​Afraid of Dying?

by Steve Huedepohl
What if you had seen heaven with your very own eyes and knew for a fact that it is only a split second away on the other side of death?
Would that change your perspective about dying? Of course, because you would then know without a doubt that heaven is real.

The greatest fear is generally the fear of death, which means separation from loved ones and life as we know it. The other side of death is an unknown, but it doesn’t have to be. What if we had been to heaven, knew for a fact that it is real, and that we would see our loved ones again forever and ever! Then death wouldn’t matter so much, would it? It would just be like moving to another city.

What’s the difference then, in people with fear of death, and people without fear or less fear: Faith.

Faith that eternal life is real as promised in the Bible, which leads to hope while still here on earth. This faith takes the “sting” out of death. So how do you get this faith? We’ll get to that shortly.

How could the Apostle Paul write “Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55  Because he experienced this faith that leads to hope of eternal life.

Romans 3:23 tells us, “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  But Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see, Jesus, who was both God and man, created the universe (John 1:3), and he also paid the price for our sin on the cross. It’s only through His sacrifice that we have a way to eternal life. We must believe in Him, the Creator and Savior of the world, in order to have eternal life in heaven.

 When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there were 2 criminals hanging on crosses next to him. One of them had come to believe in Jesus and he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

 Jesus didn’t say, “Next year, or in a hundred years or a thousand years, you will be with me. He said “today.”

 So, for the Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)  That quick, in an instant after death, we shall be with Jesus. There’s no gap, no waiting period. The believer’s spirit will be instantly “with the Lord" after death.

Okay, so you say, this all sounds great. But how does one get this faith… to really believe like we know it for sure?
Answer: First by looking at all the evidences that God is real and the Bible is true. Then by asking God to show you He is real through these evidences.

There are 3 main categories of evidence:
Creation – the physical universe including all life
The Bible - which is backed up by other historical writings
Life Experiences – Seeing God in them.

 Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

The only thing you have to do to get this faith that leads to hope, is look for it and seek it with all your heart. The more you look, the stronger your faith will become.

 Some may say, but that’s just “blind faith.”

Actually, it’s not blind at all. There is overwhelming scientific and physical evidence that God exists, and that He has to be the one true God of the Bible.

Science you say? Yes, I am a mechanical engineer and I can tell you that true science demands that there was a Creator of this universe and all living things. Science can’t create anything. It’s just man’s attempt at explaining the world around us.  If you look at the details of creation like the earth in its perfect orbit, humans with the thousands of chemical processes that take place every second for us to live, and on and on, there had to be a Creator. It couldn’t have happened by an accident as evolution requires. Evolution is physically impossible no matter if you give it a million, billion or even a trillion years.

The men that gave us science, like Isaac Newton and many others, believed in the Creator God of the bible, not evolution. Evolution is one of the biggest lies ever told. Paul talks about this in Romans 1. For more information, see the other pages of this website and the links section to Answers in Genesis and Institute for Creation Research. There are thousands of pages of answers to practically every question on these websites.

Okay, but how do you know the God of the Bible is the true God. Well, there are  hundreds of reasons, but here’s a few: Jesus, who was God in the flesh, is the only religious leader who ever claimed to be God, die and came back to life again, with over 500 witnesses. There are hundreds of prophecies that came true in the Bible that were foretold centuries before. All of the disciples except John were martyred for their faith. How many people in their right mind would be willing to die for a fake? Again, for more information, see the links section, including Christian Answers.

And then there’s personal experiences. If you look for God in experiences, you will find Him. I could list many times I’ve seen Him working, but one of the greatest was the adoption of our precious daughter. All of the things that had to happen at just the right time, starting with the prayer of our 10 year old son for a sister, the “chance” meeting of my wife’s cousin at her grandfather’s funeral, and so on… it could only be the Lord that put it together.

So, if you want to experience this faith that leads to hope that carries us through life and past death, read and study the Bible all you can. Read the articles on the Answers in Genesis  and Christian Answers website. Listen to Christian radio. Find a Bible believing and teaching Christian church. Seek the Lord, and you will find Him. One of my favorite scriptures is Mark 9:24. A man told Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” I am a testimony that this is true.

May the Creator and Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, bless you and keep you!