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What Does It Mean to “Fall Asleep in Christ”

Courtesy of the Hultink Family Foundation, the Cántaro Institute is now the new home for the Reformational Digital Library (formerly known as the Reformational Publishing Project). All rights reserved.

Document: John Hultink, “What Does It Mean to ‘Fall Asleep in Christ’?” (2025)

Excerpt: To “fall asleep in Christ” is not a mere euphemism for death but the declaration of a new reality secured at Golgotha. When Jesus said of Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus that they were not dead but asleep, He was not softening the language of death—He was revealing the truth that in Him, sin and death are nullified. By His sacrifice on the cross, He ransomed sinners, restored fellowship with the Father, and transformed death into rest. Thus, though believers die, their lives are hidden with Christ in God, and their passing is but the entrance into His eternal life.

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What Does It Mean to “Fall Asleep In Christ”?