Praying for the "Dead"

The Three Living and the Three Dead

In my church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, we often have liturgies during Lent where we intercede for those who have passed on from this life into the next. I put dead in quotes in the title, for literally they are not dead, but very much alive.

Those against such practices will often quote the following verses:

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. (Heb 9:27 KJV) 

With the given understanding that between death and the judgment, there isn't opportunity for further repentance or aid. The general belief is that once someone dies, there is nothing else that can be done for them. That they are finished with their repentance and must await the final judgment in fear and trembling.

Problem is, this given idea isn't in the Bible. Certainly it is appointed unto men to die only once. It is equally true that after that comes the judgment. That still doesn't say what the condition of the soul is between the time they pass this life and the judgment. Rather, I would suggest, that is a Protestant Tradition that has been added to Scripture.

Now let me back up here a bit and tell you that I believe in general that we have this life to repent, and after that, for most people, the stone is cast as to whether they will make it to heaven or hell. Yet, that decision does not happen until the Last Judgment, which is to happen at the end of time.

There are also many people to whom have never heard of Christ before they die. Are they to face judgment without a chance of repentance or asking or spiritual healing? What about those who have grown up and never even heard about God? What about the mentally ill?

The fact is, we simply do not know what God will do for those people, but I believe there very well could be a chance for them to repent and accept Christ before being revealed to God's glory for judgment. I don't think we can or should limit God from doing whatever He wishes simply because we've assumed a certain meaning isn't included.

Plus, there may be some Biblical evidence of St. Paul praying for a dead person:

The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: but, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
(2 Tim. 1:16-18)

Now I say may because while verse 18 certainly sounds like someone who has passed on, it is not definitive that this is the case as St. Paul doesn't specifically state it.

Probably the biggest evidence, however, is the fact that the Jews, of which St. Paul was one, regularly prayed for their dead. You can see that in the "Apocrypha" book of Maccabees of which was included in St. Paul's Bible he preached from. Based on this, for the disciples to intend to exclude prayers for the dead from Christianity, there would have to be something in their writings which specifically denounced such things. Of which there is nothing in Scripture suggesting that we should avoid praying for the dead, or that it is a sin.

In other words, the onus is on those who wish to prove the default position of the Jews wasn't the default position of the Apostles as well. Without any such exclusions in the Scriptures, one has to assume that it was practiced in the early church as well, and that the above verse could very well be St. Paul's prayer for a dead person. At a minimum, it shows that God's mercy extended all the way to judgement day, not the person's death, in St. Paul's mind. For he says, ". . . that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." That day would be the judgment day.

It also speaks against the "once saved, always saved" version of repentance, but that is another devotion.

However, while the Biblical argument for or against this practice isn't clear on either side, leaving it mostly to Jewish and Christian history which they certainly did practice praying for the dead all the way into the Reformation and beyond, the practical application of this is very compelling.

To a grieving mother who has lost her child, you are going to tell them that praying for their child is pointless? If I had a child who had died and of whose salvation was uncertain, I know I would be praying for God to have mercy on their souls. Not because I believe I can change God's mind if He has already made up his mind about a person's final destination, but if there is even a chance in a million that he or she can be saved and isn't, I certainly don't want it to be because I decided not to pray for them.

I'll intercede for them because I love them, because they are part of the Body of Christ and when one member hurts, the whole body does. Because who knows? If a persistent widow can change the mind of a judge through her prayers to him, and Christ demands that we do the same for God, then guess what? I'm going to do just that. Especially if it is someone I love and care about. The worst that could happen is I'm unsuccessful. So what? Is God going to throw me in Hell if I get that wrong? I don't think so. Not when he's got much greater cause in other things to nail me with.

No, with love you can't go wrong. Even if I'm wrong theologically, I'd rather be wrong about that and guilty of praying for them needlessly than right about it and not pray for those who've gone to face the Lord. I want to stand for those I love. Their souls may depend on it and I don't want to take that chance that they won't.

