Spiritual Death

Q: What does the Bible say about spiritual death?

The Bible teaches that spiritual death is a state of separation and alienation from God due to Adam's sin. Spiritual death, as outlined in Scripture, occurs as a result of Adam's sin, which brought about a profound state of corruption for all mankind. The Apostle Paul states in Romans 5:12, ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.’ This passage indicates that all humanity inherits spiritual death through Adam, characterized by separation from God and a nature inclined towards sin. Furthermore, Ephesians 2:1 speaks of individuals as being ‘dead in trespasses and sins,’ emphasizing that spiritual death is not a cessation of being but a condition of alienation from God, filled with moral corruption and defilement.

Q: How do we know original sin is true?

Original sin is affirmed in Scripture, stating that sin entered the world through Adam, affecting all mankind. The concept of original sin is rooted in the biblical narrative, particularly in Romans 5:12, which asserts that sin came into the world through one man, Adam. This introduces the idea that all human beings are implicated in Adam's sin and, consequently, in his spiritual death. The Apostle Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 2:3 that all are ‘by nature children of wrath,’ indicating the inherited sinful nature resulting from Adam's disobedience. In this framework, original sin is not merely a theological concept but a foundational understanding of humanity's spiritual state, necessitating divine intervention for restoration through Christ.

Q: Why is understanding spiritual death important for Christians?

Understanding spiritual death is crucial as it reveals our need for salvation and the significance of Christ's grace. Grasping the doctrine of spiritual death is essential for Christians as it articulates the nature of humankind's fallen condition due to sin. This understanding underscores that all people are born spiritually dead, alienated from God and incapable of restoring themselves. The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:1, identifies that we were ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ Recognizing our dire state compels believers to appreciate the necessity of Christ's redemptive work. In 1 Corinthians 15:22, Paul contrasts the despair of being in Adam with the hope found in Christ, who provides life through His obedience. Thus, understanding spiritual death helps deepen one's appreciation for grace, redemption, and the transformative power of the Gospel.

Q: What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins?

Being dead in trespasses and sins refers to the complete moral and spiritual inability to seek God due to sin. To be ‘dead in trespasses and sins,’ as described in Ephesians 2:1, signifies a state of moral and spiritual incapacity in a person's relationship with God. This state is a direct result of Adam's original sin, rendering humanity unable to seek God or perform good works without divine intervention. The text illustrates that, while individuals may be physically alive, they are spiritually dead, having lost all inclination to respond positively to God’s grace. It reflects an existence of enmity against God, characterized by a nature enslaved to sin. Understanding this condition highlights the necessity for God's grace in Christ, who quickens the dead souls and restores them to fellowship with the Father.

Q: What is the relationship between Adam's sin and spiritual death?

Adam's sin is the basis for spiritual death, affecting all humanity due to his role as our representative. The relationship between Adam's sin and spiritual death is foundational to Reformed theology. Adam, as the federal head of humanity, represented all people in his disobedience, leading to spiritual death for all his descendants. Romans 5:12 presents this reality, stating that through Adam, sin entered the world and death followed. Consequently, all human beings inherit a corrupted nature characterized by spiritual death. This moral degradation manifests as a lack of righteousness and a natural inclination toward sin. The doctrine underscores the significance of Christ, the last Adam, who through His obedience and sacrifice provides the means for life and righteousness, restoring what was lost through Adam's fall.

