© Matthew Tuel — 2025
Deuteronomy 32:48-50 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
48 Then the LORD said to Moses that same day, 49 “Go up to this Abarim hill country, to Mount Nebo (which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho), and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50 You will die on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his deceased ancestors,
Phillipians 1:20-24 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
20 My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: 23 I feel torn between the two because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, 24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.
Jeremiah 2:18 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
18 What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians?
What good will it do you to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians?
2nd Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (NET, 2nd Ed.)
Unequal Partners
14 Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore “come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the All-Powerful Lord.
Self-Purification
7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that could defile the body and the spirit, and thus accomplish holiness out of reverence for God.
With Calvin, we see we no longer need to fear death. We know what's on the other side, and we know that through Christ it is just a doorway into eternity.
With Spurgeon, we see the caution to not be "unequally yoked." To be careful, as Psalm 1 puts it, to not follow the wicked, stand with the sinners, or sit with the scoffers. That's not to say we shouldn't evangelize to them, but we should be careful not to let the influence be a two way street.