The Bible

"Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven."
Psalm. 119:89. PSA 119:89
The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand subject, our good is its design, and the glory of God is its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12.

Editorial
A request has come to us to write something on cremation. What is God's mind on this subject?
Burial was the custom among the Israelites and there was even a provision in the law for the burial of a criminal (Deut. 21:23). The importance of burial is stressed in Ecc. 6:3. "If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.”
In the New Testament we see that when Herod beheaded John, the disciples of John "came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus." Matt. 14:12. Prophetically, it was written of the Lord Jesus that He was "with the rich in His death." Isa. 53:9. This we see lovingly fulfilled by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. "Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand." John 19:40-42.
Beginning with the Christian period in the book of The Acts, we notice that the first three people who died were buried. The first two were Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:6,10). Then in Acts 8:2 it says, “devout men carried Stephen to his burial." So we see that burial is the Christian practice, not cremation.
In sharp contrast to this we call attention to a verse in Amos 2:1, "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." This supreme expression of hatred of one against another brought forth God's punishment.
Also we see that God Himself in His final judgment of the beast commits him to the burning flame (Dan. 7:11; Rev. 19:20).
Every believer belongs to God, for the Word says, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Cor. 6:19, 20.
The believers' hope is the Lord's coming for us while we are yet alive. All believers who have died will be raised and we all shall be changed as it says in Philippians 3:20,21 (JND), "The Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, who shall transform our body of humiliation into conformity to His body of glory, according to the working of the power which He has even to subdue all things to Himself.”
We learn, then, that these bodies God has given us to live in are precious to God-belong to Him-and we should treat them carefully and respectfully while we live, and also in death.
Infidels have frequently tried to hide from God and the coming judgment by commanding their bodies to be cremated and the dust scattered upon the ocean. All this is futile. Our Savior as Son of man is presented as Judge in Rev. 1. In verse 18 He says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades, the place of departed spirits] and of death [the place where the body is]." He will use those keys first at the resurrection of the just and then later at the resurrection of the unjust (Acts 24:15).
We are not under law, but grace. God has graciously revealed to us His mind in both the Old and New Testament. Burial, not cremation, is the proper way to treat the dead body.
Ed.
Questions and Answers
QUES. What is the thought of Scripture as to the state of the soul of the believer after death, before the Lord comes? Do those who "sleep in Jesus" actually see Him, or do they not do so until body and soul are united?
ANS. "To die is gain" says the Apostle. (Phil. 1:21.) So an advantage is had by the believer in the death of the body. If the separate state were a mere sleep of the soul, how could such language be used? Surely it would have been preferred if he were to remain and labor for his Lord in the body, than to lie in sleep while awaiting His return.
Again in the same chapter, "to be with Christ" is the condition of the one whose body sleeps in the dust. This is "far better." The words "sleep in Jesus" do not give the force of 1 Thess. 4:14. There it is, "sleep [through the person of] Jesus.”
Death itself is ours, because Jesus has annulled it for us. We have died already in His person. When, therefore, the body dies, we are only said to be put to sleep through Him. We pass out of the earthly tabernacle and the result is "present with the Lord." We might freely render this verse—"We are confident, I say, and well pleased, rather to be abroad from the body, and to be at home with the Lord." Surely such a word or thought as this is incompatible with mere sleep. To be "at home" with the Lord is indeed gain. The believer, as already dead and risen, has death as his friend now.
As to seeing Jesus when we are out of the body, we read in the record of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16) that he saw "Abraham afar off," etc., and this language is used by the Lord in speaking of the separate state. Paul says, "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" Why then should his passage out of the body hinder his seeing Him? The Lord had to open the eyes of His disciples in order to know Jesus after He rose. Though our body could hinder our looking on a risen Jesus, would it need even a changed body in order that we should see Him now? Still the Lord has not thought fit to answer the question further. Rather, then, let us seek to have Himself and His coming before our souls, as our hope and joy.
F.G. Patterson