Ted Springer, a former professional baseball umpire once made the comment, "Life is a lot like a baseball game. It has its start and its excitement, its lively and its dull moments, and it has its finish. Sometimes a game is called off unexpectedly because of a sudden storm. Sometimes it lasts the normal nine innings and sometimes it runs a little extra, but every game comes to an end." It is disgusting and it is disappointing. It is frightening and it is frustrating. But all of us know that Ted Springer could not have been any more right on because life is a lot like a baseball game. It has its start and its excitement, its lively and its dull moments, and it has its finish. Sometimes life is called off unexpectedly because of the anger of a terrorist or the tragedy of disease. Sometimes it lasts a normal 65-70 years and sometimes it runs a little extra. But every life comes to an end. And in recent years, and especially as our nation has confronted terrorism, death has become the number one concern of many people.
Because of AIDS, freak bombings, shootings and cancer, death is no longer something that happens to the other person. At the same time, although none of us want to admit it, there are two things all of us have to admit. The first is that every single one of us are dying. George Bernard Shaw, that poet of the past said something if it were not so honest it would be humorous and that is that the statistics on death are amazing - one out of every one person dies. The same thing that happens to beast happens to man. We come from the dust and go right back to it.
I love the innocent and honest comment made by the young farm boy who said to his dad, "Dad, where did I come from?" He said, "You came from dust." He said, "Dad, where did you come from?" He said, "I came from dust." He said, "Dad, where did Grampa come from?" He said, "He came from dust." He said, "Where am I going back to?" He said, "You’re going back to dust." He said, "Well, Dad, where are you going back to?" He said, "I’m going back to dust." He said, "Where is Grampa going back to?" He said, "He’s going back to dust. Now will you stop asking so many questions and go out and do what I told you - hoe the tomatoes in the garden." So the boy went out to hoe the tomatoes. It had been an awfully dry year and the first strike he made with the hoe, some dust came up from the ground. He ran in to his dad and in all honesty and sincerity said, "Dad, you’d better get out here fast. Somebody is either coming or going right in our garden."
But the second thing all of us have to face is that death, for most people, comes sooner than they ever think. It may be by a day, it may be by a decade. It may be because of an accident or it may be the terror of a mass murderer. But death for most people comes a lot sooner than they ever think.
Some of us will remember the name of Pete Maravich who for ten years set all kinds of records with the National Basketball Association as he was known as Pistol Pete and played for the Boston Celtics. But in January 1989 he fell dead on the basketball floor at the age of 40. The last words he ever said to anyone were, "I am really feeling good." And the fact is, death for most people comes a lot sooner than we ever think and therefore it stands to reason we ought to prepare for death.
Some time ago a college age girl was critically injured in an automobile accident and she was in her dying moments. Do you know what were the last words she ever said to her mother? She said, "Mom, you taught me everything I had to know to get through college. You taught me how to party, how to have sex and how to drink. But you never taught me how to die. Now will you teach me fast because, Mom, I’m dying."
Well, the fact of the matter is, the Bible is a book that tells us how to live but it is also a book that tells us how to die. In fact, some of the most exciting stories in the Bible are the stories of death and dying. And sandwiched into these two verses in Hebrews chapter two are four things a loving God wants all of us to understand about death and dying. Some of them are things that everybody knows and then a couple of them are things that nobody knows.
But the first thing the Bible tells us about death and dying is something that most people don’t understand and that is that death is of the devil. Because if you will notice it says at the end of verse 14 that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
We have an expression today that goes like this -- "The devil made me do it" - and we use it as an excuse for everything from cheating on our income tax to cheating on our wife, from being careless with our morals or covetous with our money. And all we say is, "The devil made me do it." And sometimes we ought to take responsibility for our own actions.
I love the comment made by a little girl whose mother said to her, "Why in the world did you let Satan put it in your head to kick your little brother and pull his hair." And she looked at her mother and said, "Mom, kicking him was Satan’s idea but pulling his hair I thought of that all by myself." And the fact of the matter is, sometimes we ought to take responsibility for our own actions.
But when it comes to the subject of death, death is of the devil and the devil makes us do it because when God first created man He placed him in the midst of a beautiful garden. Death was not an event in His experience, a thought in His mind or a word in His vocabulary. But Satan entered that garden in the form of a serpent, tempted man to sin, and with sin came death. And that’s why the Bible calls death a murderer from the beginning. And the reason Hebrews 2:14 says, "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" is because death is the realm in which Satan exercises his authority over the human race because he tempts a man to sin and with sin comes death.
