God’s Goodness in Death – By Design

Brandon Werner   -   June 29, 2025

God’s Goodness in Death

Together Church  |  Pastor Brandon Werner

June 29, 2025  |  Series: By Design

INTRODUCTION

Last week, Pastor Seth led us to consider the sanctity of human life. Today, we’ll continue this series called “By Design” by looking at the doctrine of death.

Like life, death is by design. The phrase “the sanctity of life” literally means that life is sacred – that human life has been set apart by God – that life has value because God gives it value.

Just as there is sanctity in human life, there is also sanctity in human death. What does that mean? It means death is sacred to God; that He designed death and set it apart for His purposes.

For some of you, that’s not a very pleasant thought. You struggle to reconcile death as part of the goodness of God. Why is that?

Well, emotionally speaking, death is very difficult for us. Death is tragic to us. It is severe. It is painful. It causes grief. It is confusion and mysterious. Death is so final.

• ILLUSTRATION: “Paddles!”

The significance and severity of death is not lost on us. Left to our emotions, we will struggle to see anything good about death. In fact, death has often caused people to be angry at God. Why? Because we struggle to reconcile the goodness of God with the pain of death.

But that tension is exactly why we need to slow down, open God’s Word, and see what He reveals about death—why it exists, what it means, and how it fits into His redemptive plan.

The Bible reveals many aspects of the goodness of God through death. There are at least three critical principles in scripture about God’s goodness in death that we need to know…

Through death…

1. God judges sinners.
2. God restrains evil on the earth.
3. God redeems us from sin and shame.

Here’s the main idea this morning:

By design, death reveals the goodness of God.

What a claim! This claim is true, it is biblical, and it is good.

Are you willing to look at the doctrine of death from God’s perspective this morning? Let’s get into this together…

BODY

I want to spend the most time on the first of the three biblical principles about the goodness of God in death. This first one is critical to understanding the other two. So, here’s the first…

1. Through death, God judges sinners.

Let me start by appealing to your natural judgement.

Here’s a question: In your natural judgement, is it good thing for violent offenders to be caught, judged, and punished? Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and the like. When done justly, is it good for these to be caught, judged, and punished?

I hope we are collectively answering “yes” in our minds. By answering “yes”, you just revealed something about your worldview: you have revealed that you believe that, under the right conditions [justly], judgement for sin is appropriate and good.

Now see it from God’s perspective. According to God, under the right conditions, it is good for sinners to be judged and punished. But what are those right conditions? In other words, from God’s perspective, what justifies His judgement and condemnation?

To answer that question, we need to go back to the beginning – to the original sin – where Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden.

You remember the story…

For six days, God created. He made light; He created dry land; He filled the land with plants, trees, and grass; He created the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens; He made the fish of the seas, the birds of the air, and all the animals that creeped upon the earth.

Each time God created, He looked at what He made and He called it “good”. God’s creation reveals His goodness!

What was God doing here? God was loading the earth with resources and potential to be used for good, to be used for His glory.

And then God crowned His creation with one final being. Before resting, God created mankind – men and women – and He made us in His image and likeness!

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Did you see it? We are made in the image and likeness of God.

What does that mean?

To be made in God’s image means that God made us sacred – set apart – for His glory and for His unique purposes. Being made in the image of God means we are different than all the animals. Specifically, when God made us in His image, He made us with characteristics and capabilities that are unique to Him.

For example, when God made us in His image, He made us…

• With the ability to co-create and innovate.
  • ILLUSTRATION: Birds making nests vs. smart phones.
• With the ability to reflect deeply (meta cognition).
  • ILLUSTRATION: Digging a hole.
• With an incredible capacity for relationship with God and each other.
  • ILLUSTRATION: God Himself is a relationship (trinity).
  • We have capacity for relationship with God and with each other that exceeds every other created being on the earth.

So when God made us in His image, He gave us these incredible abilities and this awesome potential, and He placed us in a world with all these resources available to us.Why did He do that?

So that His purposes could be accomplished through us!

