The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has taught home-style Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les' teaching is so interesting, people say, the time seems to fly by. And now, here's Les Feldick. Good evening, and once again, it's good to have you with us, and for all of you on television, we're glad to have you. And we were just discussing here in the studio before we started, if by any chance you in the television area or those of you in the class are interested in videotapes, kindly let us know, and if there is enough demand for them, we'll see if we can't get production on them and do it at a reasonable cost, because we're not going to do it with the idea of making money on them. But if there's an interest, we'll be looking into it. Again, if you have any comments on the program, we would appreciate it. Drop us a line or give us a call, and we can guarantee you won't end up on a mailing list. We're not in this, as I said before, to make hay of it. We just simply want to teach the Word and reach as many people as we possibly can. All right, turn back with me again where we left off in our last segment, and we were at Adam having just eaten. And you remember we pointed out that Paul writes to Timothy that Adam was not deceived. He wasn't caught in a moment of weakness, as Eve was, but he knew full well what he was doing and what the consequences would be. But he had to make a choice. Is he going to eat and stay with his beautiful helpmeet, the woman, or is he going to refuse, lose the helpmeet, and remain, of course, obedient to the Creator? But after contemplation, the last four words of verse 6 tell us all, and he did eat. Now I said in our closing remarks last week that the moment he ate, a lot of things happened. Turn back with me—keep your hand here in Genesis, we'll come right back—but turn back with me to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. And the reason I try to clarify this is because several years ago I was sitting in a church service where the gentleman behind the pulpit made the comment that he didn't see that there was any such thing as an original sin or the fall, that our only problem was sins per se. And I've read even since then where there are those who argue that there is no such thing as an original sin. But the Bible says otherwise. Turn with me, if you are, now to Romans chapter 5, and let's drop in at verse 12. And again I always like to emphasize that when Paul writes, this is certainly that part of the New Testament that is particularly in tune with the church age, the age of grace. As he himself says in Romans chapter 11—I think it is verse 13—that he is the apostle of the Gentiles. And so as Gentiles, naturally, he is the one to whom we should turn for our basic doctrines. Verse 12, "...wherefore, as by one man," and, of course, he's referring to whom, Adam, "...wherefore, as by one man," Adam, "...sin entered into the world, and death," let me use the verb, "...entered by sin." In other words, before Adam ate, nothing died. Death was an unknown entity. But once he ate, sin came in, and with sin came death. And so death passed upon how many? All men, see? All, Paul says in Romans chapter 3, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No one escapes it, because we've been born of Adam. All right. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now, let's define the word death. We like to use definitions as we come up through Scripture. First and foremost, let's look at physical death, because that's what we're most acquainted with. We see it on every hand, not only in the human race, but also in the animal kingdom, the birds, and so forth. But so far as the human race is concerned, death as we understand it. What is death? Well, I think the simplest way we can put it, that death is separation. E or R? A? A. Thought so. Didn't look right. Okay. Separation. Death is a separation. Now, in the physical, then, it is a separation of the body and the soul. From that other that we talked about earlier, the soul, and let's put them together now, the soul and spirit. Death is that separation of that invisible part of us from the body. Now, as we contemplate this whole makeup of man and his relationship to the physical existence, his relationship to God, it's good to understand some of these things. Whenever the soul and spirit takes flight from this body, we have death. And all through Scripture, even though the preaching I've heard in all my days, the emphasis is always upon the soul, the saving of the soul. And God is concerned about the soul. But I've come to the conclusion that God is just as concerned about the body. Because you see, God is dealing with us not in terms of just the soul and the spirit, but the whole man. And I've begged people to find any place in this Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, where man has anything whatsoever of any worth in this life or in the life to come separated from a body. Because you see, once we get into the eternal state after the great resurrection day, what are we all going to have? New bodies, see? And so God is concerned with the whole man, the body, the soul, and the spirit, not just in this life, but even in the life to come. All right, but physical death is that separation, then, of the body from the soul and spirit. And I make the statement, I think it's very rare, and a person has to be in an awful state of pain and misery to really want death. Normally it just isn't that way. I've known old people, up in their nineties, who when they're healthy, they'll say, oh, I wish the Lord would come, or I wish the Lord would take me home. I'm just so tired of sitting here in this rocking chair. But let that old heart skip a beat, and who do they call for? The doctor. Don't they? Sure they do. Why? Because even the best of believers who are ready to go out and meet the Lord, there is still that awesome fear that we don't want death. And that's normal. That's the way God made us, because we don't want to be separated, body from