Death in Christ: Why the Righteous Still Die (WLC 85)

In the previous questions of the Westminster Larger Catechism, we are reminded that believers already enjoy the first fruits of glory in this life, yet still live in a world marked by sin, and suffering. We are also reminded that the wages, that is, the just reward, for sin is death. That leaves Christians with an important question, one the catechism asks in Question 85:

“Death, being the wages of sin, why are not the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their sins are forgiven in Christ?”

In other words, if death is the punishment for sin, and Christians are freed from sin’s punishment in Christ, why do they still die? The catechism answers,

“The righteous shall be delivered from death itself at the last day, and even in death are delivered from the sting and curse of it; so that, although they die, yet it is out of God’s love, to free them perfectly from sin and misery, and to make them capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter upon.”

The answer is deeply pastoral and gets straight to the point.

Death in Christ Is Still an Enemy, but Not a Defeat

The catechism does not pretend that death is natural or harmless. Scripture speaks plainly: death is the wages of sin. It is an intruder in God’s world, not part of the original goodness of creation. Paul even calls death “the last enemy” in 1 Corinthians 15:26. Death is an enemy because it tears apart what God joined together, separating soul and body.

Yet for the righteous, death in Christ is no longer a judicial punishment. That is the crucial distinction. Death remains an enemy, but it is a conquered enemy. It still hurts. It still grieves. It still reminds us that the fall is real. But it no longer stands over the believer as condemnation. When Paul says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” he explains why: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55–57).

The sting of death is death as curse and judgment. That sting has been removed for all who are united to Christ. Jesus bore the curse and satisfied divine justice. So while the believer still passes through death, he does not pass through it as one condemned, but as one whose condemnation has already been paid by another.

Death in Christ Loses Its Sting and Curse

This is what the catechism means when it says that the righteous “even in death are delivered from the sting and curse of it.” Christ does not merely help believers face death; He changes its character for them. Hebrews 2:15 says that Christ came to “deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Apart from Christ, death terrifies because it stands before sinners as the summons to judgment. But in Christ, the believer is delivered from that enslaving fear.

This does not mean every Christian dies with the same sense of peace. Some die with remarkable calm; others die in weakness and trembling. But the promise is not about identical feelings. It is about a changed reality. The curse is gone because Christ became a curse for His people. The sting is gone because sin has been forgiven. Death may still wound the body, but it cannot destroy the soul or separate the believer from Christ.

That is why Scripture speaks so tenderly about the death of the righteous. Isaiah 57:1–2 says that the righteous are taken away from calamity and enter into peace. Likewise, the Lord told Josiah in 2 Kings 22:20 that he would be gathered to his grave in peace. These passages do not deny that death is an enemy. They show that, in God’s providence, death in Christ can be an act of mercy.

Death in Christ Is an Act of God’s Love

The catechism then says something striking: believers die “out of God’s love.” If our sins are forgiven and our salvation is secure, then even death must now serve the saving purposes of God. It no longer comes as wrath, but as fatherly wisdom and love.

Revelation 14:13 declares, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” That would be impossible language if death in Christ still carried condemnation. But those who die in the Lord are blessed because they rest from their labors and belong to Him even in death.

This truth gives real comfort. Believers do not die because Christ failed to save them fully, nor because God has one last punishment to inflict. They die because, in God’s appointed time, death in Christ becomes the means by which He completes one stage of their redemption. He brings them through death not as Judge against them, but as Father for them.

That does not erase grief. Christians still mourn. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. But Christian grief is not despair. The death of a believer is not meaningless loss. It is sorrow filled with hope.

Death in Christ Frees the Righteous from Sin and Misery

The catechism also teaches that death in Christ serves “to free them perfectly from sin and misery.” In this life, even the holiest believers still struggle with remaining sin. We groan under temptation, weakness, affliction, and the burdens of life in a fallen world. Sanctification is real, but it is not yet complete.

Death changes that. It brings the believer into a state of perfected holiness. Hebrews 12:23 says the saints in glory are “the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” Ephesians 5:27 speaks of Christ presenting His church to Himself “holy and without blemish.” What sanctification begins in this life, God completes in glory.

For the righteous, then, death in Christ is not merely an ending; it is a freeing. Sin’s warfare ceases. Indwelling corruption is gone. Every misery tied to the fall is left behind.

Death in Christ Brings the Believer into Communion with Christ in Glory

The catechism’s final note is especially sweet: death makes believers “capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter upon.” What believers now enjoy by faith, they enter more fully at death.

Scripture often speaks of the death of believers as sleep. That language does not deny the reality of death or teach soul-sleep. It shows that for those in Christ, death is temporary and conquered. Believers sleep because they will awaken. Christ has taken away the curse and sting of death, so that His people rest under His care until the resurrection.

At the same time, the believer’s soul does not sleep. Jesus told the dying thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Paul says that to depart is “to be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil. 1:23). So while the body rests in the grave, the soul immediately enters the presence of Christ.

This is not yet the final state, since the body still awaits resurrection. The catechism is careful to say that the righteous “shall be delivered from death itself at the last day.” Full victory includes the resurrection of the body. But even now, those who die in the Lord enter conscious blessedness with Christ, while their bodies sleep in hope.

So why do the righteous still die? Because death in Christ is no longer death as curse, but death as conquered passage. For the believer, it is sleep before awakening, rest before resurrection, and departure to be with Christ. It remains an enemy, but not a victor. It is the last enemy, but it is a defeated one.

Soli Deo Gloria