How to Be Free from the Fear of Death E-Book

Ray Comfort

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 203

Beschreibung

Are you afraid of dying? Some people admit to their fear of death while others, not wanting to appear weak or vulnerable, lie awake at night silently suffering over thoughts of their mortality. In How to Be Free from the Fear of Death, Ray Comfort addresses the subject head on, providing insight on life's greatest problem: death. Overcome your fear as you • understand why we suffer, age, and die, • consider what happens next, • recognize God's power over death, • discover true freedom, develop habits to maintain your peace, and • share your newfound joy with others. You can experience the greatest comfort during your moment of greatest need. Rest peacefully knowing that death is not the end but a wonderful beginning.

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BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

How to Be Free from the Fear of Death

Copyright © 2021 Ray Comfort

978-1-4245-6281-7 (faux)

978-1-4245-6282-4 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible, public domain. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP). Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked NASB95 are taken from the New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

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ENDORSEMENTS

Now more than ever, fear is relentless; it never stops. The fear of death is a continual assault on our peace of mind. Like a storm, it can be all-consuming and unending, beating us down, eroding our sanity, stripping us of joy. This book has the cure.

Kirk Cameron TV and Film Actor and Producer

Confession: When I was a child, the fear of death ruled my life. Even though I didn’t have a clue who God was, I prayed obsessively that God would let me live forever. When I say obsessively, I mean fifty to a hundred times a day. If someone had given me Ray’s latest book when I was a child, it would have saved me years of deathly terror. I know it will do the same for you.

Todd Friel Host, Wretched Radio/TV

We are all fearful of the unknown. Especially when the subject is what happens to us when we die. My friend Ray Comfort will tell you how to overcome that fear, right here in this book. Read it now!

Tim Wildmon President, American Family Association and American Family Radio

The Bible reminds us that each one of us has an appointment with death. It is part of the human condition. Yet the thought of death can paralyze us with overwhelming fear. That is, unless you know that death doesn’t get the last word and the awful sting of the grave has been removed. Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, paying the penalty for all our sins that brought death into the world, I was able to look at the lifeless body of my firstborn son and realize that I will see him again and be with him for all of eternity. I know that because he and I freely received what Jesus did for us at Calvary. Read Ray’s book and discover that Christ has offered us everlasting life and the best is surely yet to come.

Janet Parshall Host/Executive Producer, In the Market with Janet Parshall

Have you ever considered Jesus as a parachute or a lifeboat to save us from certain death? In this book, Ray Comfort employs these analogies to illustrate how we need not fear death. See how you can become a lighthouse for Jesus in this dark and stormy world!

Josh D. McDowell Author

Perhaps you’re thinking: If there is a God, I’ll get into heaven on my own steam. After all, I’m a pretty good person. My good deeds outweigh my bad. Therefore, I don’t need Jesus to forgive my sins. If you think that way, you’ve never met my brilliant friend Ray Comfort. In a minute or two, with just a couple of questions, Ray helps people realize that claim is not only unbiblical, but it wouldn’t even hold up in a court of law. And Christianity is not just fire insurance for eternity. By trusting in Christ, you will also participate in the adventure you were made for in this life right now—to know God through Jesus Christ and to make him known to others (John 17:3, Matthew 28:19). Now let Ray take away your fear of death and show you how to live this exciting adventure right into eternity. It will be real life and anything but ordinary.

Frank Turek Apologist, Author, Public Speaker, Radio Host CrossExamined.org

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to those who are still on this side of eternity, in the earnest hope that they will take seriously the Bible’s amazing statement that Jesus Christ “has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (see 2 Timothy 1:10).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword by John MacArthur

Preface

Chapter One: The Ultimate Intrusion

Chapter Two: Surely Genesis Is a Myth

Chapter Three: The Bible and the Scientific Method

Chapter Four: The Heart of the Issue

Chapter Five: A Rich Man’s Big Mistake

Chapter Six: Solomon’s Conclusion

Chapter Seven: When God Doesn’t Answer

Chapter Eight: The Fight for Faith

Chapter Nine: Do Not Marvel

Chapter Ten: The Bedfellows

Chapter Eleven: A Lighthouse

Chapter Twelve: The Amazing Power of Conflict

Chapter Thirteen: The Evolution of Jerks

Chapter Fourteen: The Battle of Discouragement

More Promises about Fear

About the Author

FOREWORD

The COVID pandemic in 2020 exposed something significant about the effects of secularization on our society. It became clear that as our culture moves steadily farther away from God, people are more burdened than ever with fear. Most of all, they dread the end of this life, and they shrink from any thought of what comes after. In the wake of the coronavirus, fear of death spread like a plague though our culture faster—and with more devastating results—than the virus itself.

