29/08/2026
Over the past number of days, we have seen a considerable number of posts from those who would broadly identify with, or come from, a Protestant background using the expression “RIP” when marking the death of an individual. So we feel it necessary to post this once again.
WHY PROTESTANTS SHOULD NOT USE “RIP”
The letters “RIP", meaning “'Requiescat in pace' or “Rest in Peace”, have long been used by the Roman Catholic Church, and can be frequently seen, for example, in death notices and on gravestones. However, the use of “RIP” has become much more widespread in recent years, and it is now often quoted by many Protestants on the social media sites Facebook and Twitter. While it is probably being used in all innocence and sincerity, it is a further illustration of spiritual confusion within Protestant circles.
In the Church of Rome, the term “Rest in Peace” is virtually a prayer for the dead, so that should alert us right away. A person’s eternal destiny is decided prior to death. If your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, then at death, your soul will immediately pass into glory. However, if you have not trusted Christ but have rejected God’s offer of salvation, then, tragically, when you die your soul is lost in hell forever. This is what the Bible teaches, and there is no Biblical warrant for praying for the dead or for wishing that their soul might “Rest in Peace”. Indeed, such a view contradicts the Bible. The redeemed do not need our prayers, and the lost cannot benefit from them once they have passed from us. We would be better to pray more for them while they are alive. Let us reject and repudiate the superstitions of Rome and remain faithful to the clear teaching of the Word of God.
