Dying Ends Life
When we talk about dying, we must begin with the obvious because you do not wade far into this issue before the obvious is obscured by euphemisms and specious rhetoric.
The result of dying is death. Death is the lack of life and is irreversible.
Death was not designed in the Garden of Eden, but humans brought it on themselves. When Adam and Eve sinned, God tells them the result:
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)
The Apostle Paul was explicit on the cause of death:
For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
The universal nature of death permeates the entire Bible. In the Old Testament, we read:
All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:2–3)
Again, the Apostle Paul succinctly states the truth, tying it to sin:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— (Romans 5:12)
After the fall into sin, death is the conclusion to life.
In her article, “Life After Death,” Time magazine editor-at-large Belinda Luscombe insightfully observed, “Dying is not a technical glitch in the operating system; it’s a feature.”1Time magazine, 4/24/17, p. 41
In other words, given enough time, post-lapsarian life ends. Without supernatural intervention, human life on earth has an endpoint.
Generally, this is referred to as “natural death.” Medical examiners and coroners typically classify deaths into five categories: Natural, Accident, Suicide, Homicide, and Undetermined. The opposite of natural death is death caused by external forces. Put another way, death would only occur naturally if the external forces were not at work. It would eventually happen.
Divine Privilege
As I indicated above, natural death was not the original design for human beings. Death resulted from disobedience, which we call “sin.” Yet even sin is no match for the will of life’s Creator. God describes himself this way:
“See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)
This authority over life and death is reinforced throughout Scripture. The psalmist acknowledges:
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. (Psalm 31:15)
We can find similar references in 1 Samuel 2:6 and Job 1:21.
This authority over life and death is on full display when the dead are brought back to life (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37; 13:20-21; Luke 7:11-17; Mark 5:35-43; John 11:1-44; Acts 9:36-42; Acts 20:7-12). The best example of this authority over life and death is on display at the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 27:52-53; 28:1-6). So compelling is this authority that the Apostle Paul stated:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20–22)
God holds this authority as the author of human life (Psalm 139:13-16).
Of all that God created, human life has the distinction of being created in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). In a narrow sense, this was perfection (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18). It was a condition of holiness that was lost with the disobedience that occurred in the Garden of Eden.
In the wider sense, the “image of God” refers to the distinctive characteristic of human life that distinguishes it from all other created life. Even in our sinful condition, our uniqueness is that we bear, began, or were created in God’s image (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9).
That is why while killing plant and animal life is permitted, God does not allow taking human life apart (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13). God does permit exceptions in matters of capital punishment (Genesis 9:6), warfare, and divine judgment (Joshua 1:6; 1 Samuel 15:3). Apart from those exceptions, protecting human life is a top priority because a lifetime provides both the opportunity to come to faith (Hebrews 9:27) and to be the object of service and sacrifice for others as they come to and practice their faith (Luke 10:25-37; John 15:13; Acts 2:44-45; 20:35; Romans 12:1; Philippians 2:3-4; Hebrews 13:16; James 1:27).
For these reasons, we are not to kill people or to practice self-killing (suicide).
Common Thread
Advocates for assisted suicide regularly predicate their position on an often unspoken notion that all there is to life is life in this world. In other words, this is a great life so long as you can emotionally and physically enjoy it. When that cannot occur anymore, life is not worth living and so, the argument goes, people should have the right to kill themselves. Because of technological advancement, we should have the right to assistance in getting that done efficiently and painlessly, with dignity.
Christians, however, reject the notion that we are on a quest to build heaven on earth. Our time in this life is devoted to glorifying God in all things (1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11). We do that in the best or the worst circumstances (Philippians 4:10-13).
0 Comments