THE WALKING DEAD

Pardon me, but I cannot understand the demand for and the enjoyment in the popular television series, “The Walking Dead”. Nor do I appreciate the multiplicity of such shows as “Grim” and other programs that deal with magic, sorcery, communicating with the dead and the demonic world. Personally, I want to stay as far away from zombies, the devil and his demons as far as possible.

 The television and movie industries are influencing our society and generally speaking, not for the good of mankind. We have been desensitized and our reaction to the violence, sexual scenes, vulgarity, and the ‘undead’, etc. has become a matter of indifference and apathy.

 Lest I become too involved with a variety of subjects, permit me to say that I do believe there are some people who are walking around dead! They may have very good health and the doctor may inform them following an examination that all their vital signs could not be better. But they are dead! In fact the Bible teaches that certain people are dead while they are living. How can this be?

 First of all, we need to understand the word ‘dead’ basically means a separation of the spirit of a man from his body. In the New Testament, James wrote: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Please observe that when a person dies he is not dead period. There is a part of man that continues. In Ecclesiastes 12:3, the Preacher wrote: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.” It is wrong thinking to understand that when a person is dead he is like the dog rover and is dead ‘all over’.

 But, who are the people who are ‘the walking dead’? In Ephesians 2:1 we read, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” How are we to understand that statement? Please continue to read the following in verses 2 and 3: “(I)n which you once walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Paul had reference to their former manner of life, that is, they were dead (separated from God in their sins) before they were saved by His grace through faith (Ephesians 2:5, 8). The ‘spiritually dead’ do have the power of choice, that is, they can respond to the Savior’s invitation who said, “Come to Me, all you who labor, and I will give you rest… (Matthew 11:28-30).

 The prophet Isaiah clearly taught, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (chapter 59:1, 2). The apostle Paul wrote about one class of widows in I Timothy 5:6: “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Alive physically but dead spiritually! How is this possible? He clearly states that she was living in “pleasure”, that is, she was indulging in sinful acts. Devout Christians should be concerned about real (live) people walking around ‘spiritually dead’ in our society than to be interested in “The walking dead” in a fictitious program on television.

 The ‘walking dead’ (spiritually speaking), if not penitent of their sins and obedient to the commands of the gospel will receive their wages one day and that is an eternal death (separation from God) (Romans 6:23). Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-4 that a person who dies to sin in repentance, is buried with the Lord in baptism and is raised to “walk in newness of life” in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). “And this is the testimony: That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in the Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Please consider seriously this question: am I alive in Christ or dead in sin?