Full Transcript for Is Cremation a Sin? What Does the Bible Say?

be humble enough to go, maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I'm wrong. And As we did last week, as we do every week, we want to invite you as our audience into this conversation. You know, if you have a different take on it, let's talk. you might be able to educate me on some things. I I have no doubt that there are people in our audience that are smarter than I am. And so let's have that conversation. speaker-1: Heck, you have someone on this podcast that is no, I'm just kidding. I'm not smarter than you. speaker-0: I beg to differ. But what we mean when we say that it's a matter of personal conscience or personal liberty is the Bible does not expressly permit cremation? Goodness gracious. Nor does it expressly forbid cremation. Now, when that's the case, how are we as Christians to decide what to do? I go to Romans 14, verse 23. Paul says, But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. The context there is some Christians were concerned about eating meat that had been brought in from a pagan temple market. In those days, they would take some of the meat, they would sacrifice it to these false gods, these demons. And Christians were concerned that if they bought And ate the meat from these markets, that they would be participating in that idolatry. So Paul is answering this question here for them. And he tells them, listen, yes, you were permitted to buy the meat from the marketplace with a clear conscience, unless you expressly know for a fact it was sacrificed to that false god or goddess. And his caveat is right there at the very end of our verse. Paul says, if you are unsure about it, If you are uneasy about it, then don't buy and eat that meat. Because if you are not acting in faith, if you're not clear in your conscience, and you do it, then you are in fact being sinful. So if you're somebody that has doubts about cremation, then I would say pray for clarity. Study the scriptures, seek wise counsel before making a decision. And until you have that clarity, Then yes, it would be sinful for you to be cremated. But for those of you that are like me, that go, No, i it's not sinful, then I believe that we are biblically permitted to be cremated. So I guess I should have asked you this question before we ever started. What's your stance on it, Diana? speaker-1: Well, I I have to be honest, my stance on it has changed through the years. Now, this is gonna introduce some levity into the whole topic, but I have always really, really disliked the idea of being buried. And yes, I know I will be dead. I know that I will not still be in my body. My soul will have left and I will be in heaven with Jesus. But I do not like snakes, and snakes live in the dirt, and I do not really like the idea of my body being in the dirt and a snake creepy crawling around on it. So I have always really, really struggled with the thought of being buried. But as I said before, I grew up

hearing that cremation was sinful and bad and how was God gonna put that all them ashes back together to make your your glorified body in heaven? So I never really considered that. So I was like, maybe I need to be in like the like the vault, the mausoleum thing, like sli just slide me into the wall thing. I I don't know, I didn't have a really good feeling. But what I will say is as cremation has become more popular, I will say that when I attend a funeral or a memorial service where there is not the body present, I have actually come away from those services. feel actually like I had a better grasp on my emotions. Like with the pictures and stuff and and in a memorial service we we talk about the person that's lost. But the best services are the ones where the pastors get right to the gospel and they talk about how this person's life here on earth is over, but all the rest of us still have an opportunity. For salvation if we have not already claimed that. So I personally have gotten to where I'm like, I much prefer the services without the body because you think about the soul, the part that is going to live on forever. And I don't know. I I think I lean more towards cremation these days. speaker-0: Yeah, so a couple of things. As somebody that has done my fair share of funerals in the last twenty years I find memorial services a whole lot easier to number one get to the gospel, but also to have it be a celebration of life. Because when there's this casket and a body in front of you, you can talk about welcome to this celebration of life, but all they see is that is a lifeless body, and it's kind of hard. It is. the second thing I would say, and this is to my pastor buddies, or anybody that does a funeral. Please, for the love of everything pure and holy, preach the gospel. I don't mind if you talk about the person, especially if you knew them, but please keep it short and get to the gospel. Because people are there, they are hurting, they are questioning, they are more open to this idea of what happens after we die than almost any other time we are ever going to talk to them. And so when I've gone to funerals that I'm not doing, and guys, I'm not trying to throw shade, I'm not trying to judge anybody, but I've been to some, even one recent, where they talked about the person and never got to