SERVICE FOR THE

DEPARTED:
UNDERSTANDING IT
BETTER
Prepared by M Matthysen
SERVICE FOR THE DEPARTED
TOPICAL MATTERS
1. Why did God give us life?
2. What did Jesus teach about life, death,
and life after death?
3. Salvation for the dead
4. Our role in the Service for the
Departed
5. Discussion / Questions & Answers
SERVICE FOR THE DEPARTED

We live before we die,

So let us understand life’s
purpose before we try to
understand death
WHY DID GOD GIVE US LIFE?
It is in Christ that we fnd out who we are and
what we’re living for
• Ephesians 1:1 “In Him we were also chosen,
having been predestined according to the plan of
him who works out everything in conformity with
the purpose of His will” (NIV)
o God was thinking of you long before you ever
thought of Him
• Col 1:16 “For by Him all things were created;
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
…” (NIV)
WHY DID GOD GIVE US LIFE? …./2
 It is God’s desire that all men are to be saved
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one
God and one Mediator between God and
men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:3-5)

 God sent His only Son, Jesus, so that all can be

saved
For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16)
JESUS: LIFE / DEATH / LIFE AFTER
DEATH
 Jesus said whoever believes in Him shall never die
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He
who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall
live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never
die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

 Jesus teaches about The Rich Man and Lazarus

Luke 16:19-31. Both men die - Lazarus was carried to
Abraham’s bosom; the rich man ended up in torments in
Hades and asked for water, which could not be given to
him because there was a great gulf fied between them.
SALVATION FOR THE DEAD /1
 Jesus preached to the dead in the 3 days of his
death after His crucifxion, before His resurrection
For Christ also sufered once for sins, the just for the
unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in
the fesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He
went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly
were disobedient, when once the Divine longsufering
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being
prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved
through water. (1 Peter 3:18-20)
 Baptizing for the dead and the resurrection of the
dead
1 Cor 15:12-58. See verses 17-19; 29; 42-45.
SALVATION FOR THE DEAD / 2

What is the condition of the souls in the beyond?

(CNAC Q&A 541)
■1 Cor 15:49 “And as we have borne the image of the
man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly Man”
■Luke 16:19-31 – Lazarus and the Rich Man

Can the condition of the souls in the beyond be

changed?
(CNAC Q&A 543)
■Yes, see 1 Peter 3:18-20 Jesus preached to the dead
SALVATION FOR THE DEAD / 3
In what way do the departed receive salvation?
(CNAC Q&A 547)
■Just like the living: They must believe in Jesus, and receive
the Holy Sacraments
■1 Peter 4:6 “For this reason the gospel was preached also to
those who are dead, that they might be judged according to
men in the fesh, but live according to God in the spirit”

How & through whom is salvation imparted to the

dead?
(CNAC Q&A 548)
■The Holy Sacraments are imparted on living persons
(proiies) for the dead (See also 1 Cor 15:12-58)
SERVICE FOR THE DEPARTED – OUR
ROLE
 Love God
Mark 12: 29-30 The frst commandment (of love)

 Love your neighbour

Mark 12: 31 The second commandment (of love)

 Love your enemy

Matthew 5: 34-44 Love your enemies, …..

 Pray for salvation for all !!

Matthew 5: 34-44 Pray for those who hurt you …..
James 5: 15-17 Efective, fervent prayer avails much
SERVICE FOR THE DEPARTED – Understanding it

DISCUSSION

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

 MAY THE SERVICE
FOR THE DEPARTED
BE A DIVINE
EXPERIENCE FOR YOU