living & dying

I read these 2 verses this morning in Paul's letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome.

And I wondered about what this has to say about end of life issues.

So I checked at Bible Gateway, & have included a few other translations & a paraphrase of these 2 verses.

It looks like they all pretty much agree in treatment of these 2 verses.

In a time when end of life issues are only becoming more & more complicated, maybe we should think about these words of Paul from 2000 years ago?



Romans 14

7 For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. 

8 While we live, we live to please the Lord. 

And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. 

So in life & in death, we belong to the Lord.

9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. (NLT)



At every turn life links us to God, and when we die we come face to face with him. In life or death we are in the hands of God. Christ lived and died that he might be the Lord in both life and death. (J B Phillips)



7 We don’t live or die just for ourselves. 8 If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.9 That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again—so that he could be Lord over those who have died and those who are living. (ERV)


7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (ESV)



It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other. (The Message)



7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (NIV)



7 The truth is that none of us live for ourselves, and none die for ourselves. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So in both life and death, we belong to the Lord. 9 The Anointed One, the Liberating King, died and returned to life to make this a reality: through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of the living and the dead. (The Voice)