DEAD MEN DON'T PREACH THE GOSPEL

Why Christians Must Reject Near-Death Experiences and Return to the Authority of God's Word

Church, we are living in a generation that claims to believe the Bible while constantly searching for something beyond the Bible. We live in a time when people say God's Word is sufficient, yet they spend countless hours listening to stories from people who claim they died, visited heaven, visited hell, spoke with angels, met dead relatives, and returned with messages for mankind. These stories have become a massive industry. Books become bestsellers. Interviews receive millions of views. Conferences are organized around them. Entire ministries are built upon them. Yet very few Christians stop to ask the most important question of all: what does Scripture say?

The issue is not whether these stories are emotional. The issue is not whether they sound sincere. The issue is not whether they make us feel inspired or comforted. The issue is whether they are true. More importantly, the issue is whether they agree with the revealed Word of God. As Christians, our standard cannot be personal experience. Our standard cannot be emotions. Our standard cannot be visions, dreams, or testimonies. Our standard must be the Word of the living God. The moment we allow human experiences to sit beside Scripture as an equal authority, we have already stepped onto dangerous ground.

One of the reasons near-death experiences should concern Christians is because so many of them directly contradict one another. One person claims everyone goes to heaven. Another says only believers enter heaven. One claims there is no judgment. Another claims to have witnessed judgment. One says all religions lead to God. Another says Jesus alone saves. One claims hell does not exist. Another claims to have seen it. These stories cannot all be true. Truth does not contradict itself. God does not contradict Himself. The Holy Spirit is not revealing one doctrine to one person and the exact opposite doctrine to another. The contradictions themselves should cause Christians to step back and exercise discernment.

What is even more troubling is that many believers seem willing to accept these stories without applying the same level of scrutiny they would apply to any other teaching. A man says he died for six minutes and suddenly people treat his testimony as though it carries apostolic authority. A woman claims she visited heaven and thousands of Christians quote her words as though they were Scripture itself. Church, this should never be. The apostles were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ. The prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Their words were preserved by God for His people. Yet many modern believers seem more excited about the testimony of a stranger who claims to have visited heaven than they are about the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

Romans 3:4 says,

"Let God be true, but every man a liar."

That single verse should settle the entire matter. God is true even if every near-death experience says otherwise. God is true even if a story sounds convincing. God is true even if millions believe it. God is true even if it becomes a bestseller. Men can be mistaken. Men can be deceived. Men can hallucinate. Men can exaggerate. Men can misunderstand what they experienced. But God cannot lie. If Scripture says one thing and a near-death experience says another, then the experience is wrong. The authority belongs to God, not to man.

One of the most overlooked statements regarding this subject comes directly from Jesus Christ. In John 3:13, Jesus said,

"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."

Think about that carefully. Jesus points people to Himself as the authority concerning heavenly things. He does not tell believers to seek wisdom from people who supposedly visited heaven and returned. He points to Himself because He came from heaven. He knows heaven because He is from heaven. He alone possesses absolute authority concerning eternal things.

The irony today is almost unbelievable. Millions of Christians are fascinated by people who claim they briefly visited heaven, yet they largely ignore the One who came from heaven. They are captivated by alleged heavenly tourists while neglecting the King of Heaven. They eagerly consume stories from men while neglecting the words of Christ. Why would we trust the testimony of a man who claims he flatlined for six minutes when we already possess the testimony of the eternal Son of God?

Then we come to Hebrews 9:27, which says,

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

Notice what Scripture says. Death. Then judgment. Not death, then a guided tour of paradise. Not death, then a return trip to write books and do interviews. Not death, then a speaking tour. Death, then judgment.

The Bible presents death with tremendous seriousness. Modern near-death experiences often present it as a sightseeing adventure. The Bible presents eternity as a matter of holiness, judgment, righteousness, repentance, and accountability before God. Many near-death experiences present eternity as though everyone receives a warm hug and a participation trophy regardless of what they believed.

That is not the God of Scripture.

The God of the Bible is loving, but He is also holy. He is merciful, but He is also just. He is gracious, but He is also righteous. The cross itself proves this. If everyone automatically enters heaven regardless of faith, then why did Christ suffer? Why was His blood shed? Why did the Son of God endure the wrath of God? The cross screams that sin is serious. The cross screams that judgment is real. The cross screams that mankind desperately needs a Savior.

There is another problem that many Christians never seem to consider. Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that

"Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."

Think about that for a moment. The devil does not show up wearing a red suit with horns and a pitchfork. He shows up looking spiritual. He shows up looking holy. He shows up looking heavenly. He shows up looking convincing.

The devil is not a creator. He is a counterfeiter.

He counterfeits truth.

He counterfeits righteousness.

He counterfeits miracles.

He counterfeits religion.

He counterfeits light.

And yes, he can counterfeit spiritual experiences.

Many Christians seem to assume that because something is supernatural it must be from God. The Bible never teaches that. In fact, the Bible repeatedly warns about false prophets, false christs, lying signs, deceptive wonders, and deceiving spirits. Jesus Himself warned that false christs and false prophets would perform signs and wonders capable of deceiving many.

So let me ask a question that may make some people uncomfortable.

If Jesus Christ says one thing in Scripture and the "Jesus" in a near-death experience says something else, which one are we going to believe?

Because both cannot be right.

If the Jesus of Scripture says He is the only way to the Father, but the Jesus of a near-death experience says all religions lead to God, then that is not the Jesus of the Bible.

If the Jesus of Scripture warns of judgment, but the Jesus of an experience says judgment does not exist, then that is not the Jesus of the Bible.

If the Jesus of Scripture calls sinners to repentance, but the Jesus of an experience tells everyone they are fine exactly as they are, then that is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Church, a counterfeit Christ is still a counterfeit.

