“Cremation, Biblical or not!” - Author and writer Ronald Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19; 

ENCOURAGING WORD:

The verse that is in the Bible mediation pretty much gives us a clue to whether cremation is Biblical or not. Here are a couple of questions that I will answer for you. Is it a sin for a believer to be cremated? Is cremation a pagan practice? Does cremation destroy both body and soul? Does cremation mean I will not experience a bodily resurrection? Can you still go to heaven if you are cremated? These are all legitimate questions for those that have been wondering what the answers are to these questions.

Let me tell you right up front, nowhere in the Bible does that that even hint of as cremation being a sin. The single most important rule that guides our pursuit of truth is “The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and conduct.” In other words if teaching or a doctrine no matter what it might be, no matter who brings it up, if that teaching or doctrine cannot be directly supported from the pages of the Bible, then it cannot be considered authoritative. All teaching and practice, even those about death and internment, for a believer must come from the Bible.

A little history that we should be aware of. Here in America in 1970, less than 5% of Americans chose cremation, but by 2020, that all began to change. Approximately 56% of all individuals have in their will, or simply choose cremation as their preferred method of being disposed of after death. The national “Funeral Directors Association” published that by 2035 that probably upwards of 80% of Americans will choose cremation.

Here are three reason why it will be that high. Number one, funerals and grave plots are getting more and more expensive all the time. The average funeral cost starts at around eight thousand dollars, but the national average is about $15,000 where some cremation services are issued somewhere between one $1,000 and $2,000. The second reason for choosing cremation is in our growing society of the new green deal. For people that are paying very close attention to environmental issues, there are concerns with traditional burials. And the third reason is because fewer and fewer people belong to a church. Here in America only about 47% of Americans attend church. Without a church to assist in the burial process, they are morre apt to just get creamted at a funeral parlor.

So now, what does the Bible say about cremation? Remember, everything that we as believers do, has to be built and based upon, what do the scriptures teach us. This may surprise you, but the scriptures of the Bible do not dictate anything about the methods of how a believer should be buried at the time of death.

Genesis 3:19, once again tells us; “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

The Bible goes on to teach us that, to dust we will one day return. The Christian burial as many may call it, the body in the ground eventually decomposes and returns to dust. So cremation is just a time lapse of the process. So all bodies eventually decompose. Whatever conviction that you have about burial, all bodies eventually return to dust.

The Bible tells us that God is going to give us new glorified whether they have been buried, or burned our beheaded or drowned in the sea. There are many ways that people have faced death. Some of them had a choice in how they faced death. Others had no choice in how they face death. God is able to bring together whatever has been scattered, and the Bible actually tells us that.

We read in; Mark 13:27; “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.”

God has the ability to gather His beloved and His Saints from the four corners of the earth no matter how their bodies have been disposed of after death. The Bible does not give an absolute definitive method of accepted burial. So, it is within your Christian liberty to decide whatever option you choose.

I am going to share a few scenarios that will without a doubt support what I am teaching. In the final weeks of World War II, a Japanese torpedo sank an American heavy cruiser. Only 316 of the 900 sailors who survived the initial attack were ultimately rescued. This was the USS Indianapolis. Sharks were drawn in by the sound of the explosions, the sinking of the ship, and the thrashing and blood in the water. Though many shark species live in the open waters of the Pacific, few are as aggressive toward humans as the oceanic whitetip. Experts generally agree that the Indianapolis sailors fell victim to oceanic whitetip sharks and possibly tiger sharks in what is considered the worst shark attack in history.

“Every now and then, like lightning, (a shark) would come straight up and take a sailor and take him straight down,” survivor Loel Dean Cox told BBC News in 2013. “One came up and took the sailor next to me. It was just somebody screaming, yelling or getting bit.”

At first, the sharks focused on the floating dead. But the survivors’ struggles in the water attracted more of the animals, which could feel their motions through the lateral line, a series of receptors along a shark’s body that detect changes in pressure and movement from a distance.

