“Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:” Amos 2:1
The Bible teaches that we are to bury our dead, not cremate their bodies. I understand that people who have lost a loved one are already going through enough and don’t want the financial burden of a burial, but they still shouldn't opt for cremation. It’s disturbing how many pagan practices have crept into our so-called Christian nation, and I think the fact that burying our dead has become so expensive is just the Devil’s plan to get us to participate in the heathen practice of burning the dead.
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And 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 5:28-29
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17
The destiny of saved people is to be resurrected to be caught up in the air with the Lord, so why would we want to symbolize the person burning in Hell just to save a little money? Throughout history, Christian people have buried their dead because it is a picture of the fact that they will rise again one day. Just as a seed is planted in the earth, and a new life is produced in the form of a plant, so the body that is buried in the earth will someday be raised again in newness of life.
“It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15: 43-44
Whether a person is buried or cremated has nothing to do with their salvation, but both practices are symbolic. The question is, what do we want to symbolize?
“And 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
Here is a sermon to go with this article.
1 Samuel 31:12-13
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing new under the sun. Cremation was around back then. However, just because someone in the Bible did something doesn't make it right. God wasn't exactly blessing Saul and his sons at that time in his life. It may also have had something to do with the fact that the Philistines had already mutilated his body.
ReplyDeletePastor Anderson, I completely agree. Thanks for bringing this up, because the Christian church has dropped the ball on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI really admired how you and Mrs. Anderson took the time to provide a burial for little Jachin three years ago. It surprised me, because I'd never seen anyone do that before, but I determined that we would choose the same course if we ever found ourselves in that situation. Thanks for your good example.
Feel bad I cremated my father :/
ReplyDeleteI'm going to interr his ashes someplace nice.
I plan to be cremated and I don't consider myself a heathen nor is it the work of the devil. I go to church. It is interesting all the different Christian beliefs. I have already told my daughter to scatter my ashes around all the places that I love! God isn't angry at me because of this!
ReplyDeleteI yield to your professional knowledge of scripture, and I am probably the only person in the world who accuses you of this... but I think you are naive as to just how wicked the world is and is going to get.
ReplyDeleteThis is a national headline just today and there are worse than this.
"John Glenn’s remains were disrespected at the military's mortuary, Pentagon documents allege"
By: Karen Jowers, May 25, 2017 (Photo Credit: John Minchillo/AP)
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/john-glenn-body-disrespected-air-force-mortuary
You are young yet. There are things going on this world, even in this country, that are unspeakable that do not reach the press if not involving celebrities. Maybe mentioned once or twice in a local paper and then dropped. Things like in Amos. Right here in this State, even. There are non-frivolous reasons to protect that at the least raise a Romans 14 question to a mere sinners decision.
I know what he is talking about. Town of Superior disinterned remains because they weren't residents or something and they demanded more money. Sure w
ReplyDeleteWeren't any holy rollers up in their faces. Making more money is a ok, especially if it is the reputable people.
I intend to keep my family safe until Jesus comes and gets us. It is not like the old days when you could be buried in the back 40
Wasn't there some Indian guy who claimed Anton Lavey put a curse out there. Some grave vandalsism too.somewhere.