Let's turn together this evening
to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians, the 15th chapter. Here are four words which reveal
what happened in the garden when our father Adam sinned against
God. These four words must be understood. They're so important, so necessary,
so vital, that I think I can safely and accurately say that
you will never understand anything written in the Word of God if
you don't understand what is taught in these four words. Now,
I hope that'll get your attention. Our text is 1 Corinthians 15
and verse 22, and here the Holy Spirit says in Adam, all die. In Adam, all die. Our subject this evening is spiritual
death. When God gave his law to Adam,
the sanction of the law was death. Physical death, spiritual or
moral death, and eternal death under the wrath of God. The wages
of sin is death. Now as soon as Adam sinned, He
and all his posterity, that is, Adam and all the sons and daughters
of Adam, the whole human race, were stripped of immortality
of body, that immortality which God gave Adam as his creature
in the beginning. That immortality was taken from
him. and taken from us, so that as
soon as he sinned, we became mortals, subject to death, infested
with all the corruptions of sickness, disease, and death. But there
is more to this death than that physical death or even the eternal
death that is yet to come. There is also involved in this
fall and in the curse that fell upon Adam, spiritual death. Spiritual
moral death seized the being of mankind when Adam sinned. Spiritual moral death, corruption
and death was passed upon all men because we all sinned in
and with our father Adam. And so the Apostle says, in Adam
all died. That is, by the representative
work of Adam, his evil work, by his sin against God, we all
died and became subject to everlasting death. Because of Adam's sin
and our sinning in him, the understanding of man was darkened. His mind
and conscience were defiled. We were filled with inordinate
affections. Our wills by nature are now biased
toward everything evil. We have a natural taste, a relish. for everything sinful and corrupt,
and yet until regenerated by the grace of God, there is no
inclination in all the sons and daughters of Adam toward anything
that is good. To every good work we are lifeless
and reprobate because we are by nature sinners. Everyone by
nature is born in this state of spiritual death, being dead
in trespasses and in sins. Now this is the language of scripture.
I want you to look at two more texts. Turn to Romans chapter
5 and verse 12. I want you to look at them with
me one more time. Romans chapter 5 and verse 12 and Ephesians
chapter 2. And this is how the Holy Spirit
explains what Paul has already told us in 1 Corinthians 15.
In Adam all died. This is what it means. In Romans
5 verse 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, by the sin of this one man, and our sinning
in him, death also entered into the world. And so death, the
sentence of death, was passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned." He said, well, what's that talking about? I wasn't
there. Oh yes, in our representative, in our substitute, in a man appointed
by God as one responsible for us, so that everything he did
or failed to do was as though we ourselves had done it or failed
to do it. And so when Adam sinned against
God, we were represented in him and we sinned in him. And sinning
in him, the sentence of death was passed upon all men. And
when Adam died, he died spiritually and now we by natural generation
inherit his corrupt nature of spiritual death. Look at Ephesians
chapter 2 and verse 1. Here the Apostle Paul describes
what that death is. The spiritual death. It is not
somehow a ceasing of being, obviously. It's not even a ceasing of spiritual
being, obviously not. We are born even as depraved
sinners with souls that shall never die. But it is a being
in separation from and alienation from God and enmity against God. It is a being under the wrath
and curse of God. Look in Ephesians 2 verse 1.
You hath he quickened, made alive, regenerated, who were dead in
trespasses and in sins. Now you must understand what
the language of Scripture is. We were dead. Being dead, if
ever we are quickened, if ever we are made alive, it must be
by something done by someone altogether outside ourselves.
We must be made alive by the power and grace of God Almighty.
You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. Read on. Wherein in time past
ye walked. How can a dead man walk? Dead
spiritually, dead morally, but very much alive immorally. Very much alive to everything
evil. wherein ye walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation." Every one of us
live just like this. This was the manner of life in
which we were all by nature involved. When God found us by His grace,
this is how we lived. In the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, even as others. As we are born sinners, all of
us, in a state and condition of spiritual death, We are also
born children of wrath, under the curse of God's holy law,
subject to eternal damnation and eternal death by our sin.
is the just wage and retribution paid to sin by the Holy Lord
God. Eternal death is the wrath of
God revealed against all unrighteousness. It is that which shall forever
