Fear Death?

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!

Man's greatest curse and fear is death. There is nothing man can do to avoid it. It is the wages of sin. (Romans 6:23)

Jesus - God - became a man. In doing so, He took on the curse of man. Yet, Jesus - the man - was without sin. The only way someone receives wages is by earning or completing a service. 

When someone accepts the offer of Jesus, that person is ultimately saying "I surrender my wages - what I've earned - to Jesus." In this, the person exchanges his life for the life of Jesus. He has a sinless life and therefore death cannot keep him - even though He was obedient to it as a man.

Therefore, if Jesus has accepted the wages we earned and we have surrendered our earnings (our life) to Christ, then death cannot keep us either. Wages are only paid once.

So, if I want to keep the life of sin - living as I desire/choose rather than following/obeying Christ (living his life), then I will collect the wages earned by my life.

Luke 9:23-24 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself (give up his earned wages of sin) and take up his cross daily (die to self daily - continue to redirect his wages to Christ) and follow me (obedient to death - accept the wages of sin are death and someone must take those earned wages). For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

If I deny myself - resist living according to my desires and understanding of circumstances, give up control of what I am able to control by my choices - AND exchange my wages for the life of Jesus, THEN death - which I am not able to control with my life - will not be upheld in the court of God's justice.

There is a final day of judgement when God's justice will prevail. For now, man dies. Jesus was the first fruit of the justice to come. Jesus died - being obedient to death for the sins of man. But, because his own life was without sin, justice ruled in his favor and his life was restored. He - as a sinless man and as Creator of all things - had the means to control death.

Stay in control of your life and you cannot control death. Give up control of your life to Christ and gain control of death. 

I guess the question really comes down to what do you want to fear - death or God?