It’s been said that more lies are told at funerals than anywhere else. Some funeral speeches make the deceased sound far better than they really were.

A eulogy might begin, “Beloved, we are gathered here to honor the memory of a wonderful man, Howard Hardheart. All of us who knew him will never forget him.” Meanwhile, someone in the audience is thinking, “I’ll never forget him, all right. I’ll never forget the way he ripped me off on that business deal. He made a pile of money and almost drove me into bankruptcy.”

The eulogy continues, “Howard was a family man, and he will be greatly missed.” The black-clad widow can’t help thinking, “A family man? My Howard? When I was Howard’s secretary, he left his wife and kids to be with me. And I can hardly count how many times he cheated on me.”

The eulogy goes on, “Howard Hardheart was eager to help others. He gave generously to charity.” An accountant in the audience is saying to himself, “Generous? As long as I kept Howard’s books, the only time he gave to charity was when he needed a tax write-off, and they always had to name something in his honor so his business would get some good publicity.”

The eulogy declares, “Now God has taken Howard to a far better place...” and a friend of Howard is thinking, “Hmmm. Howard didn’t seem to believe much of anything about God or heaven. About the only time he mentioned God was when he swore.”

The splendid speech ends with a flourish: “We may rejoice and be comforted that Howard Hardheart is enjoying the reward of his labors.” Those who really knew Howard may find themselves wondering just which of Howard’s “labors” qualify him for heaven.

How can funeral speeches claim that a person who ignored God here on earth is now with God in heaven? Well, if you’re preaching at a funeral, you don’t want to speak ill of the dead. If you said that the person lived without God, that he died without God, and that he’s most likely doomed to an eternity without God in the fires of hell, it would upset family and friends. You want them to feel better, not worse, so you lie. More lies are told at funerals than anywhere else.

Some folks, though, may think that the eulogies are telling the truth, that everybody does make it to heaven in the end. That’s a soothing thought, but there’s just one problem: There’s never been a funeral speech yet that could really rescue a dead person from hell and bring him or her to heaven. If the deceased isn’t in heaven already, the most flattering funeral in the world won’t get him there. When you die, it won’t much matter what the eulogy says about you, or what people think about you. The only thing that matters is what God does with you.

If you are the speaker at a funeral, you must not lie. Don't lie about the person, and don't lie about eternal life and eternal punishment. If the deceased person lived a bad life and gave little evidence of faith in Jesus, you don't have to talk about all the bad things the person did, and you don't have to thunder that the person is in hell. But you must not lie. At a funeral, you minister to the living, not the dead. Leave the deceased in the hands of God. Speak to the living. Express love and compassion for them. Invite them to seek strength from God, and make the gospel of salvation as clear as you can.

Present the simple truth to your hearers: If you don’t know God personally in this life, there’s no chance you’ll live with him in the life to come. If you do know God personally in this life, there’s no chance you won’t live with him in the life to come. You can know your eternal future right now. God doesn’t leave you guessing. The Bible says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God [Jesus Christ] does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12). The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). It’s that simple.

Your listeners at a funeral might wonder, “What does it mean to believe in Jesus?” You might explain the gospel something like this:


What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What does it take to know beyond a doubt that you belong to him? There are three basic elements.


Give Up on Yourself

The first is, give up on yourself. Don’t think you qualify for heaven on your own merits. Your sin is too serious for that. You’ve had sinful tendencies from birth. At times you’ve acted on those tendencies. You’ve offended God and other people. You can’t avoid God’s judgment, and you can’t survive it if all you have is your own record of achievement.

To have any hope of salvation, you must give up on yourself. Admit your sin, and accept the fact that nothing you do can make up for it. If you’re counting on your family background, or your own religious activities, or your church’s rituals to improve your chances of heaven, forget it. None of these things can make you right with God. So stop thinking you can save yourself and start looking for someone else to save you. That’s the first part of true faith: giving up on yourself.


