The Pure Word of Life in the Day of Death

Ministering to Those Most in Need of the Hope Available Alone in Jesus Christ

Good Morning,

When the Directory gives directions to ministers and elders it does so in all solemnity. There is a general lack of seriousness in the church today, and no more so than in the way we do not take as gravely as we should the reality of death and what comes next. Either we speak of it not, or find ourselves using euphemisms that deny the power. In the somewhat long section today from the DPW we see that as the elders and minister, as well as brothers and sisters in Christ are brought opportunity to pastorally care for those in the throws of the end that some pointed questions need to be asked, especially if it is evident that the person declining knows not the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. All of our interactions with men should be seasoned with mercy and love. Yet, it should always show itself most pronounced when we are given opportunity to offer the gospel to those who are far from it. There is nothing more important than life, than the free gift of heaven.

It is in light of that particular truth that our DPW section warns us in no uncertain terms that as we are visiting with one near to be departed that we must not keep back the words of life. All that is to say that if we do find ourselves heart-to-heart speaking to a known brother than we are then to be found encouraging them to be at rest in Christ. There are no sweeter words. Let’s read it:

If it appear that he hath not a due sense of his sins, endeavours ought to be used to convince him of his sins, of the guilt and desert of them; of the filth and pollution which the soul contracts by them; and of the curse of the law, and wrath of God, due to them; that he may be truly affected with and humbled for them: and withal make known the danger of deferring repentance, and of neglecting salvation at any time offered; to awaken his conscience, and rouse him up out of a stupid and secure condition, to apprehend the justice and wrath of God, before whom none can stand, but he that, lost in himself, layeth hold upon Christ by faith.

If he hath endeavoured to walk in the ways of holiness, and to serve God in uprightness, although not without many failings and infirmities; or, if his spirit be broken with the sense of sin, or cast down through want of the sense of God’s favour; then it will be fit to raise him up, by setting before him the freeness and fulness of God’s grace, the sufficiency of righteousness in Christ, the gracious offers in the gospel, that all who repent, and believe with all their heart in God’s mercy through Christ, renouncing their own righteousness, shall have life and salvation in him. It may be also useful to shew him, that death hath in it no spiritual evil to be feared by those that are in Christ, because sin, the sting of death, is taken away by Christ, who hath delivered all that are his from the bondage of the fear of death, triumphed over the grave, given us victory, is himself entered into glory to prepare a place for his people: so that neither life nor death shall be able to separate them from God’s love in Christ, in whom such are sure, though now they must be laid in the dust, to obtain a joyful and glorious resurrection to eternal life.

In our walk through Romans 5 the past month one of the points I made on the regular was how we are on the hook both for our own sins as well as for the sin of Adam in the broken Covenant of Works. The opening paragraph calls on the minister to remind the person on his death bed that he himself is of course in need of repentance, and not just a generic kind, but a certain owning and dealing with the consequences of his transgressions, which do include the death he is now experiencing due to Adam. One would hope that as the light begins to dim that the sinner would then seek to know how to embrace the light that is to come. Deathbed conversations can possibly happen and there is a desire in the DPW to encourage you to consider that as you present Christ and all His benefits to the one in need. We do not preach and teach the gospel for practical reasons. It is not for mere fire insurance. Our goal must be the same as it is in all things, to glorify God and to ensure that all men might be able to enjoy Him forever. Speaking of the faith by which men are justified should be a joyful, yet sobering thing.

Resting and trusting in Jesus and the shedding of His blood is a monumental thing, it runs counter to everything natural to the heart of men hence why the DPW wisely notes that you are to seek the Holy Spirit’s help to change and conform the individual to the new life gifted and granted by the fulness of the covenant blessing. Hence why in the second paragraph there is such a focus on the mighty honor it is to be found among the righteous. This privilege is not our own and the more we understand that the more benefit we will gain from considering afresh the cross, the empty tomb, and all the goodness which alone comes from our Savior.

Another aspect of the encouragement we are to offer to the sick and dying is the promise that Jesus gave to Thomas in John 14. Our Lord has gone before to prepare the way that when it is our time to walk through the valley of the shadow of death we shall fear no evil. There are many passages we could point to that solemnly remind us of the delicate nature of life, and its short existence on this earth. The more we come to terms with the “wisp” of the wind of being and how eternity is much longer than what we are given here it should move us to be more eager to found in Christ when the merry-go-round comes to a stop. For the Christian of course, it doesn’t.

In closing, the main goal of this portion of the DPW is to primarily help ministers and elders to see more clearly their chief responsibility when they are physically at the bedside of the Lord’s people. They are to pastorally care, both in the challenging of the lost to be found, and for the found not to feel as if they are lost. Assurance at every moment of life, but especially near the time of the grace cannot be overstated. It really is one of the greatest benefits of being a true Christian believer, that no matter if death comes in a moment of in a hundred years the effect is the same, life eternal in Jesus Christ. Who could want anything to delay that, and yet better said who would want to withhold the knowledge of such from those who most need to hear it? Be not afraid to challenge a sinner in his sin, and the sin of a sinner to his face. For in so doing you may have won a brother for more than a moment, but for all eternity.

Here is Another Thought:

https://opc.org/os.html?article_id=185

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church