What the Bible Says About Death, Burial, and Cremation

This page teaches what Scripture says about death, burial, and preparing to die. If you are grieving tonight, you need comfort before teaching, so go first to When Someone You Love Has Died, or to When Someone You Love Took Their Own Life. If you are dying or afraid of death, read When Death Comes Near. If your loved one was cremated and it troubles you, the part on cremation has a word for you.

If you are thinking of ending your life, or of helping someone end theirs, stop here. Call 988 or text 988 now, and read If you are thinking of ending your life. God has not finished with you.

What Death Is

People often call death natural, a part of life, even a friend. Scripture never does. God made man to live. He warned Adam about the forbidden tree, In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17). Adam ate, and God said, Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Genesis 3:19). By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12).

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (KJV)

Wages are what a man has earned, and death is what sin has earned. It was not part of God’s first creation. That is why it feels so wrong to us. It is wrong. So the Bible calls death an enemy, the last enemy that shall be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). Jesus stood at his friend’s grave and groaned in the spirit (John 11:33).

Yet death is not loose in the world on its own. God says, I kill, and I make alive (Deuteronomy 32:39). No one dies outside his hand. And for those in Christ the enemy is already beaten. The sting is gone, though the wound is still felt.

What Happens When We Die

At death body and soul are torn apart for a time. The body goes to the grave, and the soul goes on, awake, to God.

So the soul does not sleep until the last day, and there is no purgatory where believers pay what Christ left unpaid. The Shorter Catechism gives the believer’s part. Their souls are made perfect in holiness and immediately pass into glory, and their bodies, still united to Christ, rest in their graves till the resurrection (WSC 37).

The Believer Goes to Be with Christ

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21 (KJV)

Paul had a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:23). He was willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). And Jesus told the dying thief, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Paradise was a word for a garden, and it calls Eden to mind. It is a picture, and what it pictures is real. The thief was with Christ that very day.

The Unbeliever Is Kept for Judgment

This must be said soberly, and never with pleasure. Jesus told of a rich man who lived for himself and died. In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments (Luke 16:23). Jesus speaks of his tongue and of a flame, though the man’s body lay in its grave. Those words picture the torment of a soul without its body, and the torment is real. Between that place and Abraham’s side there is a great gulf fixed (16:26).

It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). No one repents after death, which is why the gospel always says today. Yet we may not pronounce on any particular person who has died, for we do not know what passed between a soul and God at the end. If that fear presses on you, read When You Fear They Did Not Know Christ. But it is our place to warn the living, ourselves first.

The Resurrection of the Body

God made us body and soul, and he will not leave half his work in the dust.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 5:28-29 (KJV)

All will rise, the just and the unjust, each in the same body that was laid down.

At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed; and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls forever.

Westminster Confession of Faith 32.2

Job knew it long before Christ came. Though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God (Job 19:26). The pattern is Christ’s own body. After he rose he said, Handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have (Luke 24:39). The risen body is not a new creature in place of the old one. It is the old one made new.

The Confession adds that the bodies of the unjust are raised by Christ’s power to dishonor, and the bodies of the just by his Spirit to honor, made like his own glorious body (WCF 32.3). He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body (Philippians 3:21). Vile here means lowly and weak.

Burial in Scripture

Because the body will rise, God’s people have always honored it in death. In Scripture burial is often an act of faith.

I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Genesis 23:4 (KJV)

When Sarah died, Abraham owned no land in Canaan. God had promised him all of it, but he still lived in tents. The first piece of the promised land he ever owned was a grave, bought at full price (Genesis 23:16-20). He laid his wife in the promised land because he believed the promise.

Joseph died a ruler in Egypt, but he made his brothers swear to carry his bones up out of it (Genesis 50:24-25). Centuries later Moses carried that coffin out in the exodus, and Israel buried it at Shechem (Exodus 13:19, Joshua 24:32). The Holy Spirit counts the request among the great acts of faith. By faith Joseph, when he died, gave commandment concerning his bones (Hebrews 11:22).

Most of all, Christ himself was buried. Paul counts it part of the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Faithful hands wound his body in linen with spices and laid it in a new tomb in a garden (John 19:40-41). Because he lay in a grave, the grave of a believer is no longer a prison. Their bodies rest in their graves as in their beds (WLC 86).

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (KJV)

Paul pictures burial as sowing. A farmer drops a seed into the ground, and it rots there and seems lost. Then up comes a living plant, far more glorious than the bare grain, yet grown from that very seed (15:36-38). The body laid in the grave is the seed. The sowing is the picture. The rising is not a picture. It is as real as the resurrection of Jesus, and the same God promises it.

A spiritual body does not mean a body made of spirit. Christ’s risen body had flesh and bones. It means a body wholly ruled and filled by the Holy Spirit, never again weak or dying or able to sin. A Christian standing at a grave is standing in a field God has sown, waiting for the harvest.

What About Cremation

Christians have historically buried their dead, as a testimony that the body will rise, and many Reformed teachers still counsel burial today. Burial says with the body what the creed says with the mouth.