the soul and spirit. And that's why God has made plans, then, that one day we are going to have the body reunited with the soul and the spirit. All right, then there's another death that is probably more important, and we call it the spiritual death. And spiritual death, again, is a separation, but it's not a separation from body and soul, but it is a separation from God. Now the Bible refers to that, then, as the second death, that separation from God for all eternity. In our class at telecast some weeks ago, someone asked the question, if I would cover the difference between hell and the lake of fire. A lot of people don't know there is a difference, but we spent our whole next two-hour class showing from the Scripture all the way through how that, yes, hell will one day end up in the lake of fire, but they are two distinct differences. But we all shrink from either one of these thoughts of death. Now, a thinking individual, a thinking individual, now, of course, Satan has kept most people from that place, but a thinking individual will naturally have that same kind of apprehension of a spiritual separation from God as we have a physical separation of body and soul. At least we should have, because it's going to be awful to be separated from God for all eternity, and that's what the hell is really going to be. It's that separation from God, let alone all the other ramifications of it. But death, sin, it all had its beginning the moment Adam ate in direct violence and disobedience to that revealed will of God. And then drop down to verse 14, you're still in Romans 5, "...nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure, or the type, of him who is to come." Now, we haven't got time for it tonight, but sometime we're going to show the relationship, as Paul shows it here, that as Adam, the federal head of the human race, as Adam sinned and caused death to come upon the human race, so also the second Adam, or the last Adam, or Christ, and that's what he's referred to in the New Testament. Christ is referred to as the second Adam. Christ, by virtue of death, was able to impart life. And so, even though we may look at the whole complex picture and we can say, but God really wasn't fair by causing the whole human race to come under the condemnation of sin when it all was because of one man. But the whole sovereign act of God is that just as sure as Adam precipitated death and the separation from God upon the whole human race, Christ came back and restored all that. But it's based on choice. It isn't automatic. That's universalism, and we have to reject that. But as man is now given full opportunity to choose, he can have salvation. It's free for the asking. Remember how many times I've said, people will say, but it's too simple. And yet if it was just one bit more difficult, what would they say? It's too hard, I can't do that. But it is so simple, and God has done that because we are all sons of Adam, so never lose sight of it. All right, let's look at one more New Testament verse. Turn over a few more pages to Ephesians, Galatians—come through the Corinthians—Galatians, Ephesians chapter 2, and I usually pick out verses that are the most clearly stated, where there's just no doubt about what God is trying to tell us in His Word. And if you'll go to Ephesians chapter 2, starting with verse 1, where again Paul is writing to the believers—of course, Paul always writes to believers—but he's writing to the believers at Ephesus and the surrounding churches. And he says, "...and you hath he quickened, or made alive, who were," in the past tense, what's the next word, dead, see, dead in trespasses and sins. Well, what does that mean? They were without spiritual life. And then he goes on in verse 2, "...wherein in times past ye walked." Now, he wasn't talking about physical death, he was talking about spiritual death, because these people are still living. And so the people of verse 1, who have been made alive, who were dead, still they were walking in the flesh according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. And who are they? The children of Adam, see, who have disobeyed by virtue of Adam's disobedience. Then verse 3, "...among whom also we all had our conversation, or our manner of living, in times past." And here it comes again, "...in the desires of flesh, and of the mind, and were by nature," naturally, naturally. You know what that means? I don't care how sweet those little two -year-olds are, how quick will they sin? As one fellow I read one time last winter, he put it this way, just as soon as they can. And isn't that true? And why do they do it? All because they're children of Adam. And this is what Paul means, see, that we are practitioners of the things of this world where we're desiring the lusts and the pleasures of life because it comes naturally. Always have to be reminded of that popular song of generations gone by. What was it? Doing what comes naturally. And isn't that what the human race does? They give in to their natural inclinations, and they're simply doing that which comes naturally. And this is exactly what Paul says here, that we were by nature, naturally, the children of what? Wrath. See? All right, now we'll point that out a little more clearly, but let's go back to Genesis for just a moment, back to chapter 3, Genesis chapter 3 once again. And now verse 7, Adam has eaten, and immediately everything takes place. First and foremost, we have the proof of it in his eyes were open, both of them. The eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. Now we've got to compare, go back with me to chapter 2 again in verse 25, so that you pick up this tremendous change that had just taken place. Now there's a lot of speculation as to what that was. Some have imagined that they had some kind of an ethereal euphoria around them before sin came, and that that disappeared, and suddenly they could see they're fleshly naked. Well, whatever it was, it really doesn't matter. What we have to understand is that in chapter 2, verse 25, they were