We wish to express our sincere sympathy with you in your recent bereavement. God, who knows the depths of sorrow which the human heart feels, has taken a loved one from your home; but though He has allowed this sorrow to come upon you, He is "the God of all comfort." When His blessed Son, the Lord Jesus, was here upon earth, He wept with the sorrowing sisters at the grave of Lazarus. He felt the reality of death, and the sorrow it brings as no one else could. And then what great things He did for them, for He is "the resurrection and the life." John 11:2525Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (John 11:25).
He can do great things for you also! Others can stand by and speak words of sympathy, but they can never do for you what the Lord Jesus has done. He not only felt the sorrows of earth, but He came down here, sent by God His Father in love to deliver us. He came to remove the sting of death. May we at this time remind you of what He has done, of His glorious work on Calvary.
The Scripture tells us that "the sting of death is sin," 1 Cor. 15:5656The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (1 Corinthians 15:56), and it also solemnly declares that "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23). All therefore must feel death's sting, unless their sins have been taken away. Now that is just what the Lord Jesus came to earth to do, for the Bible tells us that "He was manifested to take away our sins." 1 John 3:55And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (1 John 3:5). Some think of the Lord Jesus only as a perfect Example, but since we were "dead in trespasses and sins," Eph. 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1), we needed more than a perfect Example-we needed a Savior. And the Lord Jesus is that Savior! He saw our deep need. He knew our burden of sin as none other knew it, and went to the cross of Calvary. There He "bare our sins in His own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24). He took all the judgment our sins deserved in order that we might go free. In bearing the judgment He took the sting out of death for all those whose sins He bore. What a wonderful work He accomplished; and now He is risen and glorified at God's right hand in heaven.
Now the question is, "Do you, dear one, know Him as your Savior?" Can you say, "He bore my sins and removed the sting of death for me"? The Bible says, "He bare the sin of many." Isa. 53:1212Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12). Are you one of the "many"? It is a question of making it personal, and the way to make it personal is to look by faith to Calvary and see the Lord Jesus bearing your very own sins. If you take Him now as your Savior, then death's sting will be gone for you, and you will be able to say, "0 death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 15:55-5755O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55‑57). It is not by our works, our prayers, or anything that we could do, but "through our Lord Jesus Christ."
"In peace let me resign my breath,
And Thy salvation see—
My sins deserve eternal death,
But Jesus died for me."
If the loved one who is departed knew this precious Savior as his or her own, then your dear one is "absent from the body... present with the Lord." 2 Cor. 5:88We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8). He or she is consciously enjoying His glorious presence while awaiting the resurrection morn when the Lord Jesus will come and take all His own-the living ones, with those who have gone before-to be with and like Himself in His glorious home above.
We urge upon you to accept this precious Savior now, if you have not already done so. Then, when your turn comes to leave this world, you will go to that brighter home above where sickness, sorrow, and death shall never enter. If, however, you refuse to accept the Lord Jesus, and you die in your sins, you will have to bear the "sting" of God's judgment forever in hell. We write these words in love to your soul, hoping that you may not rest, until you rest in the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Take Him as your Savior today.
"Verily, 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 5:2424Verily, 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).
Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.