Jesus Christ: Conquering Sin and Death
The other evening a lady declared she didn’t care what happened to her after she died. This sad attitude reflects a popular worldview, that death is simply built-in to a godless, random, trial and error, cycle of life — that death is natural and inevitable. We live. We die. That’s all there is.
But the Bible tells us that death is not the outcome God intended for creation. Genesis 1 and 2 tell us creation was made very good, rich, purposeful, productive, robust, teeming with life, and that man had unbroken fellowship with God.
What destroyed this perfect creation and unbroken fellowship with God? Sin.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).
Death did not exist until man sinned.
Death, corruption, and sin have plagued the world ever since Adam and Eve fell. Yet the world has been trying to blame God for these consequences. It is no surprise the world tries to gloss over sin with futile speculations and philosophies, but the Bible tells us the problem with evil in the world starts with the evil that is in men’s hearts.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man (Mark 7:21–23).
Man brought sin, death, and corruption into the world.
Sin is lethal and fatal. Sin is never a small issue. See how quickly its contagion spreads. In Genesis 3, on account of man’s sinful disobedience, God cast Adam and Eve from His presence, cursed men with pain and toil, and cursed the material world with corruption and decay (also see Isaiah 59:2). Ultimately, unbelieving men will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of God.
Thanks be to God that as quickly as God dealt with the sin of Adam, He also quickly promised the remedy for sin and death. In Genesis 3:15 He prophesied that one day the serpent (the father of lies) would have his head crushed by the seed of the woman. Christ Jesus would leave the glories of heaven, and
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:22).
This ought to be Good News for a lost and dying world.
The world does not understand the linkage between sin and death: they are inseparable. But the problem with death can be dealt with if we deal with sin.
When we share the gospel, we are speaking with people who are blinded and hardened by sin. We are not speaking to innocent souls. God is clear about the universal and despicable nature of sin. It renders all men helpless (Romans 5:6); enemies of God (Romans 5:10); and spiritually dead before God “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
The Bible is clear. The only way to avoid sin’s death sentence is to come to the only One who paid sin’s penalty. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 that Jesus Christ:
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Christ died in our place.
Acts 20:20, 21 tells us Paul:
did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us prayerfully and solemnly consider our role in sharing the Good News about a relationship with Jesus Christ, who overcomes sin and death for those who will believe.