Job expected to be buried.  Job 19:26, “And [though] after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God.” (KJV)  The patriarch obviously has his burial in view because there are no skin worms where cremation has occurred.  

                               III.  CREMATION IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED BY OLD TESTAMENT TEACHING.  

            God forbade the burning of children is sacrifice to Molech.   Leviticus 18:21,”And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through [the fire] to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD.” (KJV)  While human sacrifice is primarily in view in this prohibition, cremation is indirectly forbidden in this command. Deuteronomy 12:31, “Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which He hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.” (KJV)  The Law of God provided for the stoning to death of rebellious children, but never did it permit their bodies to be burned (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

            God punished the king of Moab for burning the bones of the king of Edom .   Amos 2:1, “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab , and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. ”(KJV)  If cremation is a  matter of indifference, then why did God pronounce this punishment upon the king of Moab?  It was because the burning of his bones erroneously declared the King of Edom was accursed.  The symbolism for a curse was the cremation of the body.   Joshua 7:15, “And it shall be, [that] he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel .” (KJV)  Does this fact not explain why the Church of Rome burnt heretics at the stake?  Believing they were accursed from God, the harlot of Rome reduced the saints whom they hated to ashes to show their abhorrence for their doctrines, for the burning of something  to destroy it remains a sign of the greatest abhorrence.  Deuteronomy 7:25, “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take [it] unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it [is] an abomination to the LORD thy God.” (KJV).

             Because of burning being a sign of the greatest abomination, certain offenses were punishable by burning instead of stoning.   Such was the offense of whoredom on the part of a priest’s daughter. Leviticus 21:9,  “And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.” (KJV)  The same kind of abhorrence was to be shown toward any man who married a woman and her mother. Leviticus 20:14, “And if a man take a wife and her mother, it [is] wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.” (KJV) Sins which were extremely flagrant and repugnant were to be punished by burning, not stoning.   It is this truth which makes the burning of all things abominable more significant. Deuteronomy 7:25, “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take [it] unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it [is] an abomination to the LORD thy God.” (KJV) 

            Achan and his family were burned with fire because they became accursed when Achan took that which was accompanied with a curse, thus placing himself under the pronounced curse. Joshua 6:17,  “And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.” (KJV) Thus, the punishment for him and his family was not mere stoning but burning of their bodies as a sign of their being cursed. Joshua 7:25, “And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.” (KJV)

            The association with a curse accounts for the burning of the bodies of Saul and his sons. 1 Samuel 31:10, “And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.” (KJV)  Since Saul’s body remained  fastened to a wall after dark, he was considered to be accursed. Deuteronomy 21:23, “His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged [is] accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance.” (KJV)  Thus, the men of Jabesh burned the bodies as a further sign of this curse (1 Samuel 31:12) but buried their bones as a sign of their faith (1 Samuel 31:13).

           The burning of the bones of the priests of Bethel on the altar of their idolatry signified the curse which God had pronounced on the altar and the priests who served there. 1 Kings 13:1-2,     “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel : and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.” (KJV)  Godly King Josiah fulfilled this prophecy exactly. 2 Kings 23:16, “And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that [were] there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned [them] upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.” (KJV

                IV.    BURIAL IS THE ONLY METHOD OF DISPOSITION ADVOCATED BY THE NEW TESTAMENT.

Burial is taught by example.  Biblical example is a strong argument in setting forth the ways of God, and it should never be dismissed as insignificant.  Thus, New Testament example records the burial of Lazarus (John 11:31, 38), the burial of Jesus (Matthew 27:57-60), the burial of Stephen (Acts 8:2), and the burials of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:6, 10) among others.  In accord with these examples, Christians in every age have buried their dead. Even  naval personnel bodies are properly disposed of by burial at sea.  The Christians in Rome buried their dead among the Catacombs, and every church cemetery throughout the world is a testimony to this universal practice among professing believers in Jesus Christ.

Burial is required by typology.   Symbols teach truth which is lost when the symbols are corrupted.  As those who profess faith in Christ abandon burial in favor of cremation, one can be sure the truth of the resurrection will soon be lost among them because the most obvious symbol of its certainty will have disappeared as a reminder of it.

Burial is taught in type by the planting of seed. 1 Corinthians 15:36-38, “[Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]:  But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body.” (KJV)  Why is seed planted?  Is it not because it is to come forth from the ground?  Who would ever think of burning a seed?  Seed is buried for the purpose of coming forth in a new form from the ground in which it has been buried or planted.

In exactly the same way, the body is to be buried because it is like a seed. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, “So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (KJV)  Why, then, would anyone who believes in the resurrection of the body ever cremate the body of a believing loved one or request that his loved ones cremate his body after he is dead?  The very burying of the body is a testimony is one’s explicit faith in the resurrection.  Conversely, the cremation of the body is the denial of one’s belief in resurrection however adamantly he may profess that faith.

Burial is set forth in type by baptism, for baptism is a vivid picture of burial. Romans 6:3-5, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [His] resurrection.” (KJV) Colossians 2:12, “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [Him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” (KJV)  Nothing can be a greater contradiction than the cremation of the body of one who has been baptized on the profession of his faith.  When this writer pressed this argument against the cremation a professing Christian was considering, he responded that cremation would not contradict his baptism.  The problem was he had not been scripturally baptized; he had only been sprinkled, and he could see that no burial had been typified.  However, one who has been properly baptized by immersion would contradict that testimony, were he to have his body cremated.

If baptism does in fact picture Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection together with the believer’s death, burial, and resurrection in union with Him, and even the impending death of the believer’s body, its burial, and future resurrection, then every believer ought to be sure that his body is properly buried as an abiding testimony to this truth.  This writer wants to bear witness to the fact of resurrection even when he is dead.  To that end, his burial is prearranged.  

Burial is constrained by principle.   When one is born again and the Holy Spirit indwells his body, his body is at once a member of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:15, “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make [them] the members of an harlot? God forbid. ”(KJV)  Realizing our bodies are the members of Christ makes a great difference now in the way we use those bodies.  Should it not also make a difference in the way we dispose of those bodies after death?  Have we any right to do with those bodies otherwise than what God has clearly prescribed in His Word?  Hear the compelling argument of the Apostle Paul: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (KJV)  Not belonging to us but to God, our bodies are to be used and finally disposed in strict accordance with His commands.  They are His by creation and design.  This fact demands we treat them with dignity, even to the final disposition of them. Deuteronomy 14:1-2,  “Ye [are] the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that [are] upon the earth.” (KJV) Romans 12:1,  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.” (KJV)  This principle is applicable in both life and death. Romans 14:8, “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.” (KJV)  Cremation shows no respect for God’s way or the dignity of the body.  

    V.   THE WORLD PROMOTES CREMATION AND OFFERS SPURIOUS REASONS OVER BURIAL.

They say cremation is cleaner.  This is a false claim.  Ask any funeral director who has operated a crematory.  The dust from the crematory is pervasive, to say nothing of the smoke and ashes which comes from this process.  

They say there is no space  for cemeteries.   This is another false claim.  A few years ago it was reported that the entire world’s population could stand within the city limits of Jacksonville, Florida .  The only places where space is restricted is in large, compacted cities, but there remains plenty of space in the world for all burials without exception.