What were those purposes? We heard them in Genesis 1…

• He made us to rule! To exercise authority over the rest of His creation; over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the animals, and the plants.
• He made us to be fruitful and multiple! To have children and to reproduce image bearers all over across the face of the earth.

Why did God want this? Because, by design, God created mankind to reveal the glory of God and to share and spread His goodness all over His creation.

What a plan!

To accomplish His plan, God gave us some pretty awesome abilities and some powerful authority and jurisdiction over His creation.

But God didn’t relinquish all His rights over His creation to us. In fact, there is one very important right God has always and will always maintain for Himself. That right is His right to be the only One who can determine what is good and what is evil.

We don’t get to set our own moral barometers. Only God decides what is right and wrong.

If you pause and think a moment, that makes perfect sense.

First off, when I just think about my own life and my own judgement, I have been inconsistent and all over the place. Over and over in my life, I have made poor judgements about what is right and what is wrong. My poor judgements have led me to do evil, dangerous, and destructive things. So it is true in my own life that my judgement is not perfect.

Then if I zoom out at look at all of humanity as a whole, it gets even worse. Clearly, we struggle to agree about anything! Whether its politics, family, science, ethics, morality, religion, sexuality, or anything else,  we only share one thing in common… we can’t agree! We lack the ability to collectively define what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong.

But God doesn’t have that problem.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His judgements are always righteous, and His faithfulness secure. He is perfect LOVE, He is entirely GOOD, and His justice is flawless.

So, here we are, wishy washy and unstable in all our ways; and God is unphased. God is steadfast in all His righteous ways.

And as God, He has reserved the right to be the only to determine what is good and evil. He hasn’t ever shared that ability or that right with anyone – not even His image bearers.

Now go back to the garden.

God did something astonishing to memorialize this right He reserved for Himself. God created and placed two trees in the garden; one called the tree of life, and the other called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:9

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

I want us to focus for a moment on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

You know, some have speculated that this tree is evil or that God’s decision to create and place this tree in the garden was evil. They stand in judgement of God.

But the biblical narrative tells us the truth about this tree. This tree was part of God’s VERY GOOD creation, so the tree was not evil. Also, this tree was not placed to trip up humanity – so God’s placement of this tree was not evil. The reality is that this tree is good and it revealed the goodness of God.

What is this tree?

The tree stood in the garden as a memorial unto God.

God is really into memorials. From rainbows to tabernacles; to piles of rocks or bread and wine; God is always establishing memorials unto Himself and leading His people to establish memorials unto Him. Why?

These memorials are reminders of who God is and what He has done.

This tree is just like that. It stood in the garden as a memorial unto God, revealing truth about who God is and what He has done.

What does this memorial reveal? The answer is in its name:

It is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This tree stood as a constant reminder to mankind that God is the only one who has the ability and right to determine right from wrong and good from evil. It stood in the middle of the garden, surrounded by all things incredible reminders of the incredible abilities and authority God had given to people. He gave them dominion over it all! But reminds them, “I am God, and you are not. I alone have the ability and right to determine what is good and evil.”

And God explicitly told them, “Don’t eat of the fruit of this tree. For in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.”

And this is the first time death is mentioned in the Bible.

And here we see God’s design: by design, the goodness of God is revealed through death as God uses death to judge sinners.

What is sin?

Image bearers sin every time we assume God’s right to determine for ourselves what is good for us and what is evil for us, what is right in this world and what is wrong.

God never gave us that ability or right! God alone reserves the right to determine good from evil. And yet, we have the audacity to step out and assert a so-called right to stand in the place of God. We become gods unto ourselves by determining for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.

Isn’t that what Satan did to them in the garden? He didn’t say, “Look! That fruit looks tasty! Eat it!”

I tell you, if their great sin was just about the petty crime of eating some fruit, I would struggle a lot to wrap my head around God’s judgement. But that wasn’t their sin! The serpent tempted them like this:

• Did God really say not to eat it? Question Him!
• God is holding out on you! He doesn’t want you to be like Him.
• Satisfaction and your best life are found in resisting God!
• You will not surely die!