naked. Remember it was a warm tropical climate, they didn't need it for warmth. They were both naked. The man and his wife, and they were not ashamed, in other words, never bothered them. They could even walk that way in the presence of God, in the cool of the day, with no problem. But now, as soon as they have eaten and they have been disobedient, what does that nakedness do? Oh, it drives them with some kind of a guilt, and the first thing they want to do is cover it. All right, let's read on. And so the eyes of them both were open, they knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. Now, the first thing I like to ask my class is, does God tell them to do this? No. So, the Scripture doesn't say that Satan suggested it, but I wouldn't be too surprised that maybe that's what happened. I'm not saying it did, but something prompted them to want to cover their physical nakedness, and so they took the largest leaves that they could find and they sewed the leaves together and made themselves aprons. Now remember, God had nothing to do with this. This is what we call the energy of the flesh. This is man doing what he can do. Let's look at Proverbs, Proverbs, right after the book of Psalms. Proverbs and turn to chapter 14, Proverbs chapter 14, drop down to verse 12. It wouldn't hurt to memorize this verse, lock it into your computer, because this verse is so appropriate under so many circumstances. In fact, I'll use it again when we get to chapter 4, when Cain comes along with his sacrifice. But Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12, all got it? Proverbs 14, verse 12, and all, it's just a simple statement. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof, that is of the ways that man thinks are right, but the end thereof are the ways of what? Death. They'll never cut it. Now, the one word I put on all this is rationalization. We all like to rationalize, don't we? I don't care what kind of a difficult situation we're faced with, the first thing we start doing is rationalizing. How can I get around this? How can I circumvent it? All right, Adam and Eve were confronted with the fact that ere long the Lord himself is going to come down and want to walk with them in the cool of the day. Now they've got to start rationalizing. How are they going to get around this? They now realize their nakedness, and so they say, well, maybe if we cover our nakedness with fig leaves, we fix ourselves some covering, God won't really notice and we can get away with it, see? Now that is man's thinking even today. And I said when we get to chapter 4, we're going to look at old Cain. Cain is going to say, but now, God, I know you don't really expect me to go over the mountain and barter with my brother Abel. Surely you'll expect you can accept what I'm going to put together. And so he rationalizes, and he thinks he can get away with it. He does which seemeth right to a man, and people are doing it today. All you have to do is just ask people that you come in contact with, and this is an original with me. I think it was either with Campus Crusade or one of the youth working groups, navigators or somebody. But instead of just asking somebody, are you a Christian, you ask the question in this way, if you were to die tonight or tomorrow, on what basis do you think God would let you into his heaven? And you know, that's the perfect way of putting it. On what basis do you think God should let you into his heaven? My, you'll start getting as many different answers as you have people to ask. And some will say, well, I'm doing the best I can. I'm keeping the commandments. I've joined the church. I'm a good member. I give. I'm a good parent. I'm a good citizen. See, these are all things that seemeth right unto a man. But what's the end thereof? Death. We often think of some of the other major religions of the world, and we've had good discussions on some of these in our other classes. And like I said, when you've got two hours, we've got time for those. And why have we discussed more than once? How about a good Muhammadan? Many cases they're better than some of us, morally and all these things. They're religious. They practice their prayer times and everything else. They read their Koran. Are they going to make it? No. They're doing what seems right to men, but in the eyes of a holy God, they are far short. And not only them, but you take all the religions of the world, whatever it may be. And while I'm at it, I like to always make a good definition again of what is religion. And believe it or not, the Bible never speaks of religion in a good way. There's only one place, and even then it's not a strong point, but usually religion is used in a bad sense. For example, when Paul in Galatians speaks of having practiced the Jewish religion more strongly than any of his peers, how was he speaking of it? That's all it was, was just a religion. He knew nothing of a relationship with God at that time. So I like to look at it this way, religion, regardless of whether it's the one we've already mentioned or whether it's Buddhism or Hinduism or anything else, religion is man's attempt to somehow reach and merit favor with God. That's religion. Just like Proverbs says, man says, well, if I do this, then certainly God will be pleased. That's what Adam and Eve thought when they sowed fig leaves. It was an act of religion. Surely if we cover our nakedness, God will accept us. But you see, what we call true Christianity—I mean true Christianity, a real salvation experience—is just exactly the opposite. It is God reaching down to unworthy, sinful man. See the difference? All the religions of the world are going to attempt to somehow merit favor with God. And they may be well taken, they may be good as far as they go, but they can never merit favor with God. But they have to look at it from this point of view. It's what God has done for man. And when we see that, we've got the battle won. All right, now then, if you will, come back to Genesis once again in the couple minutes we have left. And so