While cremation is not strictly forbidden in Scripture, it is clearly not the pattern. When practiced in the Old Testament, cremation was the exception as in war and in both cases, the wars were because of disobedience. The war at Mt. Gilboa (1 Sam 31) was the result of King Saul’s disobedience and the war predicted in Amos 9 would be the result of Israel’s disobedience. Even in the two exceptions where cremation was not performed in a negative sense, disobedience was a factor.
Cremation in the Old Testament was either mentioned as a sin that pagan nations practiced which Israel was not to emulate or as a capital punishment for particularly offensive sins. All of the references to cremation in the Old Testament could therefore be said to be negative, which does not establish a positive precedent for disposing of the dead.
On the other hand, burial has more favorable theological implications. It is stated in Jesus’ teaching that the dead will resurrect from graves (John 5:28). Paul connects “the natural body” that is sown in the grave with “the spiritual body” that is raised in his agricultural illustration in 1 Cor 15. This analogy is better reflected in burial where the natural body is planted in the ground and the glorified body is raised. Both Jesus (John 11) and Paul (1 Thess 4) describe death as “sleep” which burial better depicts. When someone died it was the custom to close their eyes because death is like sleep and people do not sleep with their eyes open. “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes” (Gen 46:4).
Jesus’ only direct statement about burial, “Let the dead bury the dead” (Luke 9:60), also reflected the common practice of his day. The early church as well practiced interment. “For the most part, the early church practiced inhumation and rigorously opposed cremation. Prompt burials followed death and a special memorial service was conducted the third day following the believer’s death. The choice of the third day was a means of reaffirming belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the ultimate resurrection of all believers” (John Davis, What About Cremation? A Christian Perspective. Winona Lade, Ind.: BMH, 1989, p. 32). Burial is a better way of following the example of Christ (1 Pet 2:21). Also burial gives more honor to the body that God created and will resurrect than burning and grinding the remains.
God’s preference for burial is seen in two cases. God directly acted as funeral director only once when He buried Moses in Dt. 34:1-5. The second time God revealed His preference was when He ordained that Christ be buried in Isa 53:9.
Since cremation is advocated by either theological liberals (William Phipps) or non-Christian religions (Hinduism and Buddhism) and non-Christian philosophies (naturalistic atheism and environmental greenism) true believers should not follow their lead.
