WHY
CHRISTIANS PRAY FOR THE DEAD
Entrusting the dead to God has been an innate
practice in humanity, born from their belief in another conscious life that
follows the earthly one, and is present in all the religions of the world, both
pagan and Abrahamic.
Jews pray for the dead (2Maccabees 12:38-46; Male
Rechamin, Mourner's Kaddish), and so did Christians of apostolic times,
following the Jewish practice and Jewish theology of life after death (2Timothy
1:16- 18; Tomb of Abercious of Hieropolis during the 2nd century; and
Tertullian, during the 3rd century).
This is how it passed to all of Reformed theology,
from Luther (Augsburg Confession, Book of Concord; Understanding The Prayer for
the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic by James B. Gould), through
Anglicanism (Book of Common Prayer of 1549 ; Book of Common Prayer of the
Episcopal Church of 1979; "Prayers for the Dead" by Winfrid Oldfield
Burrows) to John Wesley (Chapters on the Early Registers of Halifax Parish
Church by Walter James Walker), and the practice even spread to other fringe
sects like the Latter-day Saints (Mormons).
As the Reformation advanced among non-conformist
groups and American denominations, the practice was eventually abandoned
altogether, following the adoption of 'Once Saved, Always Saved' Theology,
which became the cornerstone in the Evangelical movement throughout the world,
beginning in the 18th century.
REASONS FOR THE REJECTION OF THIS
PRACTICE
When the evangelical denominations were born, they
continued to purify the teachings received from the Reformers, seeing them as
incomplete due to their former Roman Catholic past. And in this spirit, they
rejected the baptism of babies, confirmation, the need for the ecclesiastical
ceremony of marriage for its validity, liturgies, special vestments, etc; and
among them, the prayers for the dead, arguing that this practice was based on
the Roman doctrine of Purgatory and that the destinies of each human being were
already defined from the moment of their death, whether for salvation or
damnation, depending on having done or not the 'Sinner's Prayer'. And under
this logic, little by little the practice of commending the dead to God was considered
to be a heretical and sinful practice.
ANALYZING
Jewish Theology shows an evident evolution from the
writings of the Torah, to the Babylonian period, with the Prophets, and
therefore, some argue that the Jewish practice of praying for the dead stems
from a corruption taken over from the Babylonian and Greek periods. However,
the logic behind this practice is consonant with the theology of Judaism as
seen in Scripture. If it were a pagan addition, it would be incongruous.
The Jews believe that the dead are in the Scheol, or
Hades, and that the final destiny of all humanity, which will be decided on the
day of Resurrection, can be altered until that day comes (Daniel 12:2; Isaiah
26 :19). This is the reason why they pray for their dead, which according to
Torah theology, this idea is possible, however it is not complete.
Jesus Christ defined post-mortem theology, thus
completing the partial Jewish belief in this regard.
From his parable of 'Lazarus and the Rich Man' (Luke
16:14-31) we can see that Jesus taught that the dead acquire their final state
immediately after death, which assumes a prior judgment, for without judgment
there is no sentence (Heb. 9:27).
Throughout the NT the idea is clear that there will
be a Final Judgment, after the General Resurrection of the Dead, and whose
result will be eternal and unappealable (Matthew 7:22-23; 25:41; Luke 13:25;
Revelation 20: 11-12; John 5:28-29, and many others); but there is no mention
of any Personal Judgment, which we nevertheless deduce it must exist for the
final destinies of the dead to be decided, unless the post-mortem place is not
permanent, and only until after the Resurrection and Final Judgment is their final
fate decided.
We know that the Just will rise in Glory 1000 years
before the Final Judgment and that their salvation is assured since then, and
thus also the perdition of all those who do not rise until after the
Millennium, which we know will be only for condemnation (Revelation 20:4-6;
12,15).
But what about the interim period from the day of
their deaths until the day of the First Resurrection?
The Bible does not give many details about it, but
it makes it clear that it is 'impossible to cross over from the side of the
wicked to the side of the righteous' after death:
"And in addition to all this, there
is a great gulf placed between us and you, so that those who want to cross from
here to you cannot, and neither can anyone cross from there to us."
Luke 16:23
It is clear therefore, that the final destiny of the
dead cannot be changed after their Personal Judgment, which must exist so that
we can be eternally saved before the Final Judgment.
The reason why the Final Judgment has so much
mention in the NT, it is because it will be an official, universal and public
event, but nevertheless, the destinies of all, reprobates or not, is already
fixed before this moment.
WHY WE PRAY FOR THE DEAD
The modern idea of 'Once
Saved, Always Saved' IS NOT CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. It has never been.
It is necessary to prove our Faith with a conduct
according to the Will of God, which proves our New Birth, our Regeneration by
the Holy Spirit. And we must remain with this faith, alive and active, until
the end of our lives.
Saving Faith is an operating process, not a mental
acceptance. Even in the case of stubborn sins in believers, when they persist
throughout life, such as masturbation, adultery, alcoholism or lying; this
constant sinning should never cause complacency but sorrow, and must cause a
constant struggle or at least sorrow in the heart of the believer, who being
grieved by the Holy Spirit within him, it will move him to his last act of
repentance before he dies, and thus successfully completing his career and
reach Glory, which is proof that he is a Son of God.
But that will not happen in the one who sins with
pleasure and justifies his sin because he does not have the Holy Spirit within
himself.
For this reason, even when it comes to people active
in the Church and who profess Christianity, and apparently meet all the
requirements to be considered saved; this is something that really only GOD
knows.
These are the ones Jesus was referring to when he
said 'Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of God'
(Matthew 7:21)
Not knowing then who will be truly saved, but that
we all will be judged before God, we ask God to mercifully judge all deceased
Christians, whether they appear holy to our eyes or not.
For this reason Paul wished that a Christian as
consecrated to God as Onesiphorus, could receive mercy on 'That Day', and never
assumed that he was in Glory (2Timothy 1:16-18).
There is no place for presumption of salvation in
Christianity. It is something that is reached at the end of the race and never
before. That is what we fight for every day. That is the Theology of the Cross.
CONCLUSION
We Christians pray for the dead not because we
believe in 'purgatory' or because we are trying to 'change anyone's final
destiny'.
We pray that God's Judgment will be merciful to our
brothers who have gone give account for their actions.
Their destiny will be decided by their faith and what
they have done in this life. They can do nothing after death, not even repent.
But their final destiny depends entirely on the Mercy of God.
It is only the Church on Earth, who can intercede
for God's mercy based on the merits of Christ, and never based on our merits,
because we cannot offer anything of ourselves either, except prayers for the
salvation of our brothers in based on the Sacrifice of Lord Jesus on the Cross.
We do not know when the Judgment of each person will
occur, because time is different in the spiritual world, that here on earth. We
only ask for mercy for those who have departed in the Name of Jesus and we
always commend them to the mercy of God.
As long as we know that we cannot change their final
fate after being sentenced, praying for the deceased is according to God's Will
to pray for each other, which also reflects our love for the departed.
Any other reasons apart from these, it is not part
of our Christian Faith.
Omar Flores.
Comments
Post a Comment