It is of course quite natural for fallen humanity to fear death. Death is “the wages of sin” (Romans 6:231), and it is our most powerful and persistent enemy. Scripture says that when Christ’s triumph over every last vestige of evil is fully realized, “the last enemy that will be abolished is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” The truth is, there are many ways to avoid taxes. But there is no way to avoid death. “In Adam all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22, emphasis added). “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). In other words, each of us has an appointment with the undertaker and a court date with the judge of the universe—and nothing in your future is any more certain than that.

Fear is the appropriate response for anyone who is unprepared for that reality. Not fear of death per se, but every soul should tremble at the thought of divine judgment. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). He was saying God is the One whom we should fear. Indeed, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10).

The gospel, however, announces that repentant sinners can find grace and forgiveness so that they can truly face death not with fear but with full assurance of eternal life. The apostle Paul shows how and why. By his own description, he was the foremost of sinners. He had lived the life of a staunch Pharisee—self-righteous, hypocritical, and openly cruel toward others. He had once led a zealous campaign to put Christians to death for their faith. But then he was arrested by the gospel. His heart and mind were transformed. He wrote, “I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). After his conversion, he devoted all his energies to proclaiming the gospel he once tried to silence.

Fully aware that his efforts to take the gospel to the gentile world would ultimately cost him his life, he wrote, “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, emphasis added). “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Paul’s epistles are full of that confidence, even though the threat of death constantly pursued him—he was “beaten times without number, often in danger of death” (2 Corinthians 11:23). “I die daily,” he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:31.

He was ultimately arrested and condemned to die for preaching that Christ, not Caesar, is Lord of all. As the date of his execution drew near, he wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8, emphasis added).

Every well-grounded Christian can likewise face death without fear, and the apostle deliberately stressed that truth. This was the whole reason Christ entered this world and died as an atoning sacrifice: so “that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14–15).

Slavery is the right word for it. There is no more oppressive bondage than fear of death. To be gloriously liberated from that fear is the birthright of every genuine believer in Christ. If you long to be free from the fear of death, this book will be a great help and encouragement to you. Ray Comfort unfolds in careful detail the biblical message showing how it is possible to live and die with courage and secure confidence. This is a timely, edifying, crystal-clear study of how and why Christ is the answer to that oppressive burden of fear that is so often stirred by the thought of death. If you’re looking for answers to the most daunting questions about life and death, time and eternity, this book is a perfect starting point.

May you be encouraged, may your faith be emboldened as you read, and may you know the peace of God that surpasses all human comprehension.

John MacArthur

1 All verses in this foreword are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB95).

PREFACE

Something frightening happened the very day I began to write this book. I had had writer’s block for an entire week. It was so serious I thought that perhaps my writing days were over. That experience was unusual for me, but fortunately, the familiar flow had suddenly begun, and thoughts were jostling their way to the front of my mind like runners pushing against each other for the lead in the final lap of an Olympic race.

I was deep in thought as I rode my electric bike into a strong headwind—thankful for the effortless speed that kept me a little under twenty miles per hour. I leaned forward and said to my dog, as the wind blew back his white fur, “Is that good, Sam?” He loves standing on the platform I had made for him and was so intensely looking for cats and those of his own kind that he hardly acknowledged my question.

I had already glanced behind me. Nothing coming. In seconds we would be at our ministry building. I had planned to call Sue, my wife, when I entered the parking lot and tell her that I wouldn’t be coming in. It was near dinnertime, so I would turn around and go straight home. That thought jostled in front of all the other runners. Ah, the alleyway. I will turn now, and as I do, I will glance behind me to make sure that nothing is com—

That very second, I heard a most frightening sound as I was about to turn. It was the roar of a large black SUV that must have pulled out from a parking space on the side of the road before accelerating past me. The driver had no idea I was about to suddenly turn left. As he roared past, he didn’t know that I had escaped death by the skin of my teeth. If I hadn’t heard that sudden roar, both myself and my precious dog would certainly have died. I had just had a near-death experience.