Some time ago in a major newspaper there was a heading, "Girl 16 Found Dead in Hotel Room". Below that heading was the picture of a father bending over the body of a girl identifying her as his daughter. An empty alcohol bottle in the room gave the clue that a drinking party had preceded her death. But the same thing that happened to her happens to all of us. The devil tempts a man to sin and sin when it is finished brings forth death.
I do not know why God would allow something so terrible as the tragedies that befall our country and the tragedies that befall others. But I can tell you that that death and dying that take place are not God’s idea. That was the devil’s idea because the devil tempts a man to sin and then sin brings forth death. And frankly if all the Bible talked about was physical death it would not be so bad. After all, when former President Eisenhower was in his dying moments, there were 16 people who offered him their hearts. And such offers usually come from people looking for a way to die. And if all the Bible talked about was physical death, it would not be so bad. But the Bible not only talks about physical death, it also talks about eternal death in which we are separated from God forever in what the Bible calls hell. And that’s why the Bible says, "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." And the first thing the Bible tells us about death is that death is the realm where Satan exercises his authority and death is the devil’s idea. Death was never God’s idea because it came as a result of sin coming into the world and with sin came death. And the first thing it says is that death is the devil’s idea.
But then there’s a second thing it tells us about death and it’s something that every single one of us knows and that is that the fear of death reduces us to slaves. Look what it says in verse 15, "And release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." And that word bondage means slavery - the fear of death reduces us to slaves. It dictates where we go, it dictates where we don’t go. It dictates what we eat, it dictates what we don’t eat. It dictates who we talk to. It dictates who we don’t talk to. It dictates how we travel, it dictates how we don’t travel. And the fear of death reduces us to slaves.
Well known personality Ted Turner said in Time magazine, "The greatest fear I have is the fear of death." Because of the fear of death, some people will never again step on a major airlines. Because of the fear of death, some people do not want to see a doctor. Because of the fear of death, some people when they are sick, the doctor is the first person they want to see.
Some time ago, a doctor said, "I’ve seen many people leaving my office saying, ’Oh my goodness, I’ve got an incurable disease,’ and the fact is, they have nothing but a chronic illness. But because they are so afraid of death, the moment they are ill they are convinced they have a deadly disease." Because of the fear of death, there are some people when they walk into a grocery store will always pick up certain items. Because of the fear of death, there are some people who when they walk into a grocery tore, there are some items they will never pick up. And the fear of death reduces us to slaves.
Some time ago a teenager wrote to a newspaper columnist and said, "I have this terrible fear that I am going to get sick and die. There is no reason for it. I’ve always been healthy. But I keep thinking I’ll get sick - something incurable - and die young.
Some time ago a man was honest enough to confess, "There is a superstitious saying that says, ’If you break a mirror you will have seven years of hard luck.’ I am so afraid of death that I am trying to break a mirror just to make sure I live seven more years even if it has to be hard luck."
Some time ago, another man was honest enough to say, "Every morning when I get up the first thing I do is to check the death column in the paper and if my name is not there I say, ’Congratulations! You made it another day.’"
The fear of death reduces us to slaves. In fact, we are so captured by the fear of death, some people feel there are only two ways to get away from it. One is, you have to laugh about it. In other words, you have to laugh to keep from crying.
Comedian Woody Allen said some time ago, "I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens."
Then the second way people feel the only way they can get away from it is just become completely naive as to how quickly it can happen.
The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter if we laugh about it, and it doesn’t matter if we are naive. The fact is, we are going to die. And what the Bible is saying is, the fear of death reduces us to slaves. It subjects us to bondage and dictates everything we do, everyplace we go, much of what we eat and most of whom we talk to. The fear of death reduces us to slave.
Now frankly, those two facts alone are not very encouraging. Death is of the devil and the fear of death reduces us to slaves. But then the Bible goes on and it says a third thing about death that is good news. And that is, Jesus Christ Himself died. Look at verse 14. "For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same. That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the death." He Himself is referring to Jesus Christ. It is saying Jesus Christ Himself died.
Now frankly you know as well as I do when we want to solve a problem we are not always the best at it and sometimes by trying to solve a problem we just create another one.