the gospel. And I feel like that is such a disservice to God. And to the people that are in front of us, because what if that was the last chance for them to hear the gospel before they were lifeless in front of a crowd? Right. All right, I'm off my soapbox. Let's go. I think it's also important to study other texts that talk about Christians using our freedom in choices. You know, Paul tells us elsewhere that we're not to use our freedom to harm the conscience or faith of another believer. Let's say Diana and you and I we invite somebody over to our house to eat. Now we are aware that they're vegetarians. speaker-1: I thought you said we were inviting them over. speaker-0: I I you're right. But let's say we know they're vegetarians, but we're gonna have bacon and chicken and steak for that meal. Now, even though you and I are convinced that proof of God's love for us is He allows us to eat bacon and other meats, we're aware that our guests do not share that same conviction. Therefore, we're going to put their interest ahead of our own. We are going to serve a vegetarian friendly meal, and when they leave, we are going to a steakhouse. But the meal we share together is going to be in deference to them because we do not want to violate their conscience. You know, from a biblical standpoint, we know that burial was the most common form of dealing with the dead. That was reflective of the time and the customs of that culture. Most modern denominations, even Protestant ones, still lean towards and still prefer burial over cremation. But again, we have to be honest that you cannot make a case that cremation is sinful from Scripture. speaker-1: Well, and I kind of think of it this way. Yes, at that time that was the most common thing, but that doesn't mean that it's wrong to do it any other way. The argument that always comes to my mind is growing up I always heard that it was rude to put your elbows on the table. And I never really understood why. Nobody could really explain it to me. but it was rude to put your elbows on the table, and it just was and you weren't allowed to do it. And then I went to a history class in high school, and the teacher talked about where that came from. And he said at the time, most tables were not like the kitchen tables that we have today. It would be most of the time like a barrel in the center with like a sheet of wood across the top of it. So if somebody leaned their weight or put their elbows on the table, what happens to that tabletop? speaker-0: All the food comes to them. speaker-1: Yeah, and it crashes and it makes a big old mess. And so yeah, it made really good sense in that time. Don't put your elbows on the table. Don't lean your weight on the table. Does it necessarily have to still be that way today when we have tables that have a leg in each corner? No, not necessarily. But sometimes we get so caught up in the way that we've always done it, we think that's the only way we're allowed to do it. speaker-0: That's a whole nother podcast for a whole nother time. Cause you know, there is a difference between tradition and traditionalism. Traditions can be good. Traditions can be rooted in scripture and in the past and it can be a way of carrying on. the the celebrations and the things God has done in the past, but traditionalism is celebrating or really making an idol of the past. You know, the phrase that gets used a lot in churches. We've never done it this way. Or we've always done it this way. Well, just because you've always done it this way doesn't mean it's the only way to do it. Right. And so, you know, we talked about that I don't know, maybe a month

ago or so. but again, I know a lot of people who argue against cremation, they talk about the role of fire in the Bible as judgment. Certainly we see fire used as a form of God's judgment. But we also see in Exodus 3, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. That wasn't judgment. We read in 1 Corinthians 3 how that at the judgment of the second coming, our works are going to be judged by guess what? Fire. speaker-1: It's refining thing. It it burns out everything that's impure and leaves only the purest. speaker-0: For warm. Absolutely. So you you can't simply say, well, fire is always judgment in the Bible. That's just not biblically true. The other most common objection is, well, what about the body in the resurrection? This kind of goes back to what you were talking about. Some will say, Well, how can God give them a resurrected body if there is no body? Now, I would like to say this. I hope. when the resurrection happens, that there's a little bit less of me of God to put back together. I would be okay with that. But let me ask you this. Do you think Abraham, Moses, Joshua, or David have a body left? Are you gonna say that no one that died in September 11th, the terror attacks, you're gonna say none of them were saved because they were burned up when the planes hit the towers? Listen, God made us from dust, and we return to dust. Cremation is simply speeding the process up. And honestly, cremation is my last chance to have a smoking hot body. So speaker-1: I knew you were gonna make that joke. I saw it coming, but there was nothing I could do. speaker-0: It's like an accident you're driving by. Like you see it, it's coming, but you just can't