Understanding Death: Separation, Redemption, and Hope in Christ

The Bible says over and over again that sin and death go together, the two cannot be separated. Ezekiel 18:4, the soul that sinneth shall die. Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death. James 1:15, sin results in death. So the two are always put together. You cannot sin and not die. [00:05:55]

The first kind of death is spiritual death where your relationship with God is broken. It says when they ate, their eyes were opened. They could already see all the trees of the garden. They were not physically blind. What does he mean on the day they ate their eyes would be open? Their conscience would for the first time be exposed to evil. [00:08:01]

Spiritual death is where there is an illegitimate separation from fellowship with the Living God, and sin produces an illegitimate something God does not want—separation from God. The Bible says this separation has affected and infected the whole human race. Ephesians chapter 2: you are dead in your trespasses and in your sins. [00:11:54]

He didn't just die spiritually; he died emotionally, and she died emotionally. Notice what he says, verse 10: I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself. Wait a minute, he's now living a life of fear. Fear's an emotion. Because I was naked, he's now living a life of shame. [00:18:15]

They spiritually died, which led to emotional death, and that led to relational death. He says in verse 16 to the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain, you will bring forth children. I'll talk about that in a moment. Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. [00:21:21]

There will be physical repercussions economically for you because death is a separation. Right now, before you rebelled against me, all this stuff grew for you. You developed it, but I made it all available for you. The ground was plenteous. You gonna have plenty of fruit and plenty of vegetables. [00:31:50]

He says because now your rebellion against me has created thorns and thistles. In other words, your productivity is going to be interrupted. It's going to be interrupted by this death. Growth thorns and thistles that stick to you and irritate you. You're trying to pick berries, and you're getting stuck because thorns and thistles with your rebellion against me. [00:32:57]

The worst kind of death is eternal death. Eternal death, that's where the soul is separated from God forever. We call it hell. That's eternal death. That is where for 1 billion, 1 zillion, 1 quadrillion years, you get to live in your sinfulness. That's why he had to put Adam and Eve out of the garden. [00:36:51]

The free gift is not like the transgression, for if by the transgression of the one, the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. [00:40:02]

Through the one Adam, the infection of sin and death was transferred to all men for all time everywhere. But first Corinthians 15 says Jesus is the last Adam. So if you want to get it all, you need two names. Your attachment to the first Adam brings sin and death, but your attachment to the last Adam allows you to reign in life. [00:42:55]

Jesus Christ wants to give you the life back that Satan has ripped off from you in your spiritual relationship, your emotional relationships, your economic relationships, your personal relationships, your physical relationships. He wants to wipe that thing so clean that once you're in a right relationship to him, you don't even get to die. [00:43:56]

He doesn't just want you to live; he wants you to reign in life. He wants you to tell your emotions what to do, tell your circumstances what to do, tell the evil one what to do. And when you get hooked up right with him, death no longer controls you. [00:44:24]