Hi my name is Travis Paul I'm from San Leandro California and I just wanted to know if cremation is practiced by the people of God and if it's in the Bible.
Thank you Travis for your question. You know dear friends death is something that, well, that no one living in this world can avoid.
It's important to to note first off that well here theres no religious rituals that are performed for any member of the Church of Christ who passes away
For example there's no prayers for the dead, there is no religious ceremonies or services that members of the Church Of Christ take part in after losing a loved one.
Why not? Well according to the Bible the dead will never again take part in anything that happens in this world. That's mentioned in the bible in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
Nevertheless the bereaved of the dead strive to give a proper or a decent burial for their deceased loved ones and while this is understandable and of course very reasonable as well.
But Travis everything that we do all of our actions during this highly emotional moment in one's life is to be which by the way is often influenced by cultural norms.
Whatever those actions may be they have to be guided by God who is the one who of course then will be the one to comfort people in their time of loss by means of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Should we cremate our deceased loved ones? First what does that even mean? Through cremation the remains of the deceased will be burned and the ashes will be placed in an urn or sometimes dispersed over soil or water.
Lets take a look at how the people of God have set the example for us regarding this we turn to the book of Genesis Verses 1 - 4 we'll also read 10 - 11
So Travis, dear friends, burial was clearly the practice of God's people. For example in this case of Sarah, Abraham's wife, Abraham well he mourned her death and buried her body into the ground.
And you know dear friends there's so many more examples in the Bible that really show to us God's people burying their loved ones into the ground.
For example in the book of Genesis 50:26 as well in the book of Joshua 24:32.
In those verses the Bible speaks about the process that, well, Josephs family had went through so as to obey God's expectation or commandment burying those who had served the lord God in ancient times
And you know one of the most famous individuals mentioned in the Bible is Moses of course. Everyone has heard of Moses.
What did God himself do with Moses after he died? Did he burn him, cremate him, and sprinkle his ashes?
Let's turn to the book of Deuteronomy this time where in the Bible gives a response the verses 5-6 lets take a look at what's recorded there.
So dear friends clearly, God himself even took the act of burying Moses to further emphasize how important burial really is. So...
It's a normal practice of burying those who have passed away this is a, how about our Lord Jesus Christ the savior, in the Christian era of time?
Was there any example given in the Holy Scriptures or any information provided to us about how Jesus himself regarding this topic?
Here in the book of John chapter 19:40-42
So dear friends, Travis, even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself the Son of God was also buried after he passed away
So if God's people are to be buried, is there any record in the Bible which shows how God himself then feels about cremation, of the burning of bodies?
Is there anything the Bible shows us where in God would not approve of that option?
Let's again turn to the Holy Scriptures in the book of Amos 2:1-2, it says..
So clearly God was angry with the people. Why was He angry with the people of Moab? Because of what they had done to the king of Edom. What did they do?
They burned his bones, the Bible makes very clear that they had dishonored his bones by burning them to ashes
So dear friends if God is truly angered by the burning of the deceased how then did cremation come about in the first place?
What religious custom is the burning of the dead or cremation connected to? If it's not connected to God and not connected to the Bible and that is what God's people are supposed to be doing how did it come about?
Therein lies the truth Cremation is the practice of Hinduism because they believe it's the start of the reincarnation process which of course is not in the Bible and it is not in accordance with God's teachings
But what can a true servant of God hope for if they pass away and are properly buried. Here in Psalms 49:15 the following is recorded.
Travis, dear friends they will be redeemed, they will be resurrected from the grave. Not from an urn or from ashes being sprinkled somewhere, but they will be resurrected from the grave unto a life true life in the kingdom of heaven
And we inside the Church Of Christ we believe in these biblical teachings we follow these instructions as well. Why? Dear friends because that's in the bible.
Thank you Travis for your question and if anyone viewing the program today has questions of your own please send in your videos to us here at the email that's shown on the screen answers@incmedia.org
Visit our site on incmedia.org because, well, there you're going to find many shows similar to this one where in the true teachings of our lord God and our lord Jesus Christ are upheld by the true church, the Church of Christ or the Iglesia Ni Cristo. Thanks for watching I'm brother Bob Pellien and we'll see you next time on That's in the Bible