost of a funeral and burial is more than $10,000.
It costs about $5,000 to be cremated with a memorial service. A cremation with no service costs about $1,000. A funeral might be the third most expensive purchase you'll ever make -- behind a home and car. I know people who had to finance a funeral and years later they're still making monthly payments.
Thirty-five percent of people who die in America are cremated. More than 99 percent of people in Japan are cremated. It is almost impossible to buy a grave for burial in Tokyo.
Christians spend their entire lives preparing to die and meet Jesus. Have you considered if you'll be buried or cremated? Should Christians be cremated?
The Bible does not condemn cremation. I Kings 16:18 and II Kings 21:6 are examples of people being burned to death, but these are not cremations. Lev. 20:14 says to burn to death a man who marries a lady and her mother. Also, a priest's daughter who becomes a prostitute must be burned (Lev. 21:9).
These are examples of God's judgment on sin. Cremation was practiced during biblical times, but it wasn't commonly practiced by the Israelites or New Testament believers. During Bible times most people were buried in a cave, tomb or in the ground. Jesus was buried in a tomb cut out of rock (Matthew 27:60).
Some Christians object to cremation because it does not recognize that God will one day resurrect them and unite them with their spirit. You might worry that if you've been cremated you would miss the Resurrection on physical grounds. I Thessalonians 4:16 says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."
If you've been cremated, how can you rise first to meet the Lord?
When believers die, they immediately go into the presence of the Lord (II Cor. 5:8). Once you are saved, there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation (Eph. 1:13-14). The New Testament encourages us to view our own death not with fear but with joy at the prospect of going to be with Christ.
Death can't separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Whatever remains of our physical body, even if dust, will be taken by God, transformed and used to make a new resurrection body (I Cor. 15:42-44). God told us we are made of dust and to dust we will return (Genesis 3:19).
Buried bodies begin to disintegrate. If we focus on what to do with a body after death, we have neglected the importance of what we did while alive.
The Bible says nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37). God can put back together anyone's life -- alive or dead. Jesus was dead and God raised Him and He went on a seven-mile walk to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). This was the same Man who was so weak He couldn't carry His cross to the crucifixion site (Luke 23:26).
Financial and personal preferences should determine if someone is cremated. The Bible does not condemn it, thus removing any religious factors when deciding burial or cremation.
Jesus told us, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:60).
Our focus isn't on the dead. Once someone is dead, they no longer have the opportunity to be saved. Their fate has been determined for eternity. Our focus is proclaiming Jesus.
The issue is not whether buried or cremated -- rather am I prepared to meet God with how I'm living my life? Jesus said God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20:38). Buried, cremated, or running from God -- Jesus can breathe new life into you -- preparing you to identify with Him in the Resurrection.
By DANIEL AUSBUN
First Baptist Church, Moreland