turn away. listen, I'm not good for much, but terrible dad jokes I got. now, a serious note. I think the more important question than what about the physical body of the deceased is this where did their spirit go the moment they breathed their last? Right. You know, we we pick fights as Christians. over trivial stuff. I'm not saying that death i is trivial, but we want to bind the conscience of somebody that says, hey, I'm gonna have my loved one cremated and we we wanna pick that fight. You know, the number one reason that people are choosing cremation more now than ever in the past is the sheer cost of it. speaker-1: Great. speaker-0: I mean The cost of a traditional funeral is a minimum of $10,000. I mean, it's upwards of $15 at this point. Now, should everybody have life insurance and be able to do that? Absolutely. However, there's a great portion of the society that either doesn't have it by choice or can't afford the life insurance. So they, you know, they can't afford to live and they can't afford to die. So what are you gonna do? but again. I think we have to keep the main thing the main thing. If a person died in rebellion and rejection of the gospel, does it really matter that they were buried? No, because they're burning. But in the same way, if a person repented and believed the gospel, but

their loved ones had them cremated, is God gonna go, sorry, I was gonna let you into heaven, but you were cremated, sorry, you can't make it. Are you kidding me? Maybe that's being a little too straightforward or abrasive, but I think too often we as Christians get up get caught up in asking the wrong questions. It's vital for us to keep the main thing the main thing. Where is that person right now? You know, when I do funerals, the reality is whether the person's lifeless body is in front of me or it's just memorial pictures, their funeral has already been preached. The people I'm preaching to in those moments are the people sitting in front of me, the people that are watching the live stream of it. Those are the only people that can respond because Scripture's abundantly clear clear when it says it's appointed unto man once to die, then the judgment. So again, I want to impress upon anybody that is given the privilege, and it is a privilege to speak at somebody's memorial or their funeral or or whatever. Make sure you get to the gospel. Give people hope. Not only for the loved one, especially if they're, I mean, if you know as much as we can that they were a Christian, man, this is the time. Like, give them that hope. But maybe they're there and they have never repented and believed the gospel. And now they're more open to hearing it. Because funerals make us more aware of our own mortality. So here's the thing: lean into that. Don't manipulate them, but lean into it. Give them the truth of the gospel and then let God be God. Now, again, I recognize there are plenty of people that disagree with me on this topic. I'm going to invite you to have a conversation with me. My two rules from last week, they still stand. Be respectful and bring a biblical argument. You do those two things. I'm more than happy to hear from you. I'm going to I'm gonna hear you out. Now, we may have to agree to disagree, but maybe if we have a respectful conversation and we're using scripture in context, maybe we convince one another of some truths. So that's that's my invitation to you. But we're gonna go ahead and we're we'll wrap this episode up by once again asking you the most important question that we can. Do you know where you're going to spend eternity when you die? Because we all have a date that's been fixed by God where we will breathe our last, or that last trumpet will sound and Jesus will return. When either of those two things happen, the opportunity for you to repent and believe is over. So now is the time to respond to the gospel. And we all want to go to heaven. But we have to understand Jesus said there's only one way to get there, and that's repenting and believing that Jesus died in your place, he rose from the dead, and one day he's gonna come back. And on that day, we're gonna stand before him and we're gonna give an account for our life. And the reality is either Jesus paid it all, or we're gonna spend the rest of our eternity paying for our sin. Those are the only two options that there are. And so If you're listening and you want more information on what does it mean to be a Christian, please reach out to us. Facebook, Instagram. You can email us at anchoredbytheword at gmail.com. You can go to Westlake Baptist Church, any of those places. We would love to be able to have that conversation. But we also want to help Christians learn their Bible and grow in their faith. I'm convinced that the Bible is the only book that we could read every single day of our life, every moment of every day, and still when we die, not know everything about it. So let's enjoy getting to know God deeper by getting into his word. So we've had some seriousness, we've had some levity. Do you have any final thoughts this week? speaker-1: No, I don't think so. speaker-0: Consistency. I love it. Well, until next week, may we all dive into our Bibles to know God deeper so that we can make Him known broader. We look forward to seeing you here next week on Anchored by the Word.