torment the unrighteous, children of disobedience, unless we are
saved from it by God's free grace through Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, the last Adam, the last substitute man. This eternal
death is the curse which Zechariah saw in his vision. And Zechariah
chapter 5, he saw a roll flying, flying through all the earth.
And God said, this is that by which men, all men shall be cut
off in their wickedness. Eternal death destroys men forever,
banishes men forever under the wrath of God Almighty. And God's
elect are saved from this eternal universal curse. Because, and
only because, Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us, and has delivered us from
the wrath of God by the power of His grace. He is made of God
unto us both righteousness and redemption. And we are now made
the righteousness of God in Him. Now tonight I want to show you
the cause and character of this sad state of spiritual death
into which sin has brought us all by nature. And I want to
make three statements as we go along. First, I want you to understand
this. Spiritual death. Spiritual death,
this moral death, which is a part of all men by nature, this moral
death in which we exist by nature, is the result of Adam's sin as
our representative and substitute in the garden and of our sin
in him. In Romans chapter 5, you don't
need to turn back there, but in Romans 5, verses 12 through
20, the Apostle Paul uses four distinct words to describe Adam's
sin and transgression. First, he uses the word in verse
12, sin. And I took the time to look this
up earlier today. The word that's used in the Greek
text was twice used with a definite article. So that twice the Apostle
Paul speaks here of the sin. The sin. So that Adam's sin is
looked upon here and described by the Apostle as the original
sin. And the great sin, which is the
source and fountain, the corrupt fountain from which all other
sin and transgression flows. And then the Apostle in verse
14 describes Adam's sin as transgression. as a breach of God's holy law.
The Apostle John tells us that every sin is the transgression
of God's law. It is walking directly in violation
to that which God has revealed. And then the Apostle tells us
that sin, Adam's sin, was an act of disobedience. An act of
utter, willful disregard for God and His authority as God.
But the word that's used over and over and over again in verses
15 through 20 of Romans 5 is the word offense. Four times
the apostle describes Adam's sin as the offense. That which
is abhorrently offensive to God Almighty. Adam's sin is the offense. And that which we have committed
in him is the offense against God. That's why we refer to Adam's
transgression as the fall. The word offense has in it the
idea of a fall or of a fault. And so Adam's sin is described
as the fall. The fall of the entire human
race. Falling from life to death. Falling
from righteousness to sin. Falling from immortality to mortality. Falling from light into darkness.
Adam's sin is the offense, the fall. Now, we look at Adam's
sin and we... I presume that you're like I
am. I read the scriptures for years and I thought, what's so
bad? What's so bad about taking that
piece of fruit, whatever it was? What's so horrible about a man
stealing a piece of fruit? Would God send me into hell for
taking a piece of fruit? Would God destroy the race because
we took a piece of fruit? Let me show you what is represented
in Adam's sin. Though it is described simply
as Adam disobeying God in this one thing, there is much more
involved in Adam's transgression and sin than most people think. He sinned against light and knowledge
when he had the full power to resist the sin and to do good. Adam was not like us. He did
not have a bias or an inclination toward evil. He did not have
a corrupt nature. He had the full power to resist
the evil and to do the good. He sinned against the clear light
and revelation that God had given him. There was no darkness about
this man at all. He was not deceived. Adam's sin
was the height of ingratitude to his maker. It was an affront
to God to the highest degree for these three reasons. Number
one, It was an act of willful unbelief by which Adam said to
God, you're a liar. That's something else. We stood
right in God's face and said, God Almighty is not fit to be
believed. I wouldn't do that. Oh, that's
what some of you are doing right now. Unbelief says God's a liar. All unbelief. Says God's a liar.
God is not fit to be believed. God cannot be trusted. Willful
unbelief, that is, the deliberate willful rejection and denial
of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, says God is a liar. I'm no longer too much of a violent
fella as you get older, you get beyond that, you can't handle
things anymore. But I declare, if a fella caught me just at
the right time, stood in my face, called me a liar, I'd still pop
it. And you would too, because we've taken a front to such things,
and we're all liars. But God Almighty is holy and
pure and righteous, and yet man stands in his unbelief and says
God's a liar. Adam's sin was also an act of
intolerable pride. an affectation of pretense, and
an assumption of deity. For Adam dared to presume that
he should be on equal par with God to decide what's right and