That night, after dinner, I soberly told Sue that she had come very close to being a widow that afternoon. My voice trembled, and tears welled in my widened eyes as I spoke.

I have thought over and over that had I turned one millisecond sooner, I would be in eternity…and you wouldn’t be reading this book. But the grim reaper didn’t take me, and now you’re reading it. Perhaps I was divinely preserved for this very moment because God had you in mind that day.

Such a thought gives me great joy.

Best wishes,

Ray Comfort

May 2020

CHAPTER ONE

THE ULTIMATE INTRUSION

There are two things in life I hate with a passion. The first is disease-ridden, blood-sucking mosquitoes. Millions throughout the world know the misery of tiny welts that quickly erupt into a volcano of hot, itching lava for two or three miserable days. Sprays, scratching, ointments, ice, pills, and medications are mere temporary fixes. But one happy day my daughter told me that if I turn on a hair dryer on high and aim the heat at the welt for two minutes, the volcano will become extinct—the itching will stop. I tried it, and to my surprise and delight, it worked! The key was to have it on as hot as I could stand it. That simple knowledge could take away days of misery for millions—if they only knew.

And that brings us to my second passionate hatred. The big one. Death. Knowledge can also save us from the power of death and the haunting fear that comes with it. Yet millions don’t know: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

The Bible tells us the cause of death, it outlines precisely what happens after we die, and it gives us the wonderful cure—calling it “his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV). For the millions who believe God’s Word, death is no mystery—and the cure that God has provided is a source of unspeakable comfort.

But the ungodly do not put any value on the gospel. Others mock it, and some even disdain the hope it offers. They remain willfully ignorant of the truth and “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). They are tragically left with no light on the most important of issues—how to hold on to their most precious possession: their life.

The rejection of divine truth means that they are in darkness as to their origins, their true God-given purpose for existence, and their destiny when they pass into eternity. They don’t know where they came from, what they’re doing here, or where they’re going after they die.

Alex Haley, the author of Roots, lamented:

In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage—to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.2

But through the gospel, we know the truth, and the truth frees us from futility, darkness, and despair. Until we have that knowledge, we are truly lost, and Jesus said that “the Son of Man [came] to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). If you realize that you are lost today, there is great hope that you can be found. Reading this book is hopefully part of the journey to give you that precious knowledge, and after you possess it, may you whisper with the writer of “Amazing Grace,” I once was lost, but now I’m found.

NEBULOUS CONVICTIONS

Ask most people about their beliefs on the subject of the afterlife and you will find that they have built their convictions on other people’s opinions, assumptions, or their own hopes and personal feelings rather than on the solidity of Scripture. Yet we shouldn’t dismiss these often nebulous convictions because God has placed eternity on our hearts (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). We intuitively possess the echo of Eden. Consequently, it’s common to hear people say things like, “There must be more…”

Death is the ultimate intrusion. It is a massive and ugly elephant lifting its big and heavy foot and placing it upon any of us any time it wishes. God willing, of course. Nothing happens without his permission. This great beast casts its shadow over every human being. But it doesn’t stop there. It enshrouds its darkness over the whole of life—over the beautiful rose, the cute little puppy, the tall and magnificent tree, and the bright-eyed and innocent child. The rose will wither, the puppy will grow old and die, so will the tall tree, and so will that bright-eyed and innocent child.

If you ask most people why death exists, they will shrug their shoulders and tell you that it’s just the way it is. I know because I have asked thousands if they think there’s an afterlife. They usually say that death is the end of life. It’s natural. Everyone and everything dies. It’s inevitable. Continue to press them as to why it’s the end, and they draw a blank. To them, death just is, and we have to deal with it. Caesar, in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, lambasts those as cowards who consider their end because he wrongly concludes that it is a natural and, therefore, a necessary end:

Cowards die many times before their deaths.

