Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
In the beginning when God created the first two people, Adam and Eve, they had intimate
friendship and fellowship with God and lived in a paradise called the Garden of Eden. They
were innocent and guilt free having never committed any kind of wrong doing. They were
free of fear, blame, worry, regret or any kind of negative emotion that people experience
now.
In this paradise, there was only one law; there was a certain tree whose fruit Adam
and Eve were forbidden to eat. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of this
tree violating God's law. Then, everything changed.
Because they broke God's law, their close friendship with Him was severed and they were
expelled from the Garden of Eden. Not only that, but now they would grow old and die.
God had warned them that the consequences of eating from this tree would be death. God
gave them the ability to choose and they chose the path of disobedience.
The Bible teaches us that our wrong doing separates us from God. The prophet Isaiah
said, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden
His face from you, So that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Furthermore, the Bible also
teaches us that when we do wrong, we "earn" death (Romans 6:23). God still loved Adam
and Eve as much as ever, but He could no longer commune with them as before. He couldn't go
on as if nothing had happened.
Just like Adam and Eve, we all choose to disobey God. Our disobedience to God causes us to
be out of fellowship with Him just like Adam and Eve. Just like them we will also die because
death is the ultimate punishment for our disobedience. In our present condition, eternal life in
friendship with God is out of the question.
There is a price that must be paid when we do wrong; that price is eternal death. But
God is merciful. Because God loves us, He has provided a way for us to be reconciled
to Him and avoid our death penalty. If we take advantage of His reconciliation we will
be granted fellowship with Him. We'll still experience death, but for those who have been
reconciled to Him, He has promised to one day raise us from the dead nevermore to die.
The reconciled have been promised an eternal and immortal future with Him.