what's wrong. Man, in his sin, would make himself like God.
For man in his senses, I have a right to decide what I will
do. I have a right to decide good
and evil. I have a right to decide what's
right and what's wrong. Every man presumes that he's
God and equal with God. And thirdly, Adam's sin was an
act of unparalleled selfishness by which Adam displayed a total
disregard, lack of concern for, and even a lack of thought or
affection or care for God, his creation, or any of the human
race, not even for his own family did he care, but he took those
who were trusted to him and plunged the whole human family into death
and degradation and sin because he chose to do that which was
evil in the sight of God. Now we flinch from acknowledging
it, But the fact is, all acts of sin have these three elements
in them. Every act of sin, every evil,
every transgression, every breach of God's law is an act of willful
unbelief. But we just don't sin without
intending to. We don't do it. There is within
us, within our evil hearts, even among believing men and women,
even among the regenerate, there is a will to do evil. It is the
will of the old man and that old man's will, which we despise
and hate, but we would not do evil were it not for a willful
unbelief before God Almighty. Every sin involves intolerable
pride. We are such proud creatures.
that we imagine we have the right to do what we will. Such prayer
teaches we imagine we have the right to defy God. And every
sin, oh my soul, every act of sin is an act of intolerable
selfishness. We do evil. All men and women
do evil. because of their love of self. Every sin transgresses either
the first or second table of the law. Every sin involves either
a denial of God's right to be God or an encroachment upon the
rights of others because of our pride and our desires for our
own self-gratification. Adam's sin included all aspects
of sin. I want you to turn with me to
Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. Adam's one transgression was
a total, complete breach of God's holy law. You see, the laws of
God, according to James 2.10, are so intertwined that if you
break one law, you broke them all. Somebody says, well, I've
done this, but I haven't done that. Oh, yes, you have. Oh,
yes, you have. But, you know, I may not do this,
but I certainly am not to be described as vile and wretched
as this fellow. Oh, let's hang on. Let's see
what God says. Now, you can fool yourself and
you can fool other men and boast about your righteousness, but
one breach of God's law is a violation of the whole law of God, and
this is exactly what Adam did. Adam, one of the old writers
said, Adam at one clap broke both tables of the law and all
the commands of God. Let's read them beginning in
Exodus chapter 20 and verse 3. Here's what we commonly call
the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Verse 4. Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image. Verse 7. Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Verse 8, remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy. Verse 12, honor thy father and
thy mother that thy days may be long upon the earth or the
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Verse 13, thou shalt not
kill. Verse 14, thou shalt not commit
adultery. That includes premarital sex,
marital illicit sex with someone else's wife or husband, or the
committing of sexual transgression while you are married, and it
includes all illicit sexual activity of any kind. Thou shalt not commit
adultery. Thou shalt not steal. I know
in this day adultery become commonplace and everybody accepts it. God
still looks at stealing and adultery as wrong. And the two things
go hand in hand. Verse 16, Thou shalt not bear
false witness. Don't lie. Verse 17, Thou shalt
not covet. Now Adam's one act of rebellion.
Keep your Bible open there. Adam's one act of rebellion and
sin. His one act of disobedience was
the transgression of each of these commandments. Let me show
you how. First, he chose another God. He chose to obey the leading
of Satan rather than the leading of God. How about him? How about him? Second, he idolized
and deified himself. He made his bed to be his God. He obeyed the instincts of his
own inner lust. Thirdly, he took the name of
God in vain. For while speaking God's name,
he didn't believe Him and had no intention of bringing honor
to Him. Fourthly, he did not keep the rest, that blessed Sabbath
rest, that estate of rest wherein God had sent him. And thus he
violated and broke the Sabbath day disregarding God's command.
But that Sabbath day pointed to more than one day in seven.
That Sabbath day pointed to the accomplished rest of Jesus Christ,
the Redeemer. And Adam showed a total disregard
for God, his work, and his ordinances. Fifthly, he dishonored his father,
which is in heaven, and therefore his days were not long in the
land which the Lord God had given him. Sixthly, Adam, by taking
that fruit, that little innocent, seemingly innocent act, that
little thing that seems to be so insignificant in our eyes,
by taking that fruit, Adam murdered in the most horrible massacre
of all history, himself, and you, and me, and everybody else. He destroyed the race. He destroyed
the race by one act. He committed spiritual fornication
and adultery, for he went whoring after other gods. He stole that
