(A sequel to the previous article on Why Fear of Death is Not Allowed for Jesus’ Disciples)

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. (Matthew 28:20)

The overriding, most awesome, absolutely most compelling reality of the life of a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is His continuing presence with us throughout this life and on into the life-beyond-this-life.

How can we say this stronger?

The greatest factor in the believer’s fearlessness is that “Jesus is with me.” The reality that tips the scales for all time in favor of bold living and confident dying is the eternal presence of Jesus. Nothing else is so determinative.

I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)

As a result of this promise from our Lord, found in both the Old and New Testaments, we “may boldly say, the Lord is my Helper and I will not be afraid” (Hebrews 13:6).

Bold living, confident proclaiming, sweet testimony, and assured dying. That is the plan. That is what Jesus Christ feels He has a right to expect of every disciple.

Throughout Scripture, the Lord had the same answer–almost like a broken record if you remember what that was–to every excuse from those whom He called into His service: I will be with you. This was His panacea, His answer for everything.

It’s all through the Word….

1. When God called Moses, the 80-year-old began to protest this and that. The Lord said, “Surely I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:12; 4:12,15)

2. When Israel rebelled and for a time it appeared the Lord was going to abandon them to their bad choices, Moses counseled them, “Do not go (back to Egypt), lest you be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you.” He said, “For the (enemies) will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword…and the Lord will not be with you.” (Numbers 14:42-43)

3. When Joshua replaced Moses, God told him, “Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

4. When God called Gideon to lead His people against the oppressive Midianites, He began with, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” When Gideon protested, God said, “Surely I will be with you.” (Judges 6:12,16)

5. When God called Jeremiah as a youth to stand before the high and mighty on His behalf, the youngster began a familiar litany in which he listed his disqualifications. God was ready for him. “They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:19)

Perhaps the best-known testimonial of the difference the Lord’s presence makes is found in David’s beloved song.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me. (Psalm 23:4)

Does this hold for New Testament believers? Most of these after all are found in the Old Testament.

First, we have our Lord’s assurance (see the opening line of this article) from the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

Second, we have this promise: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).

And this: “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:6-10).

And this one: “And so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:17).

How many promises does it take to convince us?

How often does the Lord need to repeat that He will never leave our side and that we shall never ever be separated from Him to get it into our thick skulls and callous hearts?

What does it take for this to sink in so that we finally begin living as though we believe that He is indeed with us and we are with Him?

This is after all what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he spoke of “the mystery hid from the foundation of the world.” Christ in you, the hope of glory, he called it. (Colossians 1:27)

And it must be what he was thinking when he said, We indeed had the answer of death in ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead…. (II Corinthians 1:9)

(I’m well aware that modern translations change “answer” to “sentence,” but either way works.)

We have the answer to death.

In Jesus Christ, we have the cure, the remedy, the response, for death.

Old death. How we hate him. How we despise everything he does. He separates families, destroys hopes, scatters despair everywhere he goes, and scares humankind.

The Bible calls death an enemy (I Corinthians 15:26).

Jesus hated death so much He broke up every funeral procession He came to by raising the corpse to life again (Mark 5:41; Luke 7:14; John 11:43).

“Because I live, you too shall live,” He promised.

It’s all about Jesus.

It comes down to His integrity, to His promises, to His reality.

We who have settled these issues–we believe Him and we believe in Him–are under a divine mandate to show the world (and teach other believers) how then we should live….

–glowingly, victoriously in this life.

–confidently, assuredly in our proclamations.

–sweetly, knowingly in dealing with seekers

–solidly, with certainty in dealing with critics and opponents

–calmly, confidently in going out into eternity.

And can we settle once and for all (smiley face goes here) that when we breathe our last here on earth, we are not “going to meet the Lord.” We met Him years ago, friend.

Those who are saved have known Him ever since. We have walked with Him and He with us through good times and tough. What we call death is nothing more than laying aside these earthly remains in order that we may be “clothed upon with our dwelling from Heaven” (II Corinthians 5:2).

I promise you something, and I hope you will remember where you first got it. (another smiley face) When you get to Heaven, you will look back at how near it was all this time, see how faithful the Lord’s promises were to the reality, and how simple was the transition, and you will say, “That? I was afraid of that? I cannot believe I was afraid of that!”

Now, let’s quit worrying about the future and start living boldly for today.

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)