Satan didn’t temp them with fruit, he tempted them to claim the right to be gods unto themselves – to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.

And they fell into the trap. Adam and Eve both rejected God and usurped His authority. They claimed the right to be their own gods.

And that was the original sin.

And every single human being on the planet has been born into that same sin nature and has committed that same sin by choice. All of us have decided to determine for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. All of us, like sheep, have gone our own way. None is righteous, no not one. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And, by design, God ordained that the judgment for sin is death.

Listen, with your natural judgement, you agreed earlier that, under the right conditions, it is good for sinners to be caught, judged, and punished for sin. Now you need to agree with God’s judgement.

Every time you claim the right to determine what is good and evil for yourself, and you do something to reject or ignore God’s law, you have sinned. And, according to God, what you have earned, what you deserve for your sin, is death.

Let God be found true and everyone else a liar. God’s goodness in death is revealed in this first and critical way: by design, God has ordained death as the right judgement for sin.

This isn’t milk doctrine, church; this is the meat. Will you agree with God? If you will, you will see His goodness in death. How? That leads us to the second way God’s goodness is revealed through death…

2. God’s goodness is revealed through death as God uses death to restrain evil on the earth.

Let’s do this exercise one more time. Allow me to appeal to your natural judgement again.

Would it have been a good thing for God to give Osama bin Laden the ability to live forever and never die?

Osama bin Laden. We are talking about the man who chanted, “Death to America” over and over again. The man who organized and executed several attacks to end American lives. I’m talking about the mastermind behind the attacks on 9/11.

Would it be a good thing if Osama bin Laden never died? Or what about Hitler? Should these men have been given the right by God to live forever and continue what was evil? Or was it actually good that God restrained evil on the earth through their deaths?

Again, I invite you to see this from God’s perspective.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. We are fallen and capable of all kinds of evil.

We all use the potential God has given us and the good things God has made to do what is wrong in God’s eyes.

We are all guilty of this:

• We use computers—technological marvels—for pornography.
• We use money—intended as provision—for control and manipulation.
• We use instruments—made for beauty or healing—to hurt and destroy.
• We use relationships—designed for love—to take advantage of one another.

The list goes on and on. Every one of us is guilty of using God’s good gifts and the abilities and potential God has given us for good to do what is evil.

And the goodness of God is seen in death as God uses death to restrain evil on the earth.

When we believe this biblical truth and see God’s goodness in it, it brings clarity to passages of the Bible that many have struggled with concerning death…

• The flood – the days of Noah were some of the most wicked days this world has ever known. God wasn’t evil for using death to restrain evil, He was merciful and gracious in sparing Noah and his family.
• Sodom and Gomorrah – what these people were doing were such an abomination. Their abuse of the small and weak was relentless. It would have never ended. God used death to show mercy and restrain evil.
• The genocides of the nation under Joshua – this was not mass murder. God exercised His judgement on sin through the nation of Israel when He told them to eliminate those people groups. God wasn’t evil to use death to restrain evil in the world, He was gracious to Israel to use them to accomplish His purposes.
• Capital punishment in Israel – in God’s law, there are sins unto death. What was the purpose of these laws? Mercy. God used these laws to restrain evil in the nation of Israel.
• What about the New Testament? How about Ananias and Sapphira? God used death to restrain evil in His Church. The death of Ananias and Sapphira led the church to reverence God and showed the severity of sin – even under the new covenant of grace. Paul also talked about God’s judgement through the death of people in the church related to communion in 1 Corinthians.
• One more… the end times. Do not think that Jesus is some version 2.0 of God who condemns His crazy dad for what He did before He showed up. Jesus was present with the Father in all these judgements for sin.And, one day soon, Jesus is coming again. And the Great Tribulation will unfold at the hand of Jesus. The world will know more pain and death than it has ever known before.

  And then, at the hand of Jesus, all those on His left at the Great White Throne will experience His judgement; and they will be condemned by Jesus to the second death, the lake of fire.

