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Cremation
Vs. Burial for the Believer in Christ
by John Hamel
Recently a long
time friend and supporter of this Ministry asked JHM in writing, “What does
the Bible say about cremation?” I answered
that question in writing and thought it would be good to include that
answer here. Please keep in mind I
could not answer their question as thoroughly as the Bible does because of
time and space limitations. I simply
pointed them in the right direction as follows, encouraging them to study
it out for themselves.
As you read JHM’s answer to the question of cremation, we trust it
will lead you into further study as well.
Suggestion: Put the word
“buried” into your computer Bible search and see why the Bible on computer
is such a wonderful thing that came straight out of the mind of Christ!
"What
does the Bible say about cremation?"
Although the
word "cremation" is not used in the Bible, the subject is clearly
covered. Burning human bodies after death has always been an occult
practice observed by many of the world’s false religions. It is
gaining acceptance in America and other
civilized nations basically for two reasons. Number one, because too many Christians
have not bothered to find out what the Bible teaches about it. Number two, it is considered to be
"economical," "sanitary" and
"practical."
A search of the
Scripture reveals that only people who were under a curse for one reason or
another had their bodies burned at death. As a matter of fact, the
Lord instructed King Josiah to slay all the priests who had ever burned
dead bodies on the altar of God. (2Kings 23:16, 20) He
then instructed King Josiah to burn those same priests’ bodies on their own
altars because they were under a curse for burning other human bodies. Something to think about, isn’t it?
Elsewhere the
sons of Belial came under a curse for their deliberate rebellion.
Anyone who even touched them came under a curse as well and was to be
killed on the same day and their body burned. (2Samuel 23:6-7)
Again, the ONLY
time someone's body was burned in the Bible was when they were under a
curse. Honorable people of God in the Bible were always buried upon
death, not burned. Their bodies were placed back into the earth for
safekeeping, the same earth from whence they came, until the Lord comes to
resurrect those bodies for Eternal service to Him. (John 5:28-29)
In Scripture it
was an insult to the Holy Spirit to burn a human body. This becomes very clear by reading the
narrative involving King Josiah mentioned above. This is even truer in this New Testament
Dispensation of Grace because the Believer’s body is "the temple of
the Holy Spirit." We are to
honor God with our bodies not only in life but also in death, not dishonor
Him. (1Corinthians 6:19-20)
Just to list a
few Biblical examples of burial: Able (Genesis 4:10), Abraham (Genesis
15:5), Sarah (Genesis 23:19), Isaac (Genesis 35:29), Rebecca and Leah
(Genesis 49:31), Joseph (Genesis 50:13), Miriam (Numbers 20:1), Aaron
(Deuteronomy 10:6), Gideon (Judges 8:32), Jehoshaphat (1Kings 22:50), Saul
and his sons (1Chronicles 10:12), King Solomon (2Chronicles 9:31) and the
Prophet Elisha (2Kings 13:20), etc.
By reading the
Old Testament books of II Kings and I & II Chronicles, you will
discover a chronicle of all Israel’s kings who
died and were BURIED, not burned. All of Israel's kings were
buried except for two. Those two were under a specific curse.
It was God's
will that even the wicked be buried and not burned unless they were under a
very specific curse. (Job 27:15; Ecclesiastes 8:10) Burning a human
body was to deliberately point out the fact they were indeed under a
specific curse for deliberately defying the Most High God, not because it
was “economical,” “sanitary” or “practical.” In the Old Testament only the CURSED were
instructed to NOT be buried. (Jeremiah 16:4, 6; 25:33)
For a human
body to be placed back into the earth from whence it came is an honorable
thing. (Genesis 2:7) For a human body
to be burned is a dishonorable thing in the eyes of the God Who does not
change. (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)
Under the New
Covenant John the Baptist was buried. (Matthew 14:12) The Apostle Peter made it perfectly clear
that King David was buried and not burned after his death. (Acts 2:29) Ananias and Sapphira
were buried even though their deaths occurred as a result of their lying to
God. (Acts 5:6, 9-10) Stephen was
buried after his stoning. (Acts 8:2)
Jesus Himself was buried not burned or cremated. (1Corinthians
15:4)
The Bible says
we are BURIED with Christ in Baptism.
It does not say we are “cremated” with Him in Baptism. (Romans
6:4) Going down into and coming up
out of a watery grave symbolizes the Believer’s identification with
Christ’s death, BURIAL and resurrection, not His death, cremation and
scattering of ashes.
Although there
is no single verse of Scripture that says Believers are not to be burned or
“cremated,” we are to walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham our
spiritual Father. (Romans 4:12) Abraham was buried, not cremated, and
he left very specific instructions for all of his family to be
buried. Jesus Himself followed Abraham’s example. (Matthew
27:57-60) Therefore, we must now follow their example. (Galatians
3:29)
So there you
have the short answer. Short because there are just about one hundred
Scriptural references to God's servants/family/sons/daughters being buried
and never cremated. I believe that’s
a pretty good precedent to follow. There are only a handful of
examples of bodies being burned upon death and ONLY when those individuals
were under a curse or involved in occult practices.
However, I always
point out to people that we do not have two or three confirming New
Testament Scriptures SPECIFICALLY telling us what to do in the matter of
burial versus cremation, as we do with so many other things pertaining to
life and conduct. Moses, Jesus and
the Apostle Paul said we must have these witnesses before building a
doctrine. (Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:16; 1Corinthians 13:1)
However, we do have EXAMPLES to follow, from Able to Jesus and everyone in
between. That, quite frankly, is good enough for me and should be
good enough for anyone who wants to both know and to do the Bible thing.
So there you
go. Hope this helped a little. Again, I point these things out
to people when they ask about cremation and then I tell them they must
follow their own conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit from
there. If they have cremated someone, wishing later they hadn't done
so, I encourage them to just receive God's forgiveness and mercy and to
know that He can and will even raise up ashes into
a perfect human being when He returns. God knows where everyone's DNA is! (1John 1:9; John 5:28-29)
However, God’s mercy is no reason to go
with cremation if your conscience or the Inner Witness
of the Holy Spirit is telling you not to do so. JHM
Be
blessed. Your friend … John
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
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