which God had set aside not to be meddled with. Like Achan,
he stole that which brought trouble to Israel and brought trouble
to the whole world. God said, don't you take it.
And Adam took it. And thus the whole race is troubled
since that day. Adam bore witness against God.
He lied against God when he believed not his word and said, God's
a liar. He coveted. Oh, what an evil covetousness.
His covetousness cost him his life and brought death upon his
entire family. I've seen many of the sons of
Adam do the same thing. Indeed, by nature, we all follow
in his steps. It is this death, this spiritual
death, which is the result of Adam's sin. It is this of which
Paul speaks when he says, and Adam all died. And that's what
I want to talk to you about in the second part. My second point
is this. Spiritual death is the spiritual
moral corruption and defilement of all human beings. It is the
spiritual moral corruption and defilement of the human race.
The Word of God gives us only a very brief description of what
happened with Adam after he sinned. In fact, he was so soon rescued
and delivered from sin by the grace of God, he was promised
a Redeemer, he was restored to a higher standing and a greater
state than he had before he fell. So we know very, very little
about what transpired between the fall and the restoration
of our father Adam. But there are certain things
that are clearly set before us in Scripture. The Word of God
shows us seven things that are clearly the result of Adam's
transgression. These seven things are seven
characteristics. Seven things involved in spiritual
death. These seven things describe you
and me. our sons and daughters, our mamas
and daddies, every one of us by nature. These are the seven
things that describe and characterize the entire human race. Now, it's
not a pretty picture, but it's a faithful picture. And it's
one that's true of you and true of me. Even today, those of you
who are born of God's Spirit, those of us who believe on the
Son of God, even now by nature, these things still describe our
fallen, depraved nature. Number one, corruption. The first sad consequence of
Adam's fall upon himself and upon us is the corruption and
depravity of the entire human race. As soon as Adam sinned
against God, as soon as he who was made upright took that fruit
which God forbade, that man became unrighteous. and fallen. As soon
as he sinned against God, he became wicked and vile, filled
with every abomination and every evil. Therefore, the Apostle
Paul tells us there is none righteous. No, not one. Turn back to Genesis
chapter 3. Let me show you. Genesis chapter
3. This fall, this corruption of
nature is represented here by nakedness. Here in Genesis, I'm
sorry, chapter 3, verse 7 is where I want you to look. Genesis
3, verse 7. The eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves aprons. Now this nakedness is
more than a physical nakedness. They were naked before this,
physically. This nakedness, while it includes
certainly their physical nakedness, their physical nakedness was
representative of an inward nakedness. These now recognized that they
were naked, their souls were naked before God Almighty, and
their sin had made them naked. All things are naked and open
to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Their nakedness
of soul. Our nakedness of soul is a lack
of righteousness. a lack of clothing before God.
The nakedness of their bodies became now an emblem of corruption
and guilt before God. As Adam, when he saw that he
was naked, And Eve, when she saw that she was naked, immediately
began to sew fig leaves together. And they immediately began to
try to cover their nakedness, their outward nakedness, displayed
a terrible propensity in fallen men towards self-righteousness,
so that all men by nature All men by nature, no matter how
vile they are in their outward behavior, no matter how they
behave themselves, all men by nature are self-righteous and
presume that they can and shall do something by which to make
themselves at last to be restored to God's favor and accepted in
heavenly glory. John Gill made this statement,
and he was exactly right. He said, it is as natural to
man It is as natural to man to be self-righteous as it is to
be sinful. Everybody presumes that by something
he does, something he experiences, something he feels, something
he goes through, something he inherits, every man presumes
that there's something he can do by which God will be pleased,
by which God's wrath will be turned away. I tell you what you do, you talk
to anyone in your family, anyone in your acquaintances and associates,
and you start to talk to them about their sin and their rebellion,
especially when they have brought upon themselves great misery,
great trouble because of sin. And that's when I tell you what,
I know I need to get back in church. I know I need to read
the Bible. I need to pray. And they presume
that by so doing, they will turn away God's wrath. You and I,
who are believers, are guilty of the same thing. God forgive us. It's just so.
I'm here to tell you the truth. We neglect the things of God. Neglect the Word of God, neglect
prayer, neglect worship, neglect the things that are best and
most beneficial for our souls until trouble comes. And then
