The Oldest Lie is Still at Work: “You shall not surely die.”
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. – Genesis 3: 4-6
Most Christians understand that death came as a consequence to sin, and that Jesus was sent to the world to save us from our sins. But, what many also believe is that we can simply “accept Jesus,” then continue in a life of sin and still avoid death. This is not necessarily so.
The forgiveness of sins is so very important, and I believe that it’s always a good idea to have faith in the mercy of Jesus. I believe that He will be merciful to all who genuinely love Him and want to live according to His righteous ways. But, sin is not something to be taken lightly.
I believe that when we use the cross as a scapegoat for living a sinful life, we are taking the sacrifice of Jesus in vain. I believe that when we reject the Holy Spirit, we are rejecting the cross, and we will not be “born again.” I believe that those who really love Jesus want to live a life that is pleasing to him, but many are not given the good news of the engrafted word that saves our souls – meaning the promise of being freed from sin in a literal way as a result of Jesus writing the knowledge of righteousness in our hearts.
Read: Jesus Promises Perfection
Sin Brings Death to Our Lives, Even Now.
Sin leads to death in more ways than one. When we live very sinfully, there are natural consequences we see in our lives—consequences that destroy our bodies, minds, and relationships to name a few. A sinful life can also lead to a shorter life, though not always. Bad things also happen to “good” people, regardless of how they have lived, but that’s a topic for another time.
Sin Brings Death to Every Living Being.
Because of the sins of Adam and Eve, we will all taste death. It is unavoidable and natural by our understanding, so it doesn’t always seem like such a big deal. But, death is the ultimate punishment, and it is quite severe. A little about my background: I worked for about 10 years as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Certified Medication Assistant. I’ve held many hands while the last breath of life was taken. It’s not pretty. It’s not peaceful. There is nothing good about death whatsoever.
Rejection of Jesus Leads to a Second, Final Death.
It is my belief that those who are not called to acceptance of Jesus Christ will be judged and destroyed in a second, final death (rather than living forever in a fiery torture chamber). I don’t want to get into this idea much now. I’m working on a study on this, so more to come later.
I’m in the process of gathering scripture about death and hell, and I want to share these scriptures with you. I think they paint a good picture of the severity of sin and the remedy, which is Jesus Christ.
| Romans 5:16 | And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation |
| Romans 5:21 | That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord |
| Romans 7:5 | For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. |
| Romans 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| 1 Cor 15:55-56 | O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. |
| 1 Thess 1:7-9 | And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; |
| 1 Thess 2:8 | And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: |
| 1 Thess 2:12 | That they all might be damned who believed not in the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. |
| Heb 2: 9 | But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. |
| Heb 2:14 | Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same: that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. |
| Heb 6:8 | But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. |
| James 1:15 | Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. |
And Finally…
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. – James 1:21
When we follow the Lord, Jesus Christ and are living according to the power of His Holy Spirit in us, we begin to walk in the spirit rather than after the flesh. We see sin removed from us and the destruction it brings is greatly decreased. We will all die, but in Christ is the power of resurrection — an escape from everlasting death!
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KindlingTruth 