Death’s Good Purpose

“You turn man to destruction, and say, Repent, you children of men!”

Psalm 90:3

God has turned us all over to death, and there is no escape.  “It is appointed to men once to die” (Heb. 9:27), and “there is no discharge in that war” (Eccl. 8:8).  Nothing God’s beloved Son did for us changed that awful curse on the human race.

But God did not leave us hopeless; He said, “Repent!”  That is, the curse of death does not fall on us as soon as we are born; we are given time to fear and to turn to God and receive forgiveness of sin before we die.  God’s curse of death has a good purpose!  It was to instill fear in us, to sober us up, and motivate us to seek the God who had cursed us.  All wise men take advantage of that precious opportunity to prepare their souls for the day of their death.

What the Son did was to provide eternal relief from the fear of death (Heb. 2:15).  His baptism of our spirits creates in us a fellowship with God that takes away the fear of death (1Cor. 15:55).  Receiving Christ’s baptism of life puts an end to death’s dominion because it transforms us from being mere humans, cursed by God, to being children of God, blessed forever with the Son.

God’s curse of death is still on all humans; the Son could not change that.  But he could change us into new creatures that are not under that curse.  If you are still human, do what God says and repent.  If you are a “new creature in Christ Jesus”, rejoice!  You have been promised eternal life!