THE PENALTY OF FAILURE IS DEATH!!
Gen 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.
Men fail and will continue to fail at things throughout their life. We fail because it has become our second nature.
Students fail exams and they must either retake the exam/drop out of the course
Couples fail in marriage and suffer gravely for the mistakes made
Business men fail in business and lose thousands, sometimes millions of dollars
All men fail God and the punishment for failing God is death.
Yes, we all have failed God when our fore parents (Adam & Eve) failed to obey God’s instructions in the Garden of Eden. Their failure was recorded in our spiritual DNA and replicated throughout human generations. Ps 51:5 tells us, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me”. Furthermore, First John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”.
Consequently, the sin of Adam has caused the penalty of death to hang over our heads.
Death is:
the worst form of human punishment.
a dreadful stage
a disturbing state
a dismissing suspicion
it is a permanent, irreversible ending of all biological factors sustaining a living creature. Oxygen supply is cut off; vital organs fail to function, all movement and cognition end.
Again, let me reiterate, the penalty of failure is death.
The bible speaks of 3 types of death.
Physical death, physical death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body (Gen 5:5). Adam and Eve died physically, and we observe physical death every day when a loved one, a family friend/co-worker passes away.
Also, John 11:38-44, presents an account of Lazarus who was physically dead for 4 days before Jesus Christ intentionally showed up to raise him.
Spiritual death, spiritual death is the state of the unregenerate person destitute of the Spirit of God. The first couple died spiritually when they failed to obey God’s instructions and ate of the forbidden fruit. (Gen3:6). We are spiritually dead until we come to accept, until we come to believe and until we come to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Romans 10:9 declares “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”.
Eternal death, eternal death is to be separated from God, forever, in a conscious state of suffering. 2 Thess 1:7-9 tells us that those who do not know God shall be punished with everlasting destruction outside of the presence and power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Death is final, but you can, while you still have the chance, escape death. Let me repeat that, you can still escape death.
Adam through faith, in the promise, escaped eternal death and so can you (Gen 3:15).
You sure can. God, through His Son Jesus Christ, has made all the accommodations for you to be free from the law of death, the penalty of failure. He came that you might have life and have it more abundantly. You don’t have to be eternally separated from the presence and power of God. Noooo!!! He came to make you free. He has released you!
The first Adam made a grave mistake.
BUT, the second Adam, in the form of Christ Jesus, provided magnificent hope.
All you need to do is accept this hope.
PRAYER
My God, your word declares that if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that you have raised Jesus from the dead that we shall be saved. I believe that you raised Jesus from the dead and I will from now on confess that He is Lord. Save me Lord. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my life and make me thy servant in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN