Austin Bible Church
The Christian way of life can be divided into living and dying. Dying may be a long period or a short period, but for the believer and the believer only, God provides a time of happiness and peace just prior to death. Often this great peace and happiness is expressed just prior to the sudden death of the young or middle aged. This is often said to be a tragedy because they had been so happy. That happiness and the expression of it is simply dying grace, which the Lord apparently gives to those believers whom He calls home instantly.
In the case of prolonged death, such as cancer, dying grace is provided in a different way. During prolonged illness, the believer has the opportunity to provide a wonderful testimony to those around them. The Lord helps that believer to have great inner happiness, peace, and blessing in the midst of pain. There is no fear of death, no concern of death, and no falling apart in the midst of death. For the believer who dies over a prolonged period of time, God will provide in such a way that this time of dying is the most productive and actually the most wonderful part of their lives.
There is a point of ecstatics at the time of dying. If you are with a believer who dies, you may notice a smile at the moment of death, or the believer may comment about the room becoming light or utter the name of the Lord.
Dying grace depends on who and what God is and He provides it for all believers, regardless of how they have lived. We don’t earn or deserve dying grace. All believers are saints, not just those who honor Him in life. This is the grace of God when we die. It is who and what God is, not who and what we are. Psalm 116:15; 2 Cor. 12:1-5.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.” (Psalms 116:15, NASB)
“Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-5, NASB)
Dying grace removes fear of death and takes the sting out of death. In Psalms 23:4, “the valley of the shadow of death” is the period of dying. “I fear no evil” means I will not fear death. 1 Cor 15:55.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalms 23:4, NASB)
""O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"" (1 Corinthians 15:55, NASB)
Dying grace is provision of deliverance in extreme difficulty. Job 5:17-21; Psalms 33:19; Psalms 56:13; Psalms 116:8.
““Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. “From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you. “In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.” (Job 5:17-21, NASB)
"To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine." (Psalms 33:19, NASB)
"For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living." (Psalms 56:13, NASB)
"For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling." (Psalms 116:8, NASB)
The Believer in Eternity
Dying grace is the bridge between life on this earth and eternity. Dying grace is blessing from God that is better than any other blessing in life. In eternity, God provides better than the best than can be found in this life. Heb. 11:13; Rom. 5:12-17.
"All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13, NASB)
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:12-17, NASB)
The is no judgment in eternity. Rom. 8:1.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, NASB)
The is no sin nature in eternity. 1 Cor. 3:11-16.
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:11-16, NASB)
Believers are immediately face to face with the Lord in eternity. 2 Cor. 5:6-8.
"Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:6-8, NASB)
All sorrow is removed in eternity. Rev. 21:4.
“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”“ (Revelation 21:4, NASB)
Every believer has an inheritance in eternity. 1 Peter 1:4-5.
“to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:4-5, NASB)
Death means a new eternal home. John 14:1-3.
““Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3, NASB)
Death means a fuller realization of eternal life. 2 Cor. 4:18.
“while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NASB)
Dying grace begins appropriately with living where even God's divine discipline is profitable for the believer because it helps the believer to mature spiritually. Job 5:17-18; Heb. 12:11.
“Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.” (Job 5:17-18, NASB)
“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:11, NASB)
God provides deliverance in time of extreme difficulties of life. Two examples are given in Job 5:19-20 – famine and warfare.
““From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you. “In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.” (Job 5:19-20, NASB)
No matter how you are maligned, here is a promise of deliverance. You are the gainer, but they are the loser providing you leave it to the Lord and do not retaliate. “Destruction” in Job 5:21 refers to death. When death comes, you will not be afraid because God has provided dying grace. Psalms 64:6-7, Rom. 12:19.
““You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.” (Job 5:21, NASB)
“They devise injustices, saying, “We are ready with a well-conceived plot”; For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep. But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded.” (Psalms 64:6-7, NASB)
“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, NASB)
Dying grace promises inner peace. Because of dying grace, the believer can laugh at violence, famine and even death, not humorously, or hysterically, but the believer can laugh inside because it is wonderful to be relaxed about death. You can look death in the face and laugh because you know God provides dying grace. Job 5:21-22.
""You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes. "You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of wild beasts." (Job 5:21-22, NASB)
At the time Job was written, wild animals roamed the earth and often killed people. This simply means that you shall not be afraid of the things on the earth that cause terror or even death. You are not afraid of certain things in life, such a flying, traffic, etc., where danger is involved, because you have inner peace and are confident of eternal life with our Lord.
The dangerous things in life cannot touch you until the Lord is ready to take you. You can be in the midst of battle, you can be in the midst of the most terrible and the most extreme situations in life, and you are absolutely in the Lord’s hands, you are safe. You can laugh at death all around you simply because you understand dying grace. No matter what the circumstances may be, the believer can be relaxed about death. If it is sudden, there will be great happiness just before. If it is prolonged, there will be great happiness during the interim of the prolonged dying. Job 5:23.
““For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.” (Job 5:23, NASB)
The body is not permanent. It wears out and is eventually removed and in its place, for the believer, there will be an everlasting body - a resurrection body. While dying, you will know that while you are dying, even though the body is the source of pain and agony in many cases, and even though you see your own body deteriorating through some sort of disease or injury, you will have peace. In Job 5:24, “abode” is heaven and “fear no loss” is ultimate sanctification.
““You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.” (Job 5:24, NASB)
In Job 5:25, dying grace gives comfort to those left behind. This verse points out to those left behind that their loved ones in the Lord are under the principle of dying grace and that they are not to grieve as others who have no hope. Your life must go on. Your life can be destroyed by bitterness, hysteria, or abnormal grief after the death of a loved one. They are to go right on living. These are idiomatic phrases, which mean you know that you have to go on living, that you have a purpose in life and that you must not allow the death of a loved one to destroy or hinder that purpose.
““You will know also that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.” (Job 5:25, NASB)
In Job 5:26, God takes the believer at the right time. When you arrive at death, as a believer, your time whether young or old is full, because this is God’s perfect timing to call you home. The analogy being used here is corn that when ripened is harvested. All corn does not ripen at the same time. It is picked as it ripens. This is a promise that when God takes His own home, that person has lived a full life.
““You will come to the grave in full vigor, Like the stacking of grain in its season.” (Job 5:26, NASB)
God has a purpose for every life and when God takes a life, whether the person is just a child a year or two old, a young person in the teens or in the twenties, He always takes the life at the right time. Do not question God’s omniscience when He takes a person out at an early age or even at an old age. When we see some lovely young person taken, there seems to be no justice in life. We are to understand that when God takes a person home, He knows via His omniscience exactly the right time.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.” (Psalms 116:15, NASB)
In Job 5:27, we are commanded to know what is dying grace. If you know and apply the doctrine of dying grace, you will be able to laugh at death. This is the laugh of faith. You look at death through faith. You look at death through the Word of God.
““Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.”“ (Job 5:27, NASB)
Then you are able to say, “O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory?” The sting has been taken out of death and the grave has been robbed of its victory for the believer who knows dying grace. 1 Cor. 15:55.
““O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”“ (1 Corinthians 15:55, NASB)
The believer’s spiritual growth is the basis for grace blessing in life and while dying. This is what is meant in Philippians 1:21. There is great excitement for the believer in their dying experience.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21, NASB)
Although you will not forget loved ones who have preceded you in dying grace, even in your sorrow, you must continue in life and fulfill God's plan, will, and purpose for your life. God’s purpose which keeps us on this earth must be fulfilled. We have been given the time and grace resources to do so.