we turn and foolishly, foolishly imagine that trouble will get
better if we start acting more religious and more devoted. Don't
be so foolish to do so as utter, abhorrent self-righteousness,
trusting to your own works rather than to God Almighty. Let God's
chastening turn us to Him in repentance and turn us to Him
in faith, looking not to ourselves, but to Christ the Lord, and looking
to Him, that constraining us to greater obedience and devotion.
But don't ever presume by your devotions, by your acts of religious
goodness, God's going to now look more favorably upon us.
The consequence of sin, the first consequence, was spiritual corruption. The second consequence or the
second aspect of this spiritual death is guilt. Guilt. I've talked to people, many, many people who've gone
through All kinds of psychotherapy and all kinds of psychological
treatment and psychoanalysis and being in and out of hospitals. I've talked to people who've
had shock treatments, one on top of the other. And you know
what? Always is at the root of their
problem. Always. I'm talking about right
down, when you scratch away all the covering, when you scratch
away all the facade, when you get right down to the root of
it, it's guilt. And they'll tell you so. Guilt.
Guilt is not something imposed by society. Guilt is the imposition
of God Almighty upon the consciences of men by which God reminds men
persistently of judgment to come. The consciousness of guilt causes
shame so that Adam says, I'm naked. Now I've got to hide from
God. It causes men and women like
Adam and Eve to hide themselves from the Lord God, or try to.
Sometimes guilt becomes intolerable. It will drive impenitent
sinners to utter insanity. And yet even that is better than
having a conscience so seared that it no longer accuses and
no longer condemns. That sinner whose conscience
is utterly seared is reprobate and damned even while he lives. God has given them over to a
reprobate mind, the apostle says. The third aspect of this spiritual
death is fear. Not a reverence of God, not a
fear of God in the sense of holding him in high esteem and awe, but
rather a dread of God, a slavish fear of God. There is in every
man by nature a fearful looking forward of judgment and righteous
indignation. Even in the most brazen of sinners,
there is this dread of meeting God face to face. Adam said to
God, I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. That's the nature of spiritual
death. It brings corruption. and corruption
brings guilt and guilt brings terror. Terror. I know something about what I'm
talking about. I know what it is to stand before
God Almighty guilty with the terror of God flooding
my soul. I know what it is to stand in
utter dread of God Almighty. And every man by nature, when
first he is made to see his corruption and his guilt and made to have
a dread of God, he tries to hide himself. Oh, how foolish, how utterly
foolish. who knew God before this, who
walked before the omniscient God, now tries to hide from God under
the shade of a tree and under the covering of leaves. And that's exactly what all men
by nature do. They stitch for themselves an
apron of self-righteousness, And they attempt to hide from
God under the shade, the facade of our goodness and our religion
as though God is blinded by those things. Light and darkness are
the same before him. There's no hiding from Him. He
sees and knows everything. And yet so perverse is man that
even when God pursues him unto the Day of Judgment, he will
cry to the hills and rocks to hold on him and hide him from
the wrath of God and of the Lamb. Men in the Day of Judgment. Lindsay
read it. Back in the office just a little
while ago, in the day of judgment, when men stand before God in
judgment, they will still be presenting a facade of righteousness,
attempting to hide from God. We've cast out devils in your
name. We've done many good works in your name. We've prophesied
in your name. And it will do no good. Man will still be judged
according to his sin. That leads to the fourth thing. Guilt and fear are common traits
of spiritual death. Another characteristic of this
death is ignorance. Oh, how ignorant man is by nature. So ignorant is the natural man
that he cannot understand anything spiritual. Can't do it. You talk to those you work with,
you talk to family and friends, talk to sons and daughters, talk
to mom and dad. The natural man understands not
the things of the Spirit of God. He can't discern them. They're
foolishness to him. Anything makes better sense than
spiritual things to a natural man. The natural man is more
foolish and more ignorant spiritually than the brute beast is naturally.
We are as a wild ass's coat, the prophet says. Every man in
rebellion as a wild ass's coat goes about his way. But unlike
the ass, the ass knows his master and his master's crib. Not a
man. We are like the ox, the wild
beast of an ox. As he is harnessed and he plows
through the field, he just plows through the fields of iniquity.
The difference between us and the ox is that the ox knows his
owner. He knows his master. We're like
the wild birds, flying in the air, doing our own thing. The
only difference is the bird knows the time to come and time to
go. Man doesn't have enough sense to know anything. There is none