I do not care how bright the light was.

I do not care how real it felt.

I do not care how many tears were shed.

I do not care how many books were sold.

Truth is not determined by emotions.

Truth is determined by God's Word.

Church, let me make this as simple as possible.

Imagine someone dropped you into the middle of a massive wilderness. No roads. No signs. No GPS. No phone signal. Just miles and miles of forest in every direction. You have no idea where you are and no idea where you're supposed to go. Now imagine someone hands you a compass. Suddenly, you have something fixed. You have something trustworthy. You have a point of reference. You may not know everything, but at least you know where north is. And once you know where north is, you can figure out everything else.

Now imagine somebody walks up to you and says, "Forget the compass. I had an experience. I feel like north is over there."

You'd think the guy was crazy.

Why?

Because the compass doesn't care about his experience.

The compass doesn't care about his feelings.

The compass doesn't care about his opinion.

North is still north.

It remains fixed whether he agrees with it or not.

The reality is that without True North, every person would be lost. Nobody could know where they were. Nobody could know where they were heading. Nobody could know if they were moving toward safety or walking straight off a cliff. The only reason direction exists at all is because there is a fixed point that never changes.

Church, that's exactly what God's Word is.

The Bible is our True North because it comes from the throne of God Himself. It is the fixed point in a world full of confusion. It is the standard by which everything else is measured. Every doctrine, every teacher, every vision, every prophecy, every dream, every supernatural experience, every near-death experience must be tested against the unchanging Word of God. Why? Because God's Word is fixed. God's truth is fixed. God's throne is fixed.

The problem today is that many people want to use experiences as their compass instead of Scripture. They hear a near-death experience and immediately start adjusting their theology around the story. They hear somebody claim they visited heaven and suddenly they start questioning clear biblical teaching. They hear a testimony that sounds emotional and powerful, and instead of testing the testimony against God's Word, they start testing God's Word against the testimony.

Think about how backwards that is.

Imagine throwing away your compass because a stranger said, "Trust me, I had an experience."

That's exactly what people are doing spiritually.

God says one thing. An experience says another. Instead of questioning the experience, they start questioning God. Instead of measuring the story against Scripture, they try to reinterpret Scripture to fit the story. That is not discernment. That is getting lost.

The reason God gave us His Word is because human beings are easily deceived. We can be fooled. We can misunderstand things. We can be manipulated. We can be emotional. We can be sincere and still be wrong. History is full of sincere people who believed lies. Sincerity has never been proof of truth. That's why God did not leave us to navigate eternity by our feelings. He gave us His Word.

Without Scripture, everybody becomes their own authority. One person says they went to heaven and everyone gets in. Another says they went to heaven and only some get in. One says there is no judgment. Another says there is. One says all roads lead to God. Another says Christ alone saves. Without a fixed standard, who is right?

Nobody knows.

Everyone is just standing in the forest pointing in different directions.

That is exactly why God gave us True North.

His Word allows us to identify what is false because we already know what is true. Counterfeit money is identified by studying the real thing. False doctrine is identified by knowing sound doctrine. A counterfeit Christ is exposed by knowing the real Christ. The reason so many people fall for deception is because they spend more time studying the counterfeits than they do studying the genuine article.

Church, Satan loves confusion. He loves fog. He loves uncertainty. He loves anything that gets people away from the fixed standard of God's truth. But God is not the author of confusion. God gives clarity. God gives direction. God gives certainty. He has given us His Word so that we do not have to wander through life guessing what is true and what is false.

When Romans 3:4 says, "Let God be true, but every man a liar," it is pointing us back to that fixed standard. God is True North. His Word is True North. His throne is the fixed point around which everything else revolves. Men change. Cultures change. Experiences change. Stories change. Opinions change. Testimonies change. But God's Word never changes.

That is why we do not build our faith on experiences.

We do not build our faith on visions.

We do not build our faith on dreams.

We do not build our faith on near-death experiences.

We build our faith upon the unchanging Word of God.

Because when the fog rolls in, when deception increases, when false teachers multiply, and when every voice around us is claiming to have the truth, there is only one compass that never fails.

God's Word.

It is our map.

It is our compass.

It is our anchor.

It is our True North.

It is timeless, doesn't change with society, it it NOT PROGRESIVE! It is fixed and unchanging!

And without it, every one of us would be hopelessly lost.

Sometimes I honestly wonder what would happen if Christians spent half as much time reading the Gospel of John as they do watching near-death experience videos. Imagine if believers knew Romans as well as they know somebody's tour of heaven. Imagine if they could quote Scripture as easily as they can quote the latest interview from a self-proclaimed heavenly traveler. Imagine if they were fascinated with Christ instead of fascinated with stories about Christ.

The church has become obsessed with heavenly tourism while neglecting the King of Heaven.

The church has become fascinated with experiences while neglecting Scripture.

The church has become captivated by stories while neglecting truth.

And the devil could not be happier.

Because the moment Christians start seeking authority outside of God's Word, they become vulnerable to deception.

At the end of the day, the issue is not really near-death experiences. The issue is authority. Who has the final word? Christ or the experience? Scripture or the testimony? God or man?

For the faithful Christian, the answer must always be the same.

Let God be true and every man a liar.

Dead men don't preach the Gospel.

Dead men don't establish doctrine.

Dead men don't reveal truth.

Jesus Christ does.

The Church was never built upon people who allegedly visited heaven. The Church was built upon Jesus Christ, the One who came from heaven, died for sinners, rose from the grave, conquered death, ascended into glory, and will one day return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

His testimony is enough.

His Gospel is enough.

His Word is enough.

And when every story has faded, every bestseller is forgotten, every interview disappears, and every trend passes away, the Word of our God will still stand forever.

Amen.