Romans 5:19 tells us, “For as by one man’s disobedience [Adam] many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience [Jesus Christ] many will be made righteous. How were many made sinners? When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden they became sinners. They now had the knowledge of good and evil. This placed them in an invidious position. They had the knowledge of good but could not fulfil God’s requirements. On the other hand they had the knowledge of evil and could not stop themselves from sinning.
You may say to me that only applies to them. Does it? You know automatically when you do the wrong thing - your conscience condemns you. The sinful nature has been passed down via Adam through the male offspring. So both male and female are born with a sinful nature; passed on to them by their biological father. This is the gist of what the Psalmist is bringing before us in Psalms 51:5, “Behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me.” We are born with a sinful nature. The Psalmist is not saying his conception was a sinful act, or that his being born was a sinful act.
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden their punishment was physical death. It did not happen to them immediately when they sinned; but it eventually came to each of them. ‘The wages of sin is death.’
We already know there is physical death. What does the word of God reveal to us about events after we die? Before we look into this we need to establish what sort of a being man is. 1Thessalonians 5:23 gives us the answer. “...may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” From this verse we learn that we have a human spirit, a human soul and a human body. Take careful note of these facts.
In Genesis 1:27 we read, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” In Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul).” What is physical death? It is the complete absence of life! We see a dead body, but what has become of the life i.e. the soul and spirit that was in the body?
Ecclesiastes 12:5-7, “...For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken...Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” The body has died, but the spirit and soul of the person return to God to do with at His good pleasure. In Hebrews chapter 4 we learn that the only thing that can possibly divide the soul and spirit is the word of God (verse 12).
Physical death is primarily a condition i.e. a body without the soul and spirit. It is not the end of the matter. From the Scriptures we learn that the soul and spirit of the person goes to a place of departed spirits called Hades. Hades has two locations. One location is in Paradise, which is in the presence of God. The New Testament places it in Heaven. The other location, for people who have died in their sins is in Hell.
The Lord Jesus gives us a very instructive incident in Luke chapter 16 about a rich man and a beggar at his gate called Lazarus. Lazarus died and his soul and spirit was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (in Paradise). The rich man died and was buried. Verse 23, “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” The rich man appeals to Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. Verses 25 and 26, “...’Son, remember in your life time you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us’.””
What is the position of a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 tells us, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
When a true believer in Christ dies, he leaves his body behind, but his soul and spirit is immediately in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven. When a sinner dies in his sins; he leaves his body behind; but his soul and spirit is immediately in Hell. It is too late for salvation; that can only take place while we are here in our bodies.
I will conclude by saying if we end up in Hell it is because we have chosen to go there. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Next blog we will look further into what the Scriptures reveal about this afterlife.
Jon Peasey
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