HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKS
How long will you and I be remembered when our time comes
to leave this earth for the place where we shall spend eternity? O I am aware
that our family members and some of friends will remember us for a
while, probably for a few years at most. How will you and I be remembered? Will
those who have known us think of the good we did or the heartaches we caused? I
am reminded of a story I heard many years ago. It seems there was a preacher
who always preached the dead into heaven. But he was called upon to preach the
funeral of a man who had caused strife and heartaches all his life. His
neighbors wondered what the preacher would say at the man's funeral. The
preacher hummed and hawed for a while and then sheepishly said: "He could
really whistle well."
Hebrews 11 lists a number of men we preachers often refer
to as "heroes of the faith." Among these great men of God were Enoch,
the man who walked with God, Noah, the man who moved with fear and built the
ark, Abraham, the friend of God, Moses, the great lawgiver and others. Please
take special notice of what the author of Hebrews says about another hero of
the faith. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his
gifts, and by it he being dead yet speaks" (Heb. 11:4). Our study today has the simple title,
"He Being Dead Yet Speaks."
A brief analysis of this verse will introduce our study
today. The author of Hebrews introduces all of these heroes of the faith with
the prepositional phrase, "by faith." The book of Genesis gives us
some insight into the life of Abel. "Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground." They both brought sacrifices to offer to
God. "Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, but Abel brought of the
firstlings of the flock and the fat thereof. The Lord had respect unto Abel and
his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he (God) had no respect"
(Gen. 4:2-5). Was not God being arbitrary in accepting Abel's offering and
rejecting Cain's? The answer to my question becomes clear when we understand
the expression, "by faith."
According to the apostle Paul, "faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10: 17). If God did not instruct
Cain and Abel about the sacrifices he demanded of them, he was being arbitrary
in his condemnation of Cain and in his approval of Abel. We do not know when
God told the two brothers what to offer, but we know he told them or he would
not have held them accountable for their conduct. Abel had enough faith in the
word of God to do exactly what God said in the way he said do it. Like many
modem theologians, Cain trusted in his own wisdom and violated the divine will.
By offering the sacrifice that God demanded, Abel
"obtained witness that he was righteous." Does that mean we must do
whatever God commands to obtain witness that we are righteous? Some religious
teachers deny it, but Bible writers strongly emphasize the absolute necessity
of doing right to be righteous. Three verses from John's first epistle should
convince all honest students of the word that we must do righteousness to be
righteous. Please listen with an open mind to these three verses: "If you
know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness is
born of him" (1 John 2:29). "Little children, let no man deceive you;
he who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous ... .In this
the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever does
not do righteousness is not of God, neither he who does not love his
brother" (1 John 3:7,10). The tenses of the verbs in verse ten are
significant. When we take the tenses of the verbs into consideration the verse
reads: "In this the children of God are continually manifested, and the
children of the devil: whosoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,
neither he who does not make a habit of loving his brother."
Because Abel obeyed the commands of the Lord, "He
being dead yet speaks." The tense of the verb "speaks" means:
"Even though Abel died, he continues to speak." What message does
Abel have for this generation and for all generations until the end of the age?
He tells us specifically and emphatically that faith alone is not adequate.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11: 6), but
faith alone is dead (Jas. 2:17). A careful reading of Hebrews 11 ought to
convince all honest readers that faith alone is dead faith. Do you remember
what this chapter says about Abraham? "By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place that he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going" (Heb. 11:8). The
main clause of that sentence is very simple: "By faith Abraham ...
obeyed." Do you honestly believe any of the people listed in Hebrews 11
would be included in the "hall of faith" if they had not obeyed the
commands of the Lord? Faith must be accompanied by obedience or it is not
saving faith.
Let us look closely at some Bible characters to ascertain
what they did that should inspire us to remember them favorably. The prophet
Daniel was one of the greatest men of his age or of any other age.
Nebuchadnezzar and his mighty army captured Daniel and his three companions,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, while they were probably still teenagers, and
carried them into the
Daniel became a powerful administrator in
Even though Daniel has been dead for approximately 2,500
years, he still speaks to our generation and will continue to deliver a message
to all people who have ears to hear. And what message does Daniel provide for
all true believers in God almighty? He teaches us to believe
in God and to trust him for our eventual deliverance from evil. God may not
deliver us in this world from those who would destroy us, but we know what the
final victory will be. In the words of the apostle Paul: "Nay in all
things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37).
"Thanks be unto God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).
The book of Acts gives us a brief glimpse into the life of
a woman whose name was Tabitha, but who is better known by the name Dorcas.
"Now there was at Joppa a certain disciples named Tabitha, which by
interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and acts of
charity which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick,
and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And
forasmuch as Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was
there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come
to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he came, they brought him
into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by weeping, and showing the coats
and garments Dorcas made, while she was with them" (Acts 9:36-39). The
apostle Peter by the power of God almighty raised Dorcas from the dead. Many of
the people who knew of the incident believed in the Lord (Acts 9:40-43).
This is such a brief story, but it gives us great insight
into the kind of persons we should strive to be if we want to be remembered
favorably. Dorcas had spent many hours in making coats and other garments for
those who were in need. At her death, the women whom she had helped stood
weeping and showing the garments she had made for them. Do you believe the
people Dorcas had helped would remember her as long as they lived? Fortunately,
there are men and women in every community who are gracious and generous in
helping those who are in need. I have been blessed in my more than sixty years
of preaching to have known people like Dorcas. They gave generously of their
time, talent and money. In most cases, they did so without any fanfare. They
did it because of their love for God and for their fellowmen. I thank God that
I was married to such a person for more than fifty-three years.
