By Gary Ray Branscome
Because Adam disobeyed God, his sin brought with it guilt
and condemnation. The words, “But you may not eat of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you will surely
die,” tell us that the immediate consequence of Adam’s sin was death
(Genesis 2:17). However, there are three aspects to death. The first
aspect is spiritual death, and that is the death spoken of in
the words, “He has given you life, who were dead in trespasses and sins”
(Ephesians 2:1). The second aspect is physical death, and
that is the death spoken of in the words, “In the sweat of your face you
will eat bread, till you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken:
for you are dust, and to dust you will return” (Genesis
The words, “To the woman He said, I will greatly
multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you will bring forth children;
and your desire shall be to your husband, and he will rule over you. And to
Adam He said, Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, and have
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it:
cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow you will eat of it all the days
of your life. Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will
eat the herb of the field,” tell us that another consequence of Adam’s sin was
the loss of God’s blessing, the curse on creation, suffering and toil (Genesis
The words, “Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and
fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image,” tell us that
as a result of sin, Adam’s descendants
do not bear the image of God, but the image of sinful Adam (Genesis 5:3). And,
the words, “Just as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin; so
death passed upon all men, because all have sinned,” tell us that as a
result of Adam’s sin all of his descendants are sinners (Romans 5:12). In fact,
if they were not sinners they would never die of natural causes. As it is
written, “I was formed in iniquity; and sinful when my mother conceived me”
(Psalm 51:5).
However, God’s words, “I will put hostility between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it will bruise your head,
and you will bruise His heel,” gave Adam and Eve the same promise of savor
(a “seed”) that was later given to Abraham (Genesis 3:15). The Apostle Paul tells
us that God’s promise of a “seed” was the promise of a savior, saying, “God
did not say, And to your seeds, as referring to many;
but, And to your seed, referring to one which is Christ” (Galatians
Because sinful men continually make up excuses for their
sins, deceive themselves, create false gods, and even
deny that God exists rather than repent, Christian theologians need to
constantly emphasize the importance of repentance. As it is written, “God
now commands all men every where to repent,” and “Repentance and
remission of sins should be preached… among all nations” (Acts
The words, “Who show the work of the law written in
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the
mean while accusing or else excusing one another,” simply describe what we
see in everyday life (Romans 2:15). People are quick to accuse others, while
excusing themselves. And, the words, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that
those who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but
have pleasure in those who do them,” describe the stubborn refusal to admit
wrongdoing (Romans
All who refuse to repent need to know that Jesus will say, “Depart
from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels” (Matthew 25:41). Nevertheless,
warnings of God’s judgement need to be tempered with His promise of
forgiveness, for without God’s assurance of mercy, the terrified sinner may
well just try to find a false peace by shutting God out of his mind. The Bible
tells us that, “the goodness of God” is what leads “to repentance,” but there
must be repentance (Romans 2:4).
While every Christian believer needs
to take God’s warning of eternal punishment seriously, and should never toy
with sin, the words, “But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, so that we will not be
condemned with the world,” tell us that any
chastening a believer receives is not an expression of God’s wrath, but of His
mercy (1Corinthians 11:32). As it is written, “Blessed is the man
whom you chasten, O LORD, and teach from your word” (Psalm 94:12). “For the Lord disciplines those He loves” (Hebrews 12:6). And, the words, “As many as
I love, I rebuke and chasten: therefore be zealous, and repent,” tell us that the reason for God’s chastening is to
bring us to repentance (Revelations
Because
of what is going on in our society, let me add this thought. If anyone has
sinful desires for someone of the opposite sex, or the same sex, those sinful
desires need to be suppressed and repented of. A quick prayer might be,
"Lord forgive me for wrong thoughts and get them out of my mind". Since
God did not create anyone homosexual or bisexual, the claim that some people
are born that way is an attempt to excuse sinful thoughts and desires instead
of repenting. To all who experience such temptation God says, “Blessed is
the man who fears the Lord at all times: but he who hardens his heart will
fall into calamity” (Proverbs 28:14).