In Scripture the burning of a body is mostly tied to judgment. Achan was stoned and then burned for his sin (Joshua 7:25). And God judged Moab for an act of contempt toward the dead.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

Amos 2:1 (KJV)

There is one case to weigh honestly. When the Philistines killed King Saul, they cut off his head and fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan (1 Samuel 31:9-10). The men of Jabeshgilead went all night, took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, and burnt them. Then they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days (31:12-13). David blessed them for this kindness (2 Samuel 2:5). So burning was not always contempt. Here it seems meant to spare bodies already shamed by enemies, and even then they buried the bones. It was a hard measure in a hard hour, not a new custom.

But hear this just as plainly. Cremation does not hinder God from raising anyone. Every body returns to dust in the end, whether in a grave or a fire or the sea, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it (Revelation 20:13). Many martyrs were burned and their ashes scattered, and they will rise in glory. Scripture gives no direct command about how the dead must be laid to rest.

So faithful Christians differ. Some believe cremation should never be chosen. Many more hold that it is not forbidden, but that burial is the clearer testimony, and they counsel it whenever it can be done. God alone is Lord of the conscience (WCF 20.2), and no church may bind where Scripture has not. Where cremation is chosen, many counsel burying the ashes under a stone with a name, rather than scattering them.

If someone you love was cremated, hear this gently. You did not shut them out of the resurrection. If they were in Christ, their body is still united to him, whatever has become of it, and he will raise it.

If you must choose cremation because of cost, you are not sinning against your loved one or against God. Before you decide, tell your pastor or your deacons, since the church may be able to help with a simple burial. But if cremation is the only way you can bear the cost, choose it without shame, and trust God with the last day.

Choices at the End of Life

Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13). The Larger Catechism says the sixth commandment forbids taking away our own life or anyone else’s, except in public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense, and it forbids neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of keeping life (WLC 136). That rules out euthanasia and assisted suicide, whatever kinder name the law gives them. It is still killing when a doctor does it, and when the dying man asks for it. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8). Life is his to give and his to take.

But not every possible treatment must be used until the last breath. A patient may refuse or stop a treatment that is a heavy burden and can no longer heal him, but only stretch out his dying. That is not killing. The difference lies in the aim. Ending a life is one thing. Ceasing to fight a death that has already come is another. Ordinary care, such as keeping someone clean and warm and offering food and water while the body can take them, should never be withheld to bring death sooner.

It is right to relieve pain, even with strong medicine that may shorten life. Scripture says, Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish (Proverbs 31:6). The aim must be to ease suffering, never to kill. God sees the aim of the heart, even when two doses look alike on paper.

Do not make these choices alone. Take them to your elders, and seek a doctor who honors life as God’s gift. Hospice, rightly given, eases pain without hastening death. If long nights of caregiving bring a dark thought of ending it, for the one you love or for yourself, tell someone today, and call 988 or text 988.

Organ Donation

Giving an organ to save another is a matter of Christian liberty, and it can be a fine act of love. No one is bound to do it. The one caution is grave. Death must be truly confirmed before anything is taken, and no one may be hastened toward death for another’s sake. Christians differ on some of the medical tests for death, so talk with your elders and a doctor you trust before you sign.

Preparing to Die

Death is not the master of the Christian. Christ is.

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Revelation 1:18 (KJV)

Keys picture authority. The authority they picture is real. Christ went down into death and came out holding the keys. He took part of flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15). None of his people will die an hour before his time.

So the first and greatest preparation for death is to be found in Christ (Philippians 3:9). If you have never come to Christ, or are not sure you have, read the gospel today. He died for sinners and rose again, and he turns away none who come.

Then get ready in plain, earthly ways too. When King Hezekiah was sick, God sent the prophet to tell him to set his house in order, for he would die (2 Kings 20:1, Isaiah 38:1). God gave Hezekiah fifteen more years, but the word still stands for us. Setting your house in order is not a lack of faith. It is love for those you will leave. Pray with Moses, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

1. Make sure of Christ. Confess your sins and rest on him alone. How to Examine Yourself can help.
2. Make a will. If any provide not for his own, he hath denied the faith (1 Timothy 5:8). Name guardians who will raise your children in the Lord. Do it this year.
3. Write down your wishes for care. Choose someone who honors life to speak for you if you cannot. Tell them you want no one to hasten your death, and no burdensome treatment that only prolongs dying.
4. Plan a funeral that preaches Christ. Ask for Scripture, psalms, prayer, and a plain word of the gospel. A funeral is a sermon to the living, who lay death to heart that day (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Say whether you wish to be buried, and settle the cost ahead if you can.
5. Be reconciled. If anyone has something against you, go to them now (Matthew 5:23-24). Ask forgiveness, and give it.
6. Tell your family where your hope is. Jacob blessed his sons before he was gathered to his people (Genesis 49). Say it aloud, and write it down.

And remember the dying in your church. Visit them, and help with the funeral bill. On the last day the One who holds the keys will open every grave of his people, and death will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54).