There are some powerful Bible verses that give hope for those who have died in the faith, so may these be of good use for giving others hope in Christ and His resurrection power.
A Mixed Audience
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
There are some powerful Bible verses that give hope for those who have died in the faith, so may these be of good use for giving others hope in Christ and His resurrection power. To begin with, every minister must preach the gospel at a funeral or memorial service. There is no exception. Even if the funeral is for an unbeliever, the gospel of repentance and faith must be included in the service. To fail to do so is to fail God and lose an opportunity to share Christ. Every funeral service has a mixture of saved and lost people, so we can encourage and give hope for the believers but warn the unbelievers of God’s judgment on all who reject faith in Christ in the hopes that they might repent.
Raised From the Dead
We have to be honest to all the audience…the saved and the lost and tell them, that everyone has “an appointment for men to die” after which comes the judgment of God (Heb 9:27). There is not only a time to be born, but a time to be born (Eccl 3:2). When Jesus went to raise Lazarus from the dead, He told Martha “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:25-26).
Jesus said that God is “not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:38), and is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt 22:32). Even though they had died, Jesus speaks as if they are still living, and they are! That was only a physical death because Jesus said “though he die, yet shall he live” and whoever “believes in me shall never die.”
Hope for the Hurting
Paul writes that “we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13). That is the hope of the Christian. It isn’t good bye but see you later (Rev 22). But…if you have never been brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ…it is goodbye…and it is forever
Paul knew that the moment he died he’d be with the Lord so Paul wrote “Yes we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8), and writing “we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord” (2 Cor 5:6). I think like most believers, he was “torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil 1:23).
Finishing the Race
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…”
When a believer is laid in the ground, it is not burial ground but resurrection ground. We grieve and mourn over a cocoon when the butterfly has flown. Now we know that our beloved one who passed away can truly say:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:6-8).
Psalm 116:15 says a lot about what God thinks of thier passing: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” They may be gone but they are not forgotten. They may be missing on the earth but they are not missing in heaven.
The Resurrection
Job 14:14-15 gives us an answer to the question, “If a man (or woman) dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come. You would call, and I would answer you; you would long for the work of your hands.” Job seemed to understand that if he died, he would be renewed or resurrected for certain and he would also see the Lord. God “would call, and [Job] would answer…,” so Job knew that the Lord longed “for the work of [His] hands” which means that God longs for us to be fully present with Him.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This body is decaying daily and passing away but God is building us “a house not made with hands” but an “eternal [one] in the heavens.” Our bodies might be destroyed but our heavenly body will never be.
For now, we “weep with those who weep” but rejoice that Jack has made it into heaven and now, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more hospitals, no more death…
The End of Death
The Apostle John wrote, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:1-5). God promises that those who have repented and trusted in Christ “will see his face” (Rev 22:4).
Concluding Message
Maybe we’re a little like the Apostle Paul who said, “I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed” (Phil 1:23), but for us who yet live, it is still needful for us to be here or the Lord would have called us home too.
If you’re still drawing breath, God still has a purpose for you. If you never have trusted in Jesus, He says to you and to ally today, even if you die, you can live again and receive eternal life, so “Do you believe this” (John 11:26c)? Remember, God is the God of the living, not the dead, so it’s not goodbye for those who believe but “See you later.” For those who do not believe, it is goodbye forever, so I pray you put your trust in the Lord today and some tomorrow you can see them again, and… it will be the greatest family reunion anyone’s ever seen.
Conclusion
I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.
Here is some related reading for you: 6 Christian Funeral Prayers and Scriptures
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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