Good Friday: Musings on Death

Good Friday: Musings on Death
Friday, March 29, 2024 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Today is Good Friday, a truly good day, the Day that Jesus Christ willingly died on the cross for our sins; the day that “death was swallowed up by death” the day true forgiveness became assured, the day Christ took on our sins and we could, through faith, could now take on His righteousness.

But, as Scripture tells us, the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Even though as believers in Christ we know we will live eternally with Him, we are still here, and all of us—except for believers who are alive at Christ’s return—will die. As Ezekiel 18:20 tells us, “The person who sins will die” (NAU). There isn’t a one of us, other than Jesus, who hasn’t sinned. We still battle against the temptation to sin on a daily basis. Our physical death is certain. As 1 Thessalonians 4:13 states, even as Christians, we do grieve, but differently from others, who have no hope.

All creation groans and suffers (Romans 8:22). Even long-lived trees die. Clothes wear out. Nothing is permanent, but temporal. Even businesses have life cycles and expire. The same is true for churches and biblical institutions we hold dear.

This past year one of my beloved biblical institutions died: it was a long slow painful death, not unlike someone who succumbs to cancer after a decade long fight. Another institution, while still technically alive, just suffered something akin to a massive heart attack, and may not make it. The second case especially hurts.

The first was Multnomah Biblical Seminary. Over the past decade the board and leadership largely abandoned the Scriptures, and their storied biblical heritage. Given its financial reserves, it took a decade to expire (go bankrupt), as they could survive for a time after donations declined. But it had long since become little more than a shell of its former self, and sadly, in biblical terms, it needed to die. After its demise leadership insisted on engaging in all kinds of subterfuge and lies. But, it is now dead, the remaining assets having been given away to another institution, one that appears to be continuing down that same destructive path.

The second case hurts even more: the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies. The Institute was unique: the focus was on ancient-future worship, and it had a true non-denominational focus. You’d find students ranging from Sothern Baptists to died-in-the-wool Pentecostals to high church Anglicans; as diverse as one could get.

Roughly a month ago a couple board members incited what could best be described as a coup-d'etat, sacked the well-respected and beloved president, and seized control. They’ve been less than truthful about what transpired, and have offered conflicting narratives about the sequence of events. The group discussion board has been rigidly censored to conform to the new party line, and significant donor flight is in process. The beloved institution now appears to be in the throws of a dictatorial mess. One former board member, a member who resigned in protest, wondered if those involved were seeking to destroy the Institute.

Will it survive? To truly survive, honest confession of sin, repentance, and restitution is required. At least for now, that appears extremely unlikely. It has sometimes been said that in the birth of any organization also lies the seeds of its own destruction. That adage is particularly appropriate for what has happened within the IWS.

Until Christ returns, we still struggle with sin. Sometimes, as in Romans 7, we are conscious of the struggle, and cry out as Paul did, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The joyous answer is: Christ Jesus.

Other times we can be deceived, thinking we are doing God’s will, while serving the ends of Satan. Jesus pointed to an extreme example in the latter part of John 16:2–3: “But an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”

How will the situation with IWS end? As of this moment, literally, God only knows. Even if the IWS ends up being destroyed, we can still rest assured of God’s ultimate sovereignty, that Christ has already defeated sin, death, and the devil, that one day His victory will be on full display. The day is coming when there will be no more sin, no more death, no more tears, no more curse.

We have much to be thankful for on this (truly) Good Friday.

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