WHAT'S IN A WORD?

Last year death claimed many notable African-Americans. Among these were opera singer Robert McFerrin, Sr., father of jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin; R & B singer Ruth Brown; Gerald Levert, son of O'Jays singer, Eddie Levert and passionate crooner known for his crude gyrations; CBS newsman Ed Bradley; energetic keyboardist and somewhat singer Billy Preston; former heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson; Earl Woods, father, mentor, career crafter and best friend of Tiger Woods, world's #1 golfer; famed photographer and film-maker Gordon Parks; baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett; Coretta Scott King, wife of assassinated civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; soul singer Wilson Pickett; macho, smoothed-voiced Lou Rawls and the #1 workout man in show business, James Brown.

I recently heard two Clark-Atlanta University radio announcers lamenting the passing of many of these. As they remorsefully reviewed the list of the departed ones, I was attracted by the term they used for death: these personages did not die, they observed, they transitioned. An interesting euphemism, I thought. I must admit, I had never heard this before and then I started thinking, what does the Bible say about death? A few comments are in order:

1. Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, Eccl 12:7; Job 34 4:14, 15; Lk 23:46; Jn 19:30; Acts 7:59; etc.

2. It is an intrusion, and an unnatural separation because it was not in the original divine design for man; it is a consequence of the Fall. Scripture emphasizes the psychosomatic union of body and soul or body and spirit, cf. for example, Gen 2:7; Mt 10:28; etc.

3. It is man's enemy, his last enemy which will have been fully and perfectly subjected to Christ's cosmic rule at the eschatological resurrection, 1 Cor 15:26-28 and Heb 2:7-10, 14, 15 fulfilling the Messianic Ps 8: 5, 6.

4. When Adam committed cosmic treason by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, he experienced death in two other dimensions:
spiritually -- he and all those descending from him by ordinary generation lost communion with and are alienated from God, Gen 3:8-10; Eph 2:12. This is a condition consisting of "the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his own nature, which is commonly called Original Sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it." Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 18

judicially -- all are guilty in Adam, Rom 5:12, and are justly under God’s wrath, Eph 2:3. They are already condemned by God, Jn 3:18, whose wrath now abides on them, 3:36, and will receive the ultimate judicial punishment, the second death, when Christ returns, Rev 20:11-15.

But, is there a transition? Yes, there is, for death is in fact a change or changeover, a shift or a move, to another location. It is the continued conscious existence in another realm. Paul comforts believers by stating that “.. to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Phi 1:21. He assures us that his departure would usher him directly into the presence of Christ, 23. Elsewhere he says that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord, 2 Cor 5:8. So a transition from one location to another does take place.

However, I may hasten to add that this transition is only into the state between death and the Parousia, the Second Coming of Christ. In this intermediate state of body-less existence, the believer groans to be clothed (literally to be “further clothed” or to be “clothed upon,” Derek Thomas, "The Eschatology Of The Westminster Confession and Assembly" in Ligon Duncan, ed., The Westminster Confession Into The 21st Century Vol. 2, 328) with ".. a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.. longing to put on [his] heavenly dwelling" 2 Cor 5:1, 2. The believer's ultimate article of clothing is not received in a mere transition but in a glorious transformation which will occur when Christ “.. will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Phi 3:21. It is for this ultimate glory that the believer in this intermediate state groans, as indeed, the entire cosmos, subjected by the sovereign God to a state of futility after Adam's sin, groans to be clothed anew from on high, Rom 8:18-24.

For the believer therefore, death is also a friend that ushers him into the very presence of God. This hope is firmly grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.


What about the unbeliever? Scripture doesn't say much about his intermediate state but "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment," Heb 9:27, gives us an accurate idea. The overwhelming New Testament evidence regarding the afterlife of the unbeliever is directed toward his ultimate condition in hell, which is described as a place of utter darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, Mt 25:30; eternal fire, 18:8; a hell of fire, 9; unquenchable fire, Mk 9:43; deathless worms, 48; etc.

Yes, the Bible affirms that earthly life does transition into eternal existences: the one, a glorious transformation, the other, an unimaginable torment. There is no tertium quid, no third option: the ultimate destination of man is either heaven or hell.

Such doctrines as annihiliationism (the extinction of all unbelievers); reincarnation into other rounds of existence; psychopannychia (soul sleep) and so on, are wishful but futile fabrications of the fallen mind which seeks to mitigate the gravity of sin and to diminish the holy justice of God. These are bad words; avoid them. But words like separation, intrusion, enmity, guilt. condemnation, and so on, are good words; use them. What's in these words? Sound theology.

2007 IS HERE!

After what seemed like a whirlwind, the old 2006 has gone; the New Year has come. With smooth effortlessness and diminished fanfare, the New Year eased itself upon us and once again, according to inexorable Providence, we are at that place that is rightly termed “in the beginning.”