Are you willing to take that chance?

How to Go to Hell

The Last Judgment Icon

The image to the right is called the "Last Judgment." It is based on Jesus' words found in Matthew 25:31-45:

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:"
32 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"
33 "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."
34 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"
35 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:"
36 "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."
37 "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?"
38 "When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?"
39 "Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?"
40 "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
42 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:"
43 "I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not."
44 "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"
45 "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
46 "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

The contrast of faith and works here is important to understand how they work together for our salvation. But before we get into that, we perhaps need a definition of faith, lest we get headed in different directions.

Faith - shorthand for the Faith, or more directly, to trust in Jesus Christ with all your "heart, soul, mind, and body." Yep, in other words, to love God.

The common misunderstanding is to think "to have faith" is to believe in something, anything, hard enough, and it will happen. Sort of the "prosperity gospel" message: if you don't have what you ask God for, it is because you don't really believe it will happen. Note: there is some truth to that, but it needs context. As trust in Jesus Christ not only means "holding Him to His promises to us," but more importantly means holding ourselves to His will and desire for us. In other words, ask not what your God can do for you, rather, ask what you can do for your God, to paraphrase a popular saying.

Faith is commonly thought of as something that is abstract. We've turned it from a verb into a noun. This is due to the shortened version of the phrase: Have faith. But it is a shortened version of: Have faith in Jesus Christ. It always points to something you are having faith in. And since salvation can only come from Christ, it must point to Christ to be salvific.

However, the faith that people commonly talk about is a work-based faith because it references themselves. "If I have faith (in my own ability to believe it can happen), then it will. If it doesn't happen, it means that I didn't have the faith necessary to accomplish it. What it should say is that I didn't have the faith to trust in what Jesus Christ said, which is not only his promises, but what he said we will do: like carry our own cross and endure hardships for Him. If all we are in is for ourselves, we are no better than the seed cast on thorny ground.

With that context, we can make better sense out of the above verses in relation to works.

First, note how the people are divided: "As a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats." How does this happen? Through voice signals. Note in this video, that the goats are driven and the sheep are not. Also key is that the sheep know the shepherd's voice. (John 10:3-5) There is even examples of the shepherd carrying the sheep to where they belong, the few that get "lost."

How are the sheep called and the goats driven apart? Jesus states it is all involved in how they respond to Him as in how they treat other people. These "works" don't save us, but they are necessary to be there if we have a saving faith. Thus, it is not so much as what you do as who you are and whose you are. It involves a relationship with Jesus Christ through having faith in Him, that He is the Son of God and He alone has the words of salvation. The works, which must be there to be saved, are a reflection of our faith and love in Jesus Christ, which saves us. In other words, works must be present for salvation to be effective, but they are not definitive evidence of salvation if they are done without faith in Christ.

The first verse says that when Christ comes in "his glory", that it will be the defining moment of salvation. It is His glory that will "call" those to Him that know His voice, as well as that which will push the goats away because they experience God as eternal punishment. This is specifically why God says He hides himself from us, because if any of us were to look on His "face", it would bring about instant judgment upon us. If we are not ready, we would perish. In that day, we will see Him "as he is," face to face.

But God gives us time to establish that sheep-type relationship with Him. Because, as this parable tells us, there will come a day when we will stand before the full glory of God and be judged. That glory will either draw us to Him or push us away.

The good news is that Christ died for us while we were still goats, in order that we might become sheep. Then, it will be too late. Now, you still have time to become a sheep God will call instead of a goat that He will drive away by being who He is before us. That is by truly believing what he's said to be true and following through on what He's asked us to do.

So there is a synergy revealed between faith and works. So much so that Jesus' own words appear to be in contradiction to one another: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) and "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." (John 14:21a). There is no contradiction between salvation through faith and works in synergy. Either one without the other, however, will not save you.