In the beginning God created. God created and death was not a part of God’s plan. God created a perfect world, a perfect man and woman, placed them in a perfect garden and gave them instructions so they might respond to all God’s good gifts and blessings. God’s instructions were to not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s command was that in the day they would disobey and eat, dying they would die. They would begin to die a physical death and they would die a spiritual death, hell.
Knowing only good, Eve (and Adam) believed the devil and disobeyed God bringing death into the world. Because God is love and created humanity to love He immediately stepped in and provided a solution to death. God promised a Savior and faith in that Savior brought forgiveness and the cure of death.
At Jesus’ ascension He gave the sacrament of Holy Baptism, which saves by giving faith, thus, if we have two births, our physical birth and our spiritual birth (baptism) then we will have only one death, our physical death.
However, if we have only one birth, our physical birth and refuse baptism, or our fathers fail to get us baptized, then we are liable to have two deaths, both our physical death and eternal spiritual death, hell.
Thus, death, physical death is merely passing on from this world into the world of heaven, a being born out of this world as we were born out of our mother’s womb. Yet, without Holy Baptism and faith, death is also eternal spiritual condemnation, eternity in hell where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, eternal torment.
God gives life, at conception. God gives new life and eternal life through Holy Baptism, and the faith He gives in Holy Baptism. Man is responsible for death and can only refuse life. Thankfully God gives man life and a lifetime, up to 120 years to be given eternal life, forever in God’s eternal presence life.
40 of 52 © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)
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