Death

Dictionary of Biblical Words:

A common, but hardly accurate, illustration of the death of Christ. Sin, correctly speaking, is no debt the creature owes to God. Love, obedience, righteousness, truth, are duties or debts a creature owes. The failure in these duties is sin, and the penalty of sin is death and the judgment of God. Now our debts are forgiven, not paid. Strictly speaking, Christ did not pay the sinner’s debt of love and obedience to God; as a perfect man He rendered due obedience, but not for us. For us He paid the penalty attaching to sin, nay, more, He was made sin, i.e., took the debtor’s (the sinner’s) place; and justified him, not by paying his debts, but by fully bearing every penalty attached to the non-payment of them. Hence, God can now righteously forgive us our debts.

Concise Bible Dictionary:

This is referred to in scripture under various aspects.

1. The general appointment for sinful man—the death of the body by the separation of the soul from it (Heb. 9:27²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27); Rom. 5:14¹⁴Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. (Romans 5:14); Rom. 6:23²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).

2. The spiritual condition of fallen man, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1,5¹And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)
⁵Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:5); Rom. 7:24²⁴O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:24)).

3. Death personified as a power of Satan: the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26²⁶The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26); Rev. 20:13-14¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13‑14)).

4. THE SECOND DEATH: eternal punishment (Rev. 2:11¹¹He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:11); Rev. 20:14¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14); Rev. 21:8⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)).

From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:

Death always involves separation in some way or another. It is used in Scripture in at least seven different ways. The context dictates which aspect is in view. They are:

• Physical death—to have the soul and spirit separated from the body (James 2:26²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)). It does not refer to extinction (Matt. 10:28²⁸And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28); Luke 20:38³⁸For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)). Physical death is a temporary condition for all who die—regardless whether a person is saved or lost (John 5:29²⁹And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:29); Acts 24:15¹⁵And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15)).

• Spiritual death—to be spiritually separated from God by not having a new life and nature (Eph. 2:1¹And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1); Col. 2:13¹³And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (Colossians 2:13)).

• Second death—to be eternally separated from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:6, 14⁶Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:14)).

• Apostate death—to be separated from God by abandoning one’s profession of the faith (Jude 12¹²These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; (Jude 12); Rev. 8:9⁹And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:9)).

• National death—to no longer exist as a nation on earth (Isa. 26:19¹⁹Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19); Ezek. 37; Dan. 12:2²And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)).

• Judicial death—to be positionally separated from the whole order of sin under the headship of Adam by the death of Christ (Rom. 6:2; 7:6²God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:2)
⁶But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Romans 7:6); Col. 2:20; 3:3²⁰Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Colossians 2:20)
³For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)).

• Moral death—to be separated from communion with God while living on earth (Rom. 8:13¹³For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13); 1 Tim. 5:6⁶But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. (1 Timothy 5:6)).

The reader will note that each aspect of death involves separation of some kind. It is sobering to think that sin is the cause of every one of these aspects of death! Truly, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).

The Bible tells us that there are only two states in which a person can die (physically). It is either in “in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13)) or “in your sins” (John 8:24²⁴I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:24)). To die in one’s sins is to pass out of this world without having had our sins put away before God judicially by the work of Christ on the cross. The person who dies in that awful condition will be responsible to pay the price of his sins under the righteous judgment of God in a lost eternity. To die in the Lord is to die being safe and secure from all judgment under the shelter of the blood of Christ, God’s Son (John 5:24²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24); 1 John 1:7⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). The death of a believer is “precious in the sight of the LORD” (Psa. 116:15¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)), whereas the death of an unbeliever is something that God has “no pleasure” in, because it means that that person will be eternally lost (Ezek. 33:11¹¹Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11); 2 Peter 3:9⁹The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)).

Death

Dictionary of Biblical Words:

Concise Bible Dictionary:

From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:

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