The inclusion or exclusion of any question is at the sole discretion of the staff of Evergreen Baptist Church, Trail Creek, Indiana.

Question: If someone asks you about ghosts and say they believe in them and believe the stories told by dear relatives.... What would you think? Is it wrong to believe this?
Also my Dad still believes in the "near death experience" and seeing a great white light.  Is this wrong? 
How can I share the message of God's salvation in the story of "near death experience" and what can I say about ghosts?
J. K.

Scripture tells us …
“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31.
“And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.” Leviticus 20:6. 
“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:27.

This would indicate that there are indeed some beings that manifest themselves as what we might call “ghosts” but that we are to avoid any entanglement with them or those who have contact with them. Anyone who claims there is such a thing as a “friendly” or beneficial ghost needs to come to grips with 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Any spirit being that one would encounter has the ability to deceive you. This relates to the question of near-death experiences as well. Satan would gladly appear as an angel of light in a light-filled corridor if it would prevent someone from turning to Christ for eternal salvation! The only real test of truth in the spiritual realm is Scripture, and it gives no credence to “ghost stories.”

In regard to near death experiences, I do not dispute that many people see similar things (a white light for example). But that does not mean that what they saw was genuine or how they interpreted what they saw is accurate.

If you want to know the truth about life and death, look to the Word of God. According to the Word:
1. Death comes when the spirit leaves the body – “For as the body without the spirit is dead, …” (James 2:26a)
2. Death is a one-time experience “… it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27). If a person truly “dies” and comes back, then they don’t just die once! And if they don’t die, how can such an experience explain death?
3. Death results in a believer being ushered into the presence of the risen Lord – “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) This indicates that to be absent from the body (death – see James 1:26) is to be present with the Lord, not standing in some hallway with a bright light!

The only way to present the salvation message is with the truth of God’s Word – not through experiences, whether personal or reported. “Ghosts” may be actual spirit beings, but God does not use them to communicate with us and warns away from anything of the sort.

Pastor