RICK BARKER
Funerals are a challenging time. The family is hurting. The presiding pastor wants to offer comfort to the family and friends, just like any caring person would. But the pastor has a tool that not everyone else has. The pastor can remind people of their gospel (the small “g” is intentional here) message and provide a type of reassurance that others likely can’t. After a recent funeral, I was discussing the content of funeral messages with a relative. I can recall several different “styles” of funeral messages that I have heard over the years:
- First, there are those where the emphasis is on the person and the things that this person did in his or her life. In some cases of person-focussed funerals, the person sounds like a saint; in other cases, the message sounds more like a defense attorney pleading for their client. What is common among this type, though, is that the message is about how this person is “good enough” (or at least probably good enough) to pass any judgement and receive the reward of heaven.
- Second, some funerals emphasize the faith that the person had. Usually, in these funerals, the focus isn’t as much on what the departed accomplished but on situations in which they trusted God. One is also likely to hear about the deceased’s generosity (to the church and others), the intensity of their Bible study, and other indications that demonstrate their faith.
- Third are funerals which emphasize a public—or even private—profession that the person made. We all know that believers aren’t perfect people, but in this type of funeral, the message emphasizes why we should believe the person is a true believer. After all, the deceased had once made a profession of faith.
- Finally, there are funerals that emphasize what God has done for sinners. The deceased person is part of the story, but far from the center of the story. The main actor in this type of message is God.
Trying to comfort those who grieve by recounting the deceased’s good deeds as evidence of his or her salvation is communicating the message that the goodness of the person is what qualifies one for eternal life.
Believers may accomplish amazing things in their lives. They may have shown God’s love to a large swath of people. In fact, nothing about recounting a person’s loving deeds suggests a false gospel. However, at the very first hint in the message that it is something about the life of the deceased that should give their friends and family hope, the “good news” being presented by the pastor is a false gospel. Trying to comfort those who grieve by recounting the deceased’s good deeds as evidence of his or her salvation is communicating the message that the goodness of the person is what qualifies one for eternal life. This message is not true; rather, one’s salvation is based upon the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice alone.
Everything listed in the first three bullet points above is just another iteration of focusing on the person as the source of their own salvation rather than on God. At such funerals, the comfort that is being offered, the “good news” the pastor is proclaiming, is a gospel message that is rooted in the person who died. In truth, any gospel based on us is another gospel that really isn’t a gospel at all.
At the risk of grossly over-simplifying, any time the message of heaven or eternal life focuses on the person rather than God, you can know that the message is a false gospel. The emphasis of the true Gospel is all about what God has done for us. Even the faith that believes in Him is a gift that comes from Him. The message of the Gospel is all about Him, not us. †
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