I have mentioned some faithful servants of God who have
been dead for centuries, but who still speak to us of their commitment to doing
the will of God. But the Bible lists some men and women who will be remembered
in an unfavorable light as long as the world continues. Some of the kings among
the Israelite people were scoundrels and serve as abominable examples of what
political leaders should not be. Ahab always did evil in the sight of the Lord.
And besides, he was married to Jezebel. We remember Ahab because he killed
Naboth just to get Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings 21: 14-16). What a tragic example
of imminent domain! Some of the Israelite kings actually worshiped idols and
even offered their own children as sacrifices to heathen gods. Those kings will
live in infamy as long as the world continues. They are speaking to our
generation, but their message is one of evil, rebellion and disobedience.
During the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton, the
news media often spoke of the legacy he wanted to leave. I am sure President
Clinton did some good, but millions of Americans and other people worldwide
will remember him primarily because of his sexual escapades. When the president
of the
Have you noticed how the media exalt and glorify Hugh
Hefner, the founder of the Playboy empire? Hugh Hefner takes great pride in his
promotion of sexual immorality, although I am not sure Hugh Hefner could even
define immorality if his life depended on it. He has surrounded himself with
women who would normally be described as prostitutes. He apparently despises
the moral values God himself reveals in his word. Has the Playboy philosophy
been responsible for the enormous increase in teenage pregnancies, the
proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases and the increase in teenage
suicides in our nation?
Most of you know the Bible's teaching on sexual immorality.
In the Ten Commandments, God said to the Israelites: "You shall not commit
adultery" (Ex. 20:14). You also know what happened to King David, the man
after God's own heart. Our Lord not only condemned the act of adultery; he also
condemned thinking of adultery (Mt. 5:28-29). Paul told the Ephesians:
"For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous
man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the
When Hugh Hefner leaves his evil empire, including the many
immoral women he uses for his devilish trade, for the world to come-and he will
leave it-only morally depraved people will remember him as one who did good.
His legacy will be one of broken hearts, broken bodies, broken lives and broken
dreams. The same can be said of Bob Guccione, another publisher of pornography
and obscenity and of the other publisher’s moral trash. 0 I know about the
fortunes these moral reprobates have made by publishing pornography, but how
much good will their money do them in the final judgment? Many years after they
die, they will still be speaking to future generations of the heartaches that
result from sexual promiscuity.
It breaks my heart to mention some of the religious leaders
who are leading people away from the pure gospel of Christ. For example, John
Shelby Spong, former bishop of the American Episcopal Church, has convinced
some Americans that the Bible is not the inerrant word of God, that Jesus Christ
was not born of a virgin, that he did not perform the miracles that are
recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that he was not bodily raised from
the dead and that he is not going to return at the end of the age. In his very
latest, and I hope, last book, Jesus for the Non-Religious: Recovering
the Divine at the Heart of the Human (New York:
HarperSanFrancisco, 2007), Spong dogmatically states: Jesus was not born in
Bethlehem (p. 15); "there are no wandering stars in our galaxy" (p.
19); "clearly the literary device that Luke used to try to get Jesus into
Bethlehem in order to keep the mythology growing was full of holes" (p.
23), "I now believe that he (Judas Iscariot) never existed" (p. 44);
"there probably never were twelve disciples" (p. 47); "the
resurrection language of the gospel is literal nonsense" (p. 122). For one
who denies that men can be certain, the former bishop is pretty certain about
his denial of the truth of the scriptures.
How will the former bishop be remembered in years to come?
He would like for people to remember him as a scholar. But scholars examine
both sides of every controversy. Spong has never examined the writings of
scholars who disagree with his views of scripture or if he has, he does not
mention them in the bibliographies in his books. For example, Spong ridicules
the very idea of intelligent design. Has he read the writings of one of the
most brilliant scholars in the world, Dr. William Demski? Dr. Demski proves
conclusively that the world, including human beings, gives evidence of
intelligent design. Does Spong know about Michael Behe's outstanding book, Darwin's
Black Box (New York: The Free Press, 1996), a book that completely
destroys organic evolution? There are dozens of scholarly books that refute
every foolish charge Spong has made against the Bible. How will preachers and
other religious leaders be remembered when they ignore or pervert the truth?
Like Strauss, Renan, Ingersoll, and a host of other critics, Spong will be
forgotten by most people in a short time, but millions of intelligent people
will go on believing the Bible to be the inspired word of almighty God and
Jesus Christ to be the eternal Son of God. I have one question for all people
who reject the truth of New Testament Christianity: What will be your fate in
the last day? Please listen to the Lord Jesus Christ. "He who rejects me,
and receives not my words, has one who judges him: the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48).
At my age, I know I shall soon leave this world for my
eternal home. How will the churches where I have labored remember me? How will
my family and friends remember me? When I am dead, what message will I be
speaking to those who remain behind? I want to be remembered as one who devoted
his life to reading, to studying, and to preaching the gospel. I pray that I
shall speak to future generations of my love for the Lord, for his Son and for
his Word. But I know I have been imperfect in my life and in my preaching. I
pray that my life will have inspired some whom I have met to devote their lives
to the cause of Christ. I also want to be remembered for loving Molly and our
two sons.
But most of all I want our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to
receive me into that upper and better kingdom. Our lives on earth will have
been in vain if we miss heaven. That means that all accountable people must
believe the gospel, obey it from the heart and devote our lives to serving God
and our fellowmen.
Winford
Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour