When the Lord created Adam from
the dust of the ground, he breathed into him, and Adam became a living
soul. The Lord then planted a garden
in Eden and put the man therein to dress and keep it. He was
surrounded with the bounty of God's creation and was privileged
to enjoy the beauty of that garden and to commune with the Lord
in his mortal state. At this point he had no knowledge
of death and as yet had not tasted of the bitterness of death's
curse. He was created to fulfill the exact purpose for which the
Lord made him, and he would in no wise do anything other than
act according to the nature which was given him. He was neither
the master of his fate nor the captain of his soul. His times
were in the hands of his Creator. The Lord forbade him to eat of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and decreed his
demise when he said, In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die. True to his corruptible nature,
he did knowingly eat of that fruit which the serpent had beguiled
Eve into partaking of and presenting to him. Thus, in the eating of
that fruit in direct disobedience to God's commandment, he did
plunge himself and all of his future posterity under the curse
of death. Though it was Eve who in her
ignorance offered it to him, he was in the transgression as
he gladly partook of it and could blame no one but himself as he
fulfilled the decree which God had made. Man in this state of
fallen nature has always sought out an excuse for his sin, and
it is impossible for him to recognize his own utter corruption before
God apart from the enlightenment of the Spirit of God. In this
natural state, man is convinced that he can approach unto God
and even find favor with Him by either abstaining from acts
of sin or by some activity which he has designed to demonstrate
his righteousness unto the Lord. He does not comprehend the utter
contempt which the Lord has for all of the deeds which are performed
in the power of human flesh, nor can he grasp the fact that
death does reign in his moral body because of sin. It is this
reigning power of sin which forever separates him from the presence
of a holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold sin. Man
surmises that sin is what he does, rather than understanding
that sin is what he is. Because of this blindness, he
is often mired in various schemes and varieties of religions, superstitions,
vain babblings, and science falsely so-called, which hold out hope
to him that he might yet improve himself and escape the curse
of death. This is the exact same reason
that many pursue the lusts of the flesh, blindly thinking that
such will offer them a reprieve from their own mortality and
open up vistas of pleasure and satisfaction which will fulfill
this quest. Yet all of these pursuits are
completely vain and ultimately leave these pursuers in the exact
same condition that they were in from the beginning, under
the inescapable curse of death by sin. One cannot paint a bleaker
picture than the reality of this condition. It cannot be exaggerated. Thus arise those who would tell
men that they just need to think positively and dwell upon happy
thoughts and not listen to the naysayers, which is how they
would characterize those who declare the truth as it is set
forth in the Bible. These same blind guides would
also seek to inform men that the faith with which God is pleased
is that which they are able to produce by decision of their
own free will. While it is clear that every
man who is buried is dead, it is also true that every man is
dead in trespasses and sins as soon as he comes forth from his
mother's womb. Even as natural death does incapacitate
the natural man, so too does this death by sin incapacitate
him spiritually as well. He will not cease from sin because
he cannot, and he cannot because he is already dead therein. The
final outcome of death by sin is the everlasting destruction
of the body and soul in hell by him who holds the keys thereof,
and man is powerless to prevent that conclusion. The only hope
that exists for those who are captives to death by sin is the
sovereign grace of God, who delights to show mercy to those who mourn
for their sin. The recipients of His mercy are
given life and the gift of faith, causing them to embrace the judgment
of God upon themselves, owning their corruption and crying out
to Him for mercy. Thus we see sinners saved and
Christ glorified. Christ is indeed the antidote
of death. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.