God Doesn't Want Us to Die

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


Not too long ago, my wife and I drove to Cape Cod to assist my sister-in-law, and attend the funeral for her husband who had suddenly died. When the day came, as is the normal custom, we went first to the funeral parlor where Irene would decide whether or not the casket would remain open during the visiting hours which were soon to begin. A beautiful array of flowers flanked the casket and their sweet aroma filled the air, but as we approached, Irene took one look and gasped, "That's not my Sonny." No, it wasn't that the undertaker had switched bodies, it was just that her husband looked so very different from when she last saw him the week before.

The problem was, my brother-in-law was dead.

Don't you hate it when that happens? Isn't there something inside that wants to shout out, "No, it can't be. It wasn't supposed to be this way. It's not right - it's not fair."

At one time or another, most of us have experienced many of the vast array of emotions that flood over us when we experience the death of a loved one - there's disbelief and denial; there are disappointments and regrets, there's sadness and depression; but often there's also anger. We are downright mad!

But why anger? Because deep down inside we have this awareness that death is wrong, it's evil, it was never intended to be; we have become the victim of the worst kind of robbery, someone we so dearly loved has been stolen from us.

For many people, this anger with death gets focused on God. Unfortunately, many people hold God responsible; He's the one who sends the death angel; frequently this finds expression in the words, "God took my father (mother, brother, etc.). But think about it - if God is responsible for death, doesn't that make Him a murderer? But we know that God said "thou shalt not kill." Wouldn't it be hypocritical if God Himself was a killer? What kind of a god would he be if he was guilty of the very thing he condemns us for?

Just this week a woman told me she had stopped going to church after her father was killed, struck by a fast moving car as he took his daily walk along side a busy roadway. For years, this woman has held it against God for "taking my father, a truly good Christian man." Furthermore, there's some confusion about the phrase, "God's will." Many people seem to think that God is synonymous with "fate" - everything is already determined, "Que sera', sera'" - "whatever will be will be" - there's nothing we can do to change it. The other day I was shown a page cut out of the local paper - it included the picture of one of our members who was among a group of five people who were asked a question about whether or not they believe that our country is safer now, five years after the destruction of 9/11. Here's what one man said, "No, but then I don't pay much attention to that stuff. My attitude is that if it's going to happen it's going to happen."

As it relates to death, people often say, "When it's your time to go, you gotta go." Besides, we operate with the notion that those who are strong get their way, and because God is the strongest, He will always get His way - really?

Maybe it's normal to be angry with death, but it's wrong to be angry with God. Why? Because death is not according to God's will - with one, single, major exception - death is due to man's will.

How do we know this? Because it's clearly stated in the Bible: "The Lord is not willing that any should perish." (II Peter 3:9 - "The Lord . . . is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." - KJV "The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." - NIV)

Notice that in both translations, the word "perish" is used - a word not too commonly used, except perhaps when referring to foods which are either perishable or imperishable. The English word simply means "come to nothing." The word is even more clear in the Greek, clearly indicating that what we're talking about is death, as can be seen in the opposites mentioned in the all-time favorite verse, John 3:16 - "not perish . . . have everlasting life".

    The word in Greek is "apollumi" (ap-ol'-loo-mee) and is used in the story of King Herod when he, overcome with jealousy, tried to kill Baby Jesus (Matthew 2:13)

    We remember when Jesus’ disciples were frightened by the storm as they tried to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had fallen asleep at the back of the boat, so they woke Him up with the question, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38) The NIV says it clearly, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

    Jesus used this word when He told Peter to put away his sword, because "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." (The NIV substitutes the word "die") (Matthew 26:52)

    In the story concerning the trial of Jesus, the crowd was excited to call for the release of prisoner Barabas and to "destroy Jesus." (Matthew 27:20 - the NIV uses "execute")

    This word is also used by Jesus in a statement which ought to bring us to our knees, "Be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

So without question, when Peter says God is not willing that any should perish, it means that God does not want anyone to die. It's as simple as that. It follows then that because we have been created in the image of God - if God doesn't want us to die, and we are like Him, then no wonder we get angry in the face of death.

However, we should not mistake this for the doctrine of universal salvation that contends that a loving God certainly wouldn't send anyone to hell. The Bible clearly states that "the soul that sinneth shall die." This goes all the way back to Adam and Eve who were told that if they disobeyed God's clear command, they would "surely die" (Genesis 2:17)

You see, death is not according to God's will, but according to our choice.

Going back to II Peter 3:9, please notice the "but" - it says the Lord is "not willing that any should perish but . . ." "But" what? "That all should come to repentance." God's will is that all should come to repentance, and this implies that we have a choice. Does everyone make this choice? No, some people choose otherwise, and consequently, God doesn't get His way. (As an aside, if God always got His way, if His will was always done, Jesus would not have needed to teach His disciples to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.")

God does not want death for us, He wants life. The important question is, "What do you want?" for it's not about what God wants, or what God wills, it's about what you and I want.

This was laid out way back in Moses' day when God said, "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19)

There's something else that comes to mind when we read this statement, "God is not willing that any should perish." One of the fathers of the modern day Evangelical movement was a Massachusetts preacher named Jonathan Edwards. His powerful sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was greatly instrumental in bringing a revival to his church in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1734-1735, which was considered a harbinger of the Awakening which began a few years later.

With all due respect to this great American preacher, what he said seems to fly in the face of this Scripture. Let's listen in on the most often quoted portion of this sermon:

    "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

    "You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell last night; that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up.

    "There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell."

Yes, we learned from Jesus that we ought to fear the "One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." But it is wrong to view God as One who "abhors" us like "some loathsome insect," and One who delights in the death of those whom He created in His own image. Rather, He is the One who "is not willing that any should perish."

Earlier we emphasized the point that death is not according to God's will - with one, single, major exception. What is that exception? Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His death on a cruel cross, Jesus prayed the memorable lines, "not my will but thine be done." Evidently it was God's will that His own Son die. "God is not willing that any should perish," except for Jesus - that was the one death that was according to God's will. He planned that death so that no one else would need to die.

Discussion Questions
God Doesn't Want Us to Die

1. Why is it that undertakers try to make dead people look like they're not dead?

2. What are some of the emotions people feel when they must deal with the death of someone close to them, and why is anger among them?

3. Why is it that many people hold God responsible for death?

4. What kind of god would violate his own moral commands?

5. How is God not like "fate"?

6. How would you respond to this statement: Because God is omnipotent (all- powerful), He will always get His way - His will will always be accomplished.

7. What is a three letter word we can substitute for the word "perish" in II Peter 3:9?

8. Briefly tell each of these stories where the word for "perish" is included: King Herod and baby Jesus, the disciples during a storm, Peter's scuffle in the Garden, and Barabas instead of Jesus.

9. When we read that "God is not willing that any should perish," does that mean that in the end everyone will be saved?

10. What did Jesus imply when he included this petition in His prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

11. If God doesn't "will" death, who does?

12. The 18th century preacher, Jonathan Edwards likened people to a spider being dangled over the fire. What wrong message about God might this image convey?

13. What is the one notable exception to the Scriptural idea that "God is not willing that any should perish," and why is this so important?

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