The Biblical teaching on what it
means to be a human is very clear on the extent of our existence. It teaches that every human is an eternal
being. Ultimately our bodies and souls
exist forever. Our individual selves and
self-consciousness are eternal. The
Scriptures are absolutely emphatic about this.
Our life here on earth is short, but we continue to exist forever.
Here are a few Biblical statements in support of this idea.
Heb. 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
John 5:28 – 29 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when
all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done
good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the
resurrection of judgment.
Rev. 20:12 - 15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which
is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books,
according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each
one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.
One of the worst conclusions of
human wisdom is that death ends it all.
Evolution teaches that all that we know happened by blind chance and has
no goal or purpose. It teaches that
humans have evolved accidentally from stardust, and when we die we simple cease
to exist and return to dust. There is evidence for this. Everyone does die and return to the
dust. They seem to cease to exist. If it were not for God’s verbal revelation we
would not know otherwise. But God has
spoken. His Word teaches us that the
intense yearning in our hearts for permanence, significance, and love, is not an
unfortunate phantom desire, it is, in fact, an actual echo of our true nature! We
are designed to exist forever, and in fact we all do! It is absolutely a temporary solution to stop
your body from its physical functioning.
It does not accomplish what is often thought. When one dies he does not cease to
exist. He immediately is ushered into
eternity. His body will one day be
resurrected as well. All humans will
exit forever as body and soul in a specific location being fully
self-conscious. This is one of the
greatest tragedies of suicide. The person
seems to think they are escaping the trouble they are experiencing; instead
they are moving to a much worse situation from which there is no escape.
The mantra is: “Suicide is a
permanent solution to a temporary problem.” However the truth is, suicide is a
temporary solution that is no solution at all.
Suicide is not permanent in any sense.
The individual does not cease to exist, and his body will be
raised. The last part of this mantra is
misleading as well. The “temporary problem” is more intense than the author of
this mantra realizes. The “temporary
problem” is very big and one hundred percent pervasive. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God. The problem is so big, God
himself can only solve it. The good news
is that repentance, redemption, and reconciliation are possible while we live
on this earth.
We were made in God’s image and
were made to fellowship with God himself.
Sin and God’s curse have separated us from God, but God has provided the
way for our reconciliation. Christ has
made peace for all who believe. Our long-term
problem is that we are in rebellion against our Creator. Sin has many, many, negative results. Certainly discouragement and depression are
results of our extreme fall from what we were made to be. But God, being rich in mercy, has provided
the way for salvation for all who believe!
Acts 16:31 And
they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved, you and your household.”
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