I love the story Reader’s Digest told of some men who were laying carpet in a woman’s living room. After they had completely laid the living room carpet they noticed a lump right in the center of the carpet. Well, the man reached in his pocket and noticed his cigarettes were gone and he assumed they were his pack of cigarettes. There was no way he was going to lift the whole carpet just for a pack of cigarettes. So he went out to his truck, got a 2x4, and he pounded that thing flat - so flat that you could not see one single thing. He was excited to no end that he had solved the problem. But you can imagine how terrified he was when he looked over on the sofa and there was his pack of cigarettes. But you can also imagine how terrified he was when the woman of the house walked into the room and said, "By the way, have you seen my parakeet?"
Sometimes we try to solve our own problems and all we do is create another one. But the fact of the matter is, when God wants to solve a problem, He really knows how to do it. Because if you notice it says again in verse 14, "And as much as the children are partakers of His flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same."
Jesus Christ wanted to solve our problem of death. But He knew in order to help us He had to become like us.
One time there were some construction workers paving a highway through a new area and they had to dynamite some rocks to pave the road. They noticed a colony of chipmunks right where they were going to dynamite and didn’t have the nerve to hurt them so they shoed them away. But just as they were about to light the dynamite the chipmunks came back. They shoed them away again. And then just as they were about to light the dynamite they came back, so they shoed them away again. All of a sudden one man came up and said, "Look, the only way you can help those chipmunks is become a chipmunk and then you could talk in language they understand."
God knew that to help us He had to become like us. And for that reason He became human flesh and blood. When Jesus Christ walked the surface of the earth He was as human as you and I are human. He laughed the way we laughed. He cried the way we cry. He became lonely the way we become lonely. As it says again in verse 14, "And as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same." At the same time He never sinned. But He knew before the sinner could be pardoned, the sin had to be punished. So what the Bible is saying is He took our place on a cross. And the punishment for our sins was placed upon Him and He died in our place. He was our substitute. He took the punishment for our sins and saved us by dying for us.
Some time ago I spoke in Haiti and while I was there I was reminded of the earthquake that hit the city of Port-Au-Price years ago. In the building at the time was a woman with a small baby. As soon as she saw the ceiling start to crack, the walls start to shake, she took that baby and she placed it on the floor and she stretched her body over it. When the ceiling came down and the walls fell in, it fell on the woman first. And she died in that baby’s place.
The Bible is saying that when the punishment for our sin fell, it fell on Christ first and He saved us by dying for us. They nailed Him where they should have nailed us. He died in our place and rose again the third day. Many times when there is a national tragedy, people ask, "How do we know God loves us?" I don’t know why God allows what He does. But the fact is, the cross says in the loudest way it can be said, "I love you, I love you, I love you." Because on that cross He died where we should have died. He took the punishment we deserved. And He died as our substitute.
But frankly, that death did not have a period behind it. It had an exclamation point because the third day He arose, victorious over death and the devil. And in so doing, as it says in verse 14, He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That means, He made him powerless to forever control your life in the area of death. That’s why the last thing it says about death is the best news of all.
The first thing it says is: Death is of the devil. The second thing it says is: The fear of death reduces us to slaves. The third thing it says is: Jesus Christ Himself died. And the fourth thing it says is the best of all: That is, because He died, death can now be a positive instead of a negative experience.
Notice it says in verse 15, "And release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." That word release means to "set you free." He has set us free from the power of death. The question is, how do you get that freedom?
The interesting thing is that the Bible does not use the two words "be baptized." It does not use the three words "go to church." It does not use the four words "live a good life." It does not us the five words, "take all of the sacraments." It does not use the six words "Keep all of the ten commandments." Instead it uses one word - believe. Jesus Christ Himself said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though He is dead will live. Whoever lives and believes shall never die." And that word believe means "to trust, depend, rely on."
One time I was on a speaking engagement in Louisiana I met a man who loved to fish. And he said to me, "Larry, before you go back to Dallas, please just spend a few hours fishing with me." I said, "Well, there are two problems." He said, "What are they?" I said, "One, I am a hunter, not a fisherman. I don’t know anything about fishing." He said, "That’s okay, I’ll teach you all you need to know." I said, "There’s a second problem." He said, "What’s that?" I said, "I have never learned how to swim." He said, "That’s no problem, there are life jackets in the boat." And so a bit reluctantly I went down into the boat with him and as soon as I did I noticed two things. First of all, the life jackets were in the front of the boat and I was in the back and I thought, "What if I hit the water before I hit the life jackets?" Then secondly, we got about 100 yards from shore and the first thing I saw was a genuine, authentic, Louisiana alligator. And I thought to myself, "Now for crying out loud, what good is a life jacket going to do with alligators around? All they will do is hold me in place so the alligator can tear me apart." All of a sudden it dawned on me that if I was going to get out there and back I had to trust a person to do it. I had to believe in him.