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear,

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

(William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene 2)

Death isn’t necessary because it is natural or hopelessly inevitable. It’s necessary because of the law that demands “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

Another question that draws an even bigger blank is why God gave us death in the first place. He’s the maker of the beautiful rose. He gave it its brilliant color, its shapely and neatly layered petals, its magnificent fragrance, and its amazing ability to grow from a seed and to blossom. He also gave it the ability to reproduce more seed to produce more roses that continue to give us delight. Think of how many love-struck men (for a want of fitting words) have expressed their love for a woman with a rose. Think of how many flattered women have had their hearts melt as they take it in hand and admire its breathtaking beauty.

Yet, in a matter of days, that magnificent rose loses its wonderful fragrance, and its beautiful petals begin to drop like tears, one by one, to the ground. What remains of the gorgeous rose then turns brown, withers, and dies.

Everything withers and dies, including the gorgeous Hollywood actress. Her petals fall. Her attractive fragrance leaves, and she is cast aside by her industry as if she were worthless.

Even that magnificent hundred-year-old tall and strong tree will eventually follow in the sorrowful path of the withered rose. It’s as though God has gifted us all these beautiful things, and then the cruelty of aging takes its hold until the icy-cold hand of death pulls them from our grasp. Why?

Uncontrollable tears once rolled down my cheeks like a river of unspeakable frustration because I didn’t have an answer to that question: Why? It was early in the evening, back in September of 1971. I was a healthy twenty-one-year-old, happily married to a beautiful woman—with everything in life I could ever desire. And yet this question loomed over me like a haunting shadow and brought me to tears. Why? Why did everything have to die? It was a tragedy that didn’t make sense. Little did I know that six months later I would come to understand the gospel, and it would shine a beam of glorious light into my frightening darkness. God hasn’t left us in the shadow of death:

The people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region

and shadow of death

Light has dawned. (Matthew 4:16)

THE NAIL IN OUR FOREHEAD

For many, the why of death is something that they do not let their minds fully consider. This approach reminds me of an interesting online video that cleverly helps men to understand the mysterious minds of women. Most men don’t know that, commonly, a woman doesn’t think like a man. To his manly mind it doesn’t make any sense that a woman would deal with problems by talking them out. A problem to him isn’t for him to talk about. It’s for him to solve. He withdraws into a cave, thinks about it, and then comes out with a solution. But for many women, a burden shared is truly a burden halved.

This particular video shows a woman with a large nail sticking out of her forehead, telling her male friend that she has a terrible and mysterious headache. She doesn’t know why her head hurts. Every time he tries to point to the nail, she becomes impatient and says that he really doesn’t want to listen to her problems. All he cares about is his solution.

If you haven’t already dealt with the nail in your forehead when it comes to death, I want to point it out, talk about it in depth, and then help you to pull it out—if you will let me.

While many in the world say that death is a natural part of life and that we have to accept it, the Bible tells a different story. Death isn’t the cessation of life. It’s an appointment we have to keep: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Much like earthly judicial courts that issue subpoenas, or summonses to appear, for legal cases, the Lord has issued us a divine subpoena. In other words, we must appear before God to face judgment. If we choose not to appear, we’re in big trouble.

And in reality, the divine subpoena leaves us without any choice. Death is coming, ready or not, as the arresting officer. The grim reaper is going to make sure we appear before the judge of the universe to stand trial for our many transgressions. Such thoughts are very unnerving for the guilty. But don’t draw back from the light. Stay with me. We need to talk this out.

Let’s ask why we are in this fateful position. The Bible says that the problem of death originated way back in the garden of Eden: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Adam is solely to blame for ushering in death. That seems grossly unfair to his descendants. We didn’t ask to be born, and yet here we are—waiting to die because of one man’s original transgression. Some would surmise that it would have been better not to have been born. We were condemned to death from the moment we came into this life.

We learned about Adam’s role in bringing death to humanity from the first book of the Bible. In the next chapter we are going to ask if the book of Genesis has any serious credibility. Can it be relied upon, or is it just one example of mythology that previous generations have passed down to us?

WORDS OF COMFORT

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

(Isaiah 41:10)

It’s been said that the words fear not