Cremation Verses Burial

A Biblical Perspective

“Preacher, is it wrong for me to request that my family cremate my remains after I die?

Does it really make any difference if my body is cremated or buried?

I mean, it is just a body, I will not be in it, I’m going to be with the Lord.

My body is just going to turn to dust anyway.

This question is often asked of pastors. As Christians we live our lives according to the instructions of the Word of God. Personal opinion or preferences do not matter. The only consideration for the Christian is, does the Word of God speak to an issue. So, does the Bible speak to the issue of cremation verses burial?

The first death recorded in the Bible is that of Abel who was murdered by his brother Cain. All the Bible says is that God told Cain in Genesis 4:10, “The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.

The only information on death throughout the next several generations is the phrase “and he died.”

The first time burial is mentioned in Scripture is when Abraham buries his wife Sarah

in Genesis 23.

Genesis 23:19-20

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

Abraham had to make a bargain with the inhabitants of this land to acquire the burial site because as of that time, he did not possess any land in that country. The purchase of the burial site was a witness to his absolute faith in God’s promise that he would one day possess the land as stated in God’s covenant.  When Abraham dies, Isaac and Ishmael bury him with Sarah.

In Genesis 50:25 Joseph makes his brothers swear they would take the coffin containing his bones from Egypt to the land of promise, just as his father Jacob had insisted on being carried back to the promised land for burial.

This incident is also referenced in Hebrews 11:22 as an example of faith. Through how his mortal remains were handled, Joseph was bearing witness to his faith that God would one day return His people to the land of promise. The book of Joshua does not close until Joseph’s bones are buried in Shechem. (Joshua 24:32)

From this point in scripture and history, burial was the norm and of increasing significance for the people of God as they came to regard the body with increasing reverence.

As the Children of Israel reached the end of their wilderness wandering, in Deuteronomy 10:6, Aaron was buried in the wilderness, and his burial was a testimony of

the judgment of God upon disobedience.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6 records how God, himself, buried the body of Moses on Mt. Pisgah.

5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to

the word of the LORD.

6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor;

but no one knows his grave to this day.

It is interesting to note in Numbers 25:4, the Midianites, who were the enemies of Israel were denied proper burial.

It is also interesting to note the Moabites were judged by God because they burned, rather than buried the king of Edom in Amos 2:1.

Thus says the LORD:

"For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

2 But I will send a fire upon Moab,

And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth;

Moab shall die with tumult,

With shouting and trumpet sound.

We see the correlation between the body and the Old Testament understanding of the resurrection in Daniel 12:2 which says,

2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,

Some to everlasting life,

Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

And in Isaiah 26:19,

9 Your dead shall live;

Together with my dead body they shall arise.

Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;

For your dew is like the dew of herbs,

And the earth shall cast out the dead.

We do have some Biblical examples of BURNING rather that BURIAL.

In Numbers 11:1-3, the children of Israel had just left Sinai and they began complaining and rebelling against the leadership of Moses. The Lord’s anger was kindled against them and it says,

“Now when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; for the LORD heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.

2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched.

3 So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the LORD

had burned among them.”

In Numbers 16:35 after Korah led a revolt against Moses, 250 men who sided with Korah

were devoured by fire.

Incest was punished by burning in Leviticus 20:14; 21:19.

In Joshua 7:25-26 we have the account of Achan, who stole some forbidden items from Jericho.

And it says,

25 And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day."

So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day.

So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.”

In 1 Kings 12:28 and 13:1, a man of God from Judah prophesied that the bones of priests

 who had conducted forbidden worship, would be burned during Josiah’s reign.

Throughout the Old Testament burning the body is associated with the judgment of God

upon the wicked,

while being buried is called, “being gathered unto his people.”

In the New Testament, burial is seen as the appropriate means of caring for the bodies

of those who have died. Burial is seen as a testimony of faith in the promise of the resurrection.

In John 11 we have the record of Jesus’ discussion with Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus.

It says in John 11: 23-26,

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 

24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the Apostle Paul says that the message of the burial of Jesus is a part of the presentation of the Gospel.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

In Matthew 26:12, Jesus commended Mary’s anointing of His feet as preparation

“for the day of my burial.”

In John 19:38, after the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea asked permission of Pilate to bury Jesus’ body.

            The burial of Jesus was proof of His death, but it also bore testimony of the promise of resurrection, His and ours. In the same way His body was raised from the grave, so shall our bodies one day be raised from the grave.

            Burial is not a testimony of the power of death, but is a statement and witness of faith in the resurrection. Every believer’s grave is a witness to our “blessed hope in Christ Jesus;” His return and our resurrection.

Titus 2:13

13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Question: Does cremation hinder God’s ability to resurrect the body of a believer?

No. The God who knit us together in our mother’s womb and knows the number of hairs on our heads, can also account for every other part of our physical body. In whatever state our physical remains happen to be in, at the sounding of the trump of God, they shall be raised and joined with our spirit, which Christ will bring with Him, and shall be instantly transformed into a new glorified body.

Job 19:25-27

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;

26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

There is one other issue to be considered as part of this discussion.

Believers throughout the ages have revered the body as God’s creation. Man was created in the image of God. While this is primarily referring to our being spiritual beings with the ability to enter into a relationship with God, we cannot discount the possibility that even  the manner in which

God designed our physical body reveals the glory and wisdom of God. Despite having been tainted by the fall into sin, man still retains the impression of the divine image.

This fact gives dignity to the body both in life and death.

Ephesians 5:29 says,

29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it,

just as the Lord does the church.

We are to care for our bodies and not let them become polluted by sin.

We are always to remember our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit

and that our bodies belong to Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says,

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,

whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,

which are God's.

            This passage says that since our bodies belong to God, and since our bodies

were at one time inhabited by God, we are to glorify God in our bodies.

            This means that in all things we do in and with our bodies,

            we should manifest or demonstrate the character and nature of God.

Through burial we bear witness to:

1. God’s creative power, in giving us life and creating us in His image

1. The consequences of sin, in bringing death into the world

1. The grace of God, in His saving us from the penalty of sin

      and giving us the gift of Eternal Life

1. The faithfulness of God, in His promise of the resurrection of the body

Conclusion:

Is it a sin to be cremated?

            I do not find any direct statement in scripture that cremation is sinful,

 but it is clear that burial was the normal practice of followers of God in both the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

            Many times, the Christian life is not so much a life consisting of choosing right from wrong, as it is choosing the best over the good.

            One of the greatest considerations of the Christian must be,

“How can I best bear witness to Christ?”

            For the reasons stated above, I believe burial to be the best way of glorifying God

in our body, even when it is no longer inhabited by our spirit.