God is asking us to come to Him as sinners, recognize Christ died for us and arose, and put our trust in Christ alone - nothing else - as our only way to heaven. Not depending on your good life to save you. Not depending on your baptism to save you. Not depending on the sacraments to save you. But trusting Christ and Him alone as your only way to heaven. And the moment you put your trust in Christ, God gives you eternal life as a free gift and you are set free from the power of death. Yes, the breath stops and our body still grow cold. But the Bible says absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And the moment you trust Christ you are set free from the power of death and that’s why the Bible says when you know Christ the day of your death is better than the day of your birth. Because the moment you trust Christ you know you will be in the presence of God forever.
Back during World War II, there was Belgian parachutist dropped in his country to work with an underground movement against the Germans. He was captured by the Gestapo, accused of spying, and put in prison, awaiting execution. In the cell along side of him was a pastor also accused of spying. The two of them discovered they could communicate to one another by tapping the Morse code on the wall that separated them. So one day the parachutist sent a message to the pastor that said, "It is hell to be alone with yourself." And the pastor sent a message back to the parachutist that said, "It is heaven to be alone with your Lord." And sensing the man’s need he arranged for a Bible to be sent into that man’s cell. But that day, not only did a Bible come into his cell but Jesus Christ came into his life. He trusted Christ as Savior. And on the way out to be executed, he sent a message back to the pastor that said, "I am headed out for life, not for death."
That’s how it is when you know Christ. You are headed out to life, not to death. And what these two verses are saying are four things: Death is of the devil. The fear of death reduces us to slaves. Jesus Christ Himself died. And because He died, death can be a positive instead of a negative experience.
Therefore, everything these two verses are saying could be sandwiched into one sentence. That is the death of Christ has brought destruction and deliverance. Destruction for the devil. Deliverance for those who believe. The death of Christ has brought destruction and deliverance. Destruction for the devil. Deliverance for those who believe.
Billy Graham once said something I couldn’t agree with more. He said, "I have stood by the bedside of dying people and I have noticed there is as much difference in the death of a Christian and a non-Christian as there is between heaven and hell." Now you know why. Because before you know Christ, death is one of your biggest fears. But once you trust Christ, it is one of your greatest adventures.
I found out that the pilot of the plane that was flown into the second tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, was a believer in Jesus Christ. I am here to tell you, the terrorists did not defeat him. He defeated the terrorists. Because he did not go down, he went up.
When I went to high school I did not particularly like the place. It wasn’t school I couldn’t stand, it was just the principal of the thing. But I used to go home from school a lot happier than I went. And I one time heard of a man who was dying and the last thing he said to those gathered around his bedside were, "I’m leaving you with the joy of a boy bounding home from school." That’s exactly how it is when you know Christ because the death of Christ has brought destruction and deliverance.
Therefore I ask you the same question I’ve been asking for more than 40 years and that is, "Have you trusted Christ as your only way to heaven? Because to know Him is to not know death."
Years ago there was a well-known pastor by the name of Dr. Campbell Morgan and he had in the church a woman who had just given birth to a baby. But because of complications that set in at the time of birth although the baby was alive and well the woman was dying. One morning, Dr. Morgan received a call that said she was only expected to live a matter of moments and requested that he be there. So Dr. Morgan went to the hospital room and when he walked in, the doctor walked in behind him. So Dr. Morgan stepped to the corner of the room and let the doctor take care of his patient when all of a sudden, the woman started to scream. "I want my baby. I want my baby. I want to take my baby with me." Now the doctor looked at her and said, "Ma’am, now your baby is in the most loving arms. The people you want to have it have it. But there is no way you can take that baby with you. The gate through which you must pass, you must pass through alone." At that point, Dr. Morgan, unable to control his emotion, walked up to the doctor, put his arm on his shoulder and pulled him away from that woman and he said, "Don’t you dare tell that woman that. That woman is a believer in Jesus Christ. So if you speak to her tell her the truth. The gate through which she must pass is wide enough for two - both she and her Savior. And the one who has led her all through life will not desert her now."
There is a gate. Sooner or later all of us have to pass through it. It may be expected or unexpected. But it you trust Christ, that gate will be wide enough for two - you and your Savior. And the One who has led you all through life will not desert you then and where He is, there you will be also.
