My Mother's Funeral Sermon

As we gather this evening to honor the memory of Alice Dillon and her passage from life to death, we must understand that “Death is our passage out of the swift river of time, into the boundless and bottomless ocean of eternity.”

We travel this life for what seems like a brief moment at the end of it, but the decisions we make now will impact us for all eternity. Once a person crosses the portal of death, their eternal joy or sorrow is sealed.

Luke 23 tells of two thieves who were to pay for their crimes with their lives. Little did they know that the Sinless Son of God would be crucified between them to pay for the sins of all mankind.

As they hung there the Bible tells us that one of the malefactors railed on Him saying “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” This man couldn’t see past this life and his need for a Saviour, but the other answered this way, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”, confessing that Jesus was indeed the King of Creation and Saviour of the Soul.

Even though Jesus was suffering for the sins of the whole world, He turned to the thief and said “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

What a wonderful consolation it must have been to a dying man to know that, even though death must come, he had a place with the Saviour.

Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:8 that to be “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”, and in Phil. 1:23 that he was “in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:”

We know that even though my mother’s body is in a casket awaiting burial, her eternal soul is in Heaven with Jesus Christ. We can have that assurance of eternal life by believing what the Bible says about sin, the Saviour, and God’s requirements for entering Heaven.

Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death;” What is sin? The Bible tells us that all unrighteousness is sin and that all have come short of God’s righteousness, Rom. 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

Many people live what we would call a moral life: living by the golden rule, paying their bills, taking care of their family, even giving to the poor; but God says that “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;” (Is. 64:6)

What are we to do if we still fall short of God’s righteousness, even after living a moral life? The Bible says that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn. 3:16).

What are we to believe about Him? No doubt the other thief knew of Jesus, knew he did miracles and was a great teacher. How could he not have believed that Jesus died on the cross since he was there on a cross beside Him? He had a belief in the physical facts of the moment, but didn’t believe that Christ’s death was for him.

The Bible says that God sent His Son to “be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” When Jesus died on the cross He took the judgment of sin for all mankind upon Himself, that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Gal. 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:” God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He didn’t want that unrepentant thief to die in his sins, but God won’t force salvation on anyone. It is a personal choice to be made by every individual before this life is finished.

The Bible says that the “gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. The repentant thief couldn’t do anything to make up for the crimes he committed or do any good deeds to merit God’s favor. All he could do is receive a free gift from a Loving God.

In John 1:12 we read this: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

How does a person receive this gift? Rom. 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Rom. 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Now the question is: What will you do with Jesus Christ? Will you trust Him as your Saviour, the One who died in your place? Or will you trust in your own righteousness?

This choice is greater than life or death, it is a matter of Heaven or Hell for all eternity. The Bible says that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Don’t wait too late for “what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”