Episode 226 Show Notes
How Does Cremation Affect Christians in the Resurrection?
From the Show
How does cremation affect Christians in the resurrection?
I agree that cremation is fine. My parents were cremated and I had no qualms at all about that. I'm happy to be cremated as well, but my wife does have qualms about it, so she gets to decide. I think it's a matter of personal preference; if you think that you're dishonoring the body by cremation, don't do it; if you believe that you're simply burying the body in the form of ashes, then you have the Christian liberty to make that choice. There's absolutely nothing inherently pagan or disrespectful about that method of burial. I think we should all agree that Christian burial requires a proper service with a minister committing the body to the grave in the hope of the resurrection, but this isn't magic. This isn't Hocus Pocus. You know, a lot of people, especially those who have had terrible accidents, don't have their body intact in the first place to be buried. So, there are all kinds of reasons why I think we have to have Christian freedom on this question. Here's the main point: we're not saved by the method we use in burial. We're saved by the promise that God gives in his gospel that all that trust in Jesus Christ, though they die, will be raised and live forever. We’re not judged, we're not condemned, on the basis of the method we use for that burial. — Michael Horton
Questions in this Episode
1. How does the Father in the parable of the prodigal son compare to God?
2. I have a gay daughter who shuns me because of my beliefs that homosexuality is a sin. I feel horrible because. I know what the Bible teaches but I also want to have a relationship with my daughter and I’m not sure how to rebuild what we used to have.
3. How does cremation affect Christians in the resurrection?
4. I have heard you talk in the past that regeneration proceeds faith, but Galatians 3:14 says that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Doesn’t Galatians 3 show that people have faith before receiving the Holy Spirit and regeneration?
5. When Jesus put the demons into the pigs and the pigs ran off and drowned in the lake, were the demons destroyed?
6. I grew up hearing that the kingdom of God was something off in the future, but there are passages in the gospels that make it seems like the kingdom of God is present at the time of Jesus’ ministry. Yet, in other passages, Jesus puts the kingdom in the future. Are these the same kingdom?
Resources
Is God Anti-Gay? by Sam Allberry
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