We are already at that point in' 07 that: some have mournfully taken down their Christmas decorations; hopefully few are steeling themselves to deal with the sour reality of festive worshopping-- the oncoming onslaught of finance principals and charges; others are lamenting their additional sweet rolls dancing around the center of their body circumference; some of this latter group are calling 1-800-Jenny Craig to discharge this excess; others don't care; yet others are back to their predictable patterns and familiar work environs.

How did you fare in 2006? Did you keep your promise to read through the Bible? Were you more faithful in your studying as you promised at the beginning? Were you as disciplined in returning calls, making visitations and meeting deadlines as you had pledged? Were you faithful in tithing, even during the lean summer months and lavish Christmas holidays? Were you transparent to your accountability partners? Was your home an accurate reflection of the kingdom of God? Was your thought life pure? Were you more responsible in the expenditure of your time, money and other resources? In sum, did you really pursue Christ? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding ……………….. Fill in the blank. Tell the truth, ease your conscience please the Lord, shame the devil!

Whether 2006 was one of deep regret or guarded satisfaction, the stark reality is that we cannot reclaim and redo it -- its feathers have flown. Either the locusts have foraged it or the wheels of joy have graced it. The question is what’s in store for 2007. As I observe some of the contemporary trends, I dare make the bold prediction that we will witness the following:
 female (im)pastors (sic.) will continue to rise.
Rooted in a misplaced sense of egalitarianism, equal and civil rights concerns, feminism and wanton liberalism, and above all, a heightened disdain for honest biblical exegesis, the move for an increased female clergy will produce its harvest in many new frontiers.

 evangicouples, i.e., husband-and-wife divine duos, will also increase.
Born of the same conditions as the female preacher, this dynamic presents a similar social and religious image as the female clergy, except for the additional Hollywood flair-- they are craftily cosmeticized and handsomely presented with an enticement becoming the debonair attractions of Ebony and Jet magazines. After all, there’s no dichotomy between gorgeousness and godliness@#!! They usually dominate their billboards in such a way that their print is either hardly legible or psychologically unimportant to the viewer. They are the advertisement; they are the church; they are glowing; they are growing.

 the feminization of the church will continue.
This dynamic reflects itself not only in the two categories above, i.e., women in the judicial leadership of the church and male complicity with it, but also in a distressing lack of serious exegesis and sustained, robust exposition of the cross of Christ; (consequently) a distorted feeling-oriented, psychologizing of the gospel; the prominence of effeminates in music ministry; theologically flabby lyrics; the burdensome, nasal drone of male and female praise singers putting out this music; etc. The roots of feminization go back to the era of medievalism which was characterized in part by an unfounded notion that women were more spiritually receptive than men and in maternal and bridal mystic thinking regarding (the boy child) Christ. These trends will continue.


 the reversal of the creation mandate will continue.
The divine mandate for man, made in the image of God, Gen 1:26, 27, to subdue and rule over God's creation, 28, to work it and guard it, 2:15, as God's vice-regent on earth, will continue to be flagrantly disobeyed as more and more animals will continue to sleep in our beds, eat at our tables and even have better foods than some of us do (at least in my student days). Have you not seen the commercial in which a regal feline is pampered with a sumptuous feast of salmon and greens from a can? Production of holistic multi-vitamin and mineral supplements for dogs and cats is one of the new, booming businesses in this country. Last week I even saw a car emblazoned with the advertisement of its owner as an available and bonded animal sitter!

 more Blacks will embrace Reformed Theology.
Blogs and bloggers are increasing. Attendance at conferences is on the rise. The diverse attendees at the November Pastors’ Conference at Glendale Baptist Church in Miami last year show that not only African-Americans but also those Americans hailing from the West Indies, Cuba, Mexico, South America, Africa and other places, are turning to theology as it is biblically presented. A fresh wind is blowing in Babylon! What a great joy to see our gracious, sovereign Lord breaking the yoke of entrenched errant and heretical teaching that has so crippled us! What an abounding consolation to experience the freeing and empowering grace of the true gospel! Now we are beginning to understand the profound meaning of “Amazing Grace”! Now we can truly sing the songs of Zion while in a strange land! Now our Triune God is “putting the amazing back into grace” (thanks, Michael Horton) for us! Now we are beginning to understand the meaning of pro nobis, for us, in the vicarious, atoning sacrifice of Christ! Now we are starting to grasp the unfathomable excellencies of the only true God Who has condescended to reveal Himself to sinful creatures in His Word and deeds in history.
We pray that this pattern will spread downward and outward as our gracious God sovereignly brings His truth, the only truth, to our hearts and lives.

May we live this year with a renewed determination to be better witnesses, workers and worshippers of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, ever looking to the Son’s appearing and crying out, “even so, come Lord Jesus.” May we resolve to liveour lives, coram deo, before the face of God.