that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. The natural man is so thoroughly blind spiritually that he cannot
see, much less enter into the kingdom of God. That's what our
Lord told Nicodemus. It doesn't matter how well trained
he is. It doesn't matter how much scripture he memorizes.
It doesn't matter how religious he is. It doesn't matter how
moral he is. The natural man can not see the kingdom of God. He doesn't know anything about
God. He doesn't know God from a billy goat and him not being
irreverent. The natural man doesn't know. He doesn't know Jesus Christ
from a stump in the woods. He just doesn't know. The natural
man does not know the Spirit of God from a spirit of drunkenness.
We have evidence of it in the scripture. The Spirit of God
came on the day of Pentecost and the Pharisees in their religiosity
said, these fellows are drunk. The natural man doesn't know.
He doesn't know peace. He doesn't know the way of peace.
He doesn't know righteousness. He has no idea what righteousness
is. He doesn't know what seeing is. He doesn't know anything
spiritual. The natural man is utterly, utterly
void of understanding. A fifth aspect of spiritual death
is banishment. Look in Genesis 3, 24. So the
Lord God drove out the man Adam was banished from the garden,
banished from God, banished from good. John Gill said in commenting
on this verse that this banishment was an emblem of the alienation
from God. from the life of God and the
communion with him, which sin has produced and which has set
men at a distance from God. Therefore, Christ suffered to
bring his people near to God. And by his blood, they that were
far off were made nigh unto God." Sixthly, spiritual death. involves condemnation. As soon as Adam and Eve became
sinners, they died, and God condemned them. The sentence of death was
passed upon them. The curse was pronounced upon
them. So that they were cursed not
only in the garden and cursed in the end, but they were cursed
in everything they did. Look in Genesis 3 again. Look
at verse 16. Eve was now cursed in bringing
forth children. Unto the woman he said, I will
greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow shalt
thou bring forth children. Verse 17. Adam was cursed and
the ground was cursed for his sake. In sorrow we read. shalt thou eat of the earth all
the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall
it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread till thou return to the ground, cursed. In Deuteronomy
chapter 28, when God gives an expanded version of the law and
tells Israel of their curse, It is written, it shall come
to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy
God to observe and do all His commandments and His statutes,
which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come
upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city,
and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shalt thou be thy
basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of
thy body and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy cattle
and thy flocks, the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed. Cursed. So that the very plowing of the
wicked is an abomination to God. Every breath a man draws while
he lives with his fist in God's face is a breath of cursedness. Everything a man experiences
is an experience of cursedness. Everything a man does, he does
as an act of curse, of curse under God Almighty. And everything
a man possesses is but the curse of God upon him. Everything.
Oh, look at him. Look at him. Boy, his sons and
his daughters. They never give him any trouble.
They're all at his home. His eyes bug out with fatness.
He has more than his heart could desire. Someone asked me just
recently, why? Why does God give so much to
the wicked? Why? Because they're cursed. They're cursed. If Oscar's cattle had reason,
now he may at times argue with that, but they're a dumb beast,
but if they had reason, if they were logical animals, and they
saw one stalled in the ox getting a bucket of feed every morning
and a bucket every evening, And that one never had him to go
out and do anything. He's always stalled in the stall
and pinned up and constantly grain fed every morning, every
evening. If they had good sense, they
wouldn't want any of that grain. They wouldn't want any. Because
that fella is fixing to get slaughtered. Read Psalm 92 and that's what
God says He's doing with the wicked. When He gives them ease
and prosperity so that nothing troubles them. Everything's at ease! Oh, nothing's
at ease. The curse of God's upon them. Say something else that characterizes the spiritual
death. In addition to corruption, guilt,
fear, ignorance, banishment from God, and condemnation, must be
added inability. You see, man's spiritual death
and total depravity has brought him into a state and condition
of utter helplessness, utter inability. There's absolutely nothing a
man can do to change his condition before God. When you witness with folks,
remember that. There's no excuse for the sin, but understand,
Larry, a blind man can't see. And it don't matter how much
you shine the light in his face, he still can't see. The problem
is not like a light, it's like a sight. A blind man simply cannot
be made to see unless God gives him eyes. Men who are dead in trespasses