As the sharks turned their attention to the living, the survivors sought safety in numbers. They realized they had the best odds in a group, ideally toward its center. The men on the margins or, even worse, alone were the most susceptible to attacks. When someone died, the remaining sailors would push the body away, hoping to sacrifice the corpse in return for a reprieve from a shark’s jaw. The point that I need to make is this. Many of these soldiers were eaten up by the sharks. Some half eaten and some completely swallowed. Once the sharks continued to swallow these men, the substance went into the sharks bodies. And not to get to graphic, the sharks had to dispose of some of the digested parts. So these individuals could have found their remains in one of three places. Do you think that God would have a hard time resurrecting their bodies at the resurrection. Not hardly. 

Next, what about all those that perished in the 911 attack. Most of them were turned into ashes before they hit the ground. Those that were born again will certainly be raised again at the resurrection. What about all those that died when America dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though Japan is no specifically known as a Christian nation, I’m sure that some of them were believers in Jesus Christ. Most of them were completely vaporized.

Now, let me give you the most obvious example. Many of those that are born again have chosen to be cremated. First I’m going to share the following Bible verse with you, so you get the point. Read in; 2 Corinthians 5:8; “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Let me explain what this is saying. The second a believer dies; he goes directly to heaven to be forever with the Lord. So let me say this. I know that when I pass from this earth whether it be by death or the rapture, I know that I am going to heaven to be with Jesus forever. Now, let’s say that I decide to be cremated, which would follow a few days after death. Is God going to say, Oops, you just got cremated, I have to send you to hades to await judgment. Know this, I will be in heaven because of what Jesus did for me, nothing that I have done. I did nothing to earn salvation, which means I can do nothing to lose salvation. If this doesn’t make my point very clear, then you have to be blind. If you are blind to the truth, I can tell you why. Hear what the Bible has to say about being blind to the truth.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4; “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age (Satan) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

If you are in unbelief, then you are blinded to the point that there is no way for you to know and understand what we as (Born Again Christians) know.

So, let me end by saying the following. You can choose whatever form of burial you wish. If you feel convicted by choosing cremation, then don’t do it. But know this, whatever form you choose, it will have no bearing your salvation. You are saved by what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Nothing we can do to earn salvation and there is nothing that we can do to loose salvation once we are saved.

I’ll end with the following Bible verse. One that I quote often. Ephesians 2:8-9; “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

If you belong to a sect of Christianity that teaches saved by works…get out, because most likely you are also being lied to about a lot of other false teaching. Don’t take this Lightly and hope that I am wrong. I’m not wrong. I share the Word of God and nothing but the Word of God. Everybody needs to take it upon themselves and read the Bible for themselves. If you don’t and you are trusting in someone else for your salvation, you are a fool! This goes for me also, don’t take my word for it, I’m not responsible for your salvation. God has chose me to share the truth, but it is up to each and everyone of us to search the scriptures to make sure that what we are teaching is absolute truth. We plant the seeds, God will make them grow. When we get into the Bible and study it, it is then that the Holy Spirit starts to water the seeds and makes them grow. The seeds will grow into wisdom and knowledge as long as you keep asking The Holy Spirit for wisdom and knowledge. If you don’t get into the word, the seeds that were planted in you by someone else, will not grow. The seeds will die and so will you. Man can only plant seeds, only God can make them grow. Here is my last example. What if someone planted a bunch of seeds in a wheat field, and all of a sudden harvest time comes and all that came up was weeds. You trusted this person without checking it out to see if He was planting the right seeds. You need to make sure that what you are being taught is absolute truth.

I’m going to end by saying this. All the denominational churches of today are planting bad seed into their congregation. If you don’t like this statement, prove me wrong. I challenge all of you who appose what I share to prove me wrong. There are many who tried to take this challenge and you know what, once they read the truth, they become some of the greatest Bible scholars to ever preach the Word. Does Billy Graham ring a bell?

Be wise, your eternity is at stake. Once you pass away, the decision has been made, there are no second chances. One of the most dangerous teachings is purgatory…what a joke. Once again, I challenge anyone to show me in the Bible where this evil doctrine is even hinted at.

If you are counting on your sect of religion to save you, you are calling God a liar. Religion does not save. Only trusting and believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and becoming born again into the Holy Spirit can save you.

If you ever have a question, please feel free to start a conversation with me on messenger. I’ll be happy to do the best that I can to answer it using the Bible as my reference at all times. An unasked question is an unanswered question. There is no such thing as a dumb question, especially when it comes to your salvation.   

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” AMEN!!!!!