| Home | Our Hope | |
| Bible Study |
|
September 9, 2012 |
| Why We Die | ||
Have you ever considered why it is that everyone dies? You might think that some people die because of heart attacks; some die of cancer; some die from physical injury. Many causes result in death. Medical science says that the final cause of death in all cases is oxygen starvation at the cellular level.
But that doesn't answer my question. That tells us how we die. But why is it that we die at all? Our bodies repair themselves from all kinds of injury and disease. Some animals can even re-grow arms and legs. Why can't these bodies keep on going forever?
The Bible has the answer. In this lesson we will look at the topic of why each one of us will die.
When God created the universe it was without sin. And it was without death. Adam and Eve would have lived forever. As we'll see later the animals would have lived forever also and the entire universe would have gone on forever.
But Adam and Eve disobeyed God's only commandment (Genesis 2) "17 […] you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." When they did eat from that tree, sin was introduced into the universe and with it came death.
The Apostle Paul says it this way in Romans 5
12 […] by the agency of one-man, sin entered the universe, and by means of sin, death, in this way death passed by this sin unto all the children of men, because all of them have sinned.1
Paul is saying that the breaking of God's commandment by Adam allowed sin to enter into the universe. Because the punishment for sin is death, Adam allowed death into the whole universe.
Paul refers to that universal sin and death in Romans 8
19 For the whole creation hopes for and expects the revelation of the sons of God. 20 For the creation has been subjected to futility, not by its choice, but because of him who subjected it upon hope. 21 For the creation shall also be freed from the bondage of destruction into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. 22 For we know that all created things groan and are in labor until today.
On a side note, why doesn't Paul mention Eve in the verse from Romans 5? She also sinned by eating fruit from the tree. In fact she ate the fruit first and convinced Adam to eat as well. The reason she isn't mentioned is because it is God's plan that the man is the head of the family. In that role the man is responsible to God for his family.
So it's reasonable that death would come to Eve because she also sinned. But Paul also says that because of Adam's sin all their children, and their children's children, and all the way down the line would also suffer death. But that hardly seems fair, you might say. Why should the children be punished for a sin they did not commit?
By letting sin into the universe, the whole universe was changed. Adam and Eve were changed. And every child born of them is a sinner, not because the child has sinned, but because the child has inherited their changed nature, which is sinful.
This may seem odd at first. We sometimes think that we become sinners because we have sinned. And that is true, but we also begin as sinners. Think of it this way. If a white man and a white woman have a baby together, what color will it be? It will be white because it inherits the nature of its parents. In the same way we inherit the sinful nature of our parents and begin life as sinners. Our parents inherited it from their parents, who inherited it from their parents, all the way back to Adam.
The formal name for this idea that we are all sinners from birth due to the sin of one man is called "Original Sin."
So Adam wasn't just taking a bite out of some fruit he shouldn't have eaten, he was wrecking an entire universe and affecting every child who would ever be born in it. We need to consider that point for ourselves. If we sin, who else is affected by it?
Paul talks about death affecting the children even though they may not have sinned in Romans 5
14 […] death reigned from Adam and until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's violation of the law, […].
You may be asking yourself, "Does that mean that if a new born baby dies it will be thrown into the Lake of Fire on judgment day?" The short answer is no and the reason is this. Because we are born with a sinful nature we are destined for death and eternal separation from God. It is only through God's grace that he has chosen to redeem some people, those who believe in him and put their trust in him that he will redeem them. Now God, in his justice and mercy, has determined that those people who die without ever being able to understand right and wrong will also be redeemed. This isn't stated explicitly in the Bible but there are enough references to the idea that the church believes it.
Many verses are used to support this belief. Some of them verge on cryptic but the one that I like comes from Deuteronomy 1.
39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land.
From this we can see that God considers those who do not know right from wrong as a special group. In this case they didn't know right from wrong and couldn't have chosen to disobey God as their parents did. Thus they would not receive the punishment their parents would receive – never entering the Promised Land.
There is no age given for when a child knows right from wrong. In fact our own experience with the development of children is that each goes through different stages at different times.
Some have used this idea to reason that it would be better to kill all new born children so they receive everlasting life rather than allowing most of them to live Godless lives and be thrown in the Lake of Fire. This of course forgets that killing new born children is a violation of God's law. But it also misunderstands that such children would enter eternal life without any reward. Remember these verses.
(Matthew 5) 12 Then rejoice and triumph, because your reward is great in Heaven […]
(Luke 35) 6 […] and your reward shall be great and you shall be the children of The Highest […]
Now let's take a look at Jesus. He was not born from the union of a man and a woman but instead was the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore he did not inherit the sinful nature that resulted from Adam's sin. And yet he submitted himself to death. But before doing so he said this in John 14.
30 "After this I will not be speaking much with you, for The Prince of the world is coming [but] he has nothing to use against me*.
* Today, we might say: "He has nothing on me", meaning, "he cannot rightfully accuse me of anything and he has no damaging information he can use against me". 2
Jesus seems to be saying that Satan has no reason to keep him in Sheol. The implication is that Jesus will be able to leave. He also says this in John 10
17 "[…] I am laying down my life that I may receive it again." 18 "No man takes it from me; I am laying it down of my own will, for I am authorized to lay it down, and I am authorized to receive it again; this commandment I have received from my Father."
Therefore we see that the reason we die is that we are born sinful creatures that are destined to be forever separated from God. But God has created a way for us to be saved from that eternal separation. It is the easiest thing and the hardest thing. All we need to do is believe in him. And if we truly believe in him we will follow and obey him. And his death on the cross will be the redeeming sacrifice that pays the debt of sin we owe.
1 Aramaic New Testament in Plain English
2 Translator's comment