and sins cannot repent. I grant they cannot because they
will not, but they do not have the ability in themselves to
repent. They cannot believe on Christ.
They cannot cease from sin. Sooner shall an Ethiopian change
his skin, or a leopard change his spots, than he that is accustomed
to doing evil shall do good. Sin has brought us into a state
of slavery. Men love to talk about their
liberty, but in reality, man by nature is a slave of the worst
kind. This is the proverbial Pandora
box from which all evil has sprung. All spiritual maladies, all bodily
diseases, all corruption, all war, all disaster, all diseases,
all distress, everything comes from sin. Everything. Everything
that has been or is or shall be that is evil and painful and
hurtful arises from spiritual death and corruption. Death passed
upon all men because all have sinned. Here's my last statement,
and I've got to give you this, and I'll quit. The only hope
of salvation and deliverance from this state and condition
of spiritual death is the free grace of God in Jesus Christ,
the last Adam. Look at our text again, 1 Corinthians
15, 22. For as in Adam, all die, everybody
for whom Adam was a representative, everybody for whom he was the
federal head by God's appointment, everybody who was in Adam died
in Adam. Even so, in exactly the same
way, it is written, even so in Christ shall all, all who are
in him, represented by him, by God's appointment, all who are
in him shall be made alive. As death and sin came to us by
the doing and dying of the first Adam, in transgression, so life
and righteousness come to us by the doing and dying of the
last Adam, the second Adam, the last representative man, and
his obedience to God. Turn to Psalm 69. Psalm 69. This
is what our Lord said. Verse 4, they that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of my head. They that would destroy
me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty then. Then by one mighty act of grace,
by one mighty act of substitution, by one mighty act when he was
made to be sin for us and put away our sin, When he arose from
the dead and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high, then, he says, I restored that which I took not away. I brought in life. I brought
in righteousness. I brought in everlasting salvation.
For whom? For every sinner who looks to
me, a just God and a Savior, for life everlasting. Amen. Let's stand together. and have
word of prayer. Our God and our Father, we thank
you for your infinite goodness and
wisdom in permitting the fall of our
father Adam that we, your people, the objects
of your love, chosen by your grace, might be restored to you in a
greater, more perfect union than we could ever have known otherwise
through the doing and dying of our Lord Jesus Christ, the second
Adam. We thank you for his blood, the
atonement for our sins. for his righteousness imputed
to us to clothe our souls before you. And though once our souls were
filled with dread and terror before God, we thank you now
for peace made through the blood of his cross. Thank you for the
free pardon of sin by our dear Redeemer. And now we ask your blessings
upon The word that's been preached this evening, grant to sinners
here, hearing ears, seeing eyes, and believing hearts. We commit
them to you. And we recognize that nothing
is too hard for the Lord. With men, it's impossible. Oh,
but with God, all things are possible. You can, if you will.
save everyone here. We commit them to your hands.
We ask your special blessings upon our friends who will be
traveling this week. We ask that you'll be pleased
to keep them safely. We ask your blessings upon the
word that will be preached here this Lord's Day in Madisonville
over the weekend. And we ask for Tonya that you
would be pleased to Have your hand in mercy upon her. We commit
her to your care. Thank you for the blessed privilege
of trusting the living God. Even with that which is dearest
to us, not only our own souls, but the souls of those whom we
love. We ask for James Lee that you
would be pleased, our father, graciously to preserve his life if it can please you. We don't
know what's best. We don't know what to pray for
as we are. But we ask that you'd have mercy.
And we thank you for the blessed assurance that you delight in
mercy. Now, as we leave this place,
set our hearts upon God, our Savior, and keep us in your grace. For Christ's sake, I pray. Amen. God bless you. You're dismissed.

Spiritual Death

What does the Bible say about spiritual death?

How do we know original sin is true?

Why is understanding spiritual death important for Christians?

What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins?

What is the relationship between Adam's sin and spiritual death?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Spiritual Death

What does the Bible say about spiritual death?

How do we know original sin is true?

Why is understanding spiritual death important for Christians?

What does it mean to be dead in trespasses and sins?

What is the relationship between Adam's sin and spiritual death?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

More from Don Fortner

Same Scripture

Articles by Don Fortner

Books by Don Fortner

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book