This is who God is! He reveals His glory, His greatness, and His goodness through His just judgements.

The glory of God is revealed through God’s judgement on sin through death and by His decision to limit evil through death.

Death isn’t a black stain on God. Death reveals the glory of God and the goodness of God in contrast to sinful people.

The goodness of God is revealed through death by the way God uses death to restrain evil on the earth.

And there’s one final way God’s goodness is revealed in death. And I’m excited to leave you with this one…

3. The goodness of God is seen in death by the way God uses death to redeem His people from sin!

We can see this design, this plan, from the beginning.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God would have been justified to just annihilate them immediately. Instead, what did God do?

God killed two animals and used the skin to create clothes for Adam and Eve to cover their shame. This foreshadowed God’s plan by making this statement: I will cover your sin and shame through the death of another.

Over and over, this theme is repeated in scripture…

• From the offerings of Abel to the sacrifices Noah and Abraham made in covenant relationship with God
• To the sacrificial worship system at the tabernacle prescribed in the law of Moses
• To David’s joyful, heartfelt worship through sacrificial offerings

Over and over, in all these ways and so many more, this same message is foreshadowed in the Word of God: I will cover your sin and shame through the death of another.

All these sacrifices were significant, but none of them were fully sufficient to satisfy God’s judgement towards sin.

Enter Jesus Christ – God in human flesh – the Lamb of God who’s all sufficient sacrifice takes away the sins of the world!

Jesus is the climatic event! In Him, all these shadows were fulfilled. By the sin of one man, the sin of Adam, death entered the world. But by the all sufficient sacrifice of one perfect man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, all were justified!

Jesus lived the sinless life God intended for all of us to live. He died the sinners death that we all deserved. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God!

And through Jesus, God has used the death of another to cover our sin and shame.

But that’s not the only way God uses death to redeem us from sin!

God uses death to make us new creations in Christ by putting to death our olds selves so we can be born again of the Spirit of God. We cannot be born again as new creations in Christ unless our old self first dies with Him. If you know Jesus, aren’t you glad the old you is dead and buried with Him and that you have been made new by Jesus!

So God uses death to redeem us as new creations in Christ!

But that’s not all!

God also redeems our lives through our physical deaths. For the Christian, we know our mortal bodies are still under the curse of sin. But we have this great hope – that when we die, God will not abandon us. He will resurrect us in a resurrection like Jesus so that we are given new, immortal bodies that will last forever! Bodies free from sin and the effects of sin. And we will forever be with the Lord!

Now, come on! Isn’t God good?! This is the goodness of God in death – to redeem His people from sin!

CONCLUSION

So here are the three biblical principles that are essential to understanding the goodness of God in death.

I’m telling you, this third point means almost nothing if you don’t accept the first two.

• You must believe that you are a sinner who usurped God’s authority and claimed the right to be a god unto yourself by determining for yourself what is right and wrong.
• You must believe that you deserve God’s judgement for sin, and that the wages of sin is death.
• You must agree that God is just to restrain evil on the earth through death, and that includes ending your life because of your sin and the evil you have done.

Then, and only then, can you really start to appreciate the death of Jesus and what He has done for you! He’s the only one who never deserved death, but God used His death to redeem you from sin and shame! And through His death, your old sinful self has died with Christ so you could be born again a new creation in Christ! And because of Him you have the hope of a new body after this one dies so you can live with Him forever!

Now come on. Look at the goodness of God. The goodness of God is revealed by God through death.

INVITATION

Now, as you look at His goodness, how should you respond?

First, and I hope this is obvious, you must end the practice of claiming the right to determine what is good and evil in your life. God never gave you the ability or right to make that determination. So, start by agreeing with God! Decide right now that God is right in all His ways and chose to surrender your life to Him. This is the essence of what it means to declare that Jesus is Lord.

With that in place, there are some in this room who have never decided to believe on Jesus and follow Him in baptism.

(SHARE THE GOSPEL, INVITATION TO BAPTISM)

COMMUNION (while waiting on baptism or baptisms)