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That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (KJV)
If you are afraid anyway, that does not mean he never delivered you. Death is an enemy, the last one to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26), and it is no sin to dread an enemy that has already lost. Christ will be with you in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4), and he has gone through death itself ahead of you and come out the other side. For those who follow him there is no waiting room between, and no purging fire.
The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.
Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 37
The sin you have fought all your life does not come with you. Even your body is still united to Christ, and it rests in the grave as in a bed until the resurrection.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (KJV)
The sting was sin, and the law gave sin its power to condemn, but Christ kept the law and bore the sin. So for a believer even dying now comes out of God’s love, to free him from sin and bring him to Christ (WLC Q&A 85).
If you dread leaving the people you love, commit them to God. Psalm 68:5 calls him a father of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, which means he takes up their cause. And when the end comes near, do not face it alone. Call for the elders of your church, as James 5 says, and let them pray over you. Let your family hear from your own mouth where your hope is.
If the hard news has just come, the comfort page has Scripture for that day. If you are grieving someone else, start there.
If you have had thoughts of ending your life, God has not finished with it. In the United States, call 988 or text 988. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number. And tell someone near you.
While you wait
Do Not Fight This Alone
A page cannot sit with you or pray over you. Tell your pastor or an elder what you are afraid of. Keep sitting under the preached Word, and if you are a communing member, do not stay away from the Lord’s Table while your doubts are being answered. The Larger Catechism says it was appointed for the relief even of weak and doubting Christians (Q&A 172). Safe in His Keeping gives a few things to do while you wait for the fear to lift.
If you cannot tell whether you have ever come to Christ, do not wait to settle it. Come to him now. He promised to cast out none who come (John 6:37), and the gospel is set out for you in full.