Trust Jesus to Save You

The second part of faith is this: Trust Jesus to save you. Trust him to save you, personally. Believe what the Bible says about Jesus, believe the facts about his life and death and resurrection—but don’t stop there. With the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, apply those facts to yourself. Don’t just believe that Jesus lived a perfect life. Believe that he lived it for you, that God credits his perfection to you. Don’t just believe that Jesus died. Believe that he died to pay for your sins—yours! Don’t just believe that he rose from the dead. Believe that he conquered death for you—you personally! Believe that Jesus has done everything that you could never do for yourself. Give up on yourself, and trust Jesus to save you.

Maybe you’d like to do that but fear it’s impossible. You’ve given up on yourself, you feel God’s anger against sin, you want desperately to be saved, but you figure you’re too sinful, you’re too far gone, you don’t see how Jesus can possibly save someone like you. Well, friend, listen carefully: Stop asking whether you’re worthy to be saved, and start asking whether Jesus is worthy to be trusted.

Jesus saves sinners. The apostle Paul described himself as the chief of sinners, because he had hated Christ and murdered Christians. But when the Lord showed Paul his error, he found that his past was forgiven and he was welcomed by Jesus. No matter how badly we’ve rebelled against God, Jesus forgives and saves those who trust in him.

Don’t insult Jesus by thinking he can forgive only minor sins. Jesus didn’t give his precious blood merely for minor offenses but to wash away the filthiest of sins. He didn’t unleash his resurrection power to deal only with small problems, but to overcome the greatest problem of all, death itself. So don’t let anything hold you back. Trust Jesus to save you. Trust him now. Say to him, “Lord, no matter how great my sins are, your grace is greater still. No matter how awful death is, your power is greater still. I believe that your death pays the penalty of my sins. I believe that your resurrection gives me eternal life. Save me, Lord, not because I deserve it, but because of your mercy and love.” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.


Commit Your Life to Jesus

So far we’ve seen that the first aspect of saving faith is to give up on yourself and the second is to trust Jesus to save you. The third is this: Commit your life to Jesus. Accept him as your owner, your master. The Bible says that when you trust Jesus to save you, you are no longer your own. You were bought with a price. You belong to Jesus. Because you belong to Jesus, you need to renounce Satan and all his evil works, and give yourself 100 percent to Christ.

Real commitment is first of all a matter of the heart, but it leads to concrete actions of commitment. If you haven’t been part of a church, find a Bible-believing, Christ-centered church and commit to being a faithful member. If you haven’t been baptized, make a public statement of your faith and be baptized to seal that you indeed belong to Christ. Seek to know the Lord better through fellowship with other Christians and participation in the Lord’s Supper, and also through personal prayer and Bible reading. In all of this, surrender yourself fully and freely to Christ. Give him your soul, your body, your abilities, your relationships, your money, your everything—give it all to him. Commit yourself to learning and doing his will. Find your greatest treasure and pleasure in Christ.

When you truly entrust yourself to Jesus, he takes over. His Holy Spirit moves in and begins to make major changes in the way you think and the way you live. He doesn’t make you perfect right away, but he makes a difference. He makes you more loving. He gives you a desire to honor God and help others. He gives you a hunger for God’s Word, the Bible. He gives you a dislike for sin and a longing to be like Jesus. Again, he doesn’t make you instantly perfect, but he does make a difference. And when you see the difference he’s making in you, you know that your surrender to him was genuine, you know that his Spirit at work in you is real, and you know that you will be perfect when you see him face to face.

Someday you'll be facing your own funeral. Are you ready? Are you sure? Have you given up on yourself? Have you trusted Jesus to save you? Have you surrendered your life to him? If so, you can be sure of your salvation. You belong to God, the Spirit of Christ is living and working in you, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you from his love.

If you don’t yet have that assurance but want to, then I invite you to say this prayer right now:

Lord, I am a sinner, by nature and by choice. I can’t do anything to earn your favor. So I turn to you, Lord Jesus, as my only hope. I trust your perfect obedience to be credited to me. I trust your blood to pay for my sin. I trust your resurrection power to give me eternal life. Save me! Lord God, I surrender my entire self to you. I will seek to obey your commands and follow where you lead. When I fail, forgive me and pick me up and guide me by your Spirit to become more and more like Jesus. Amen.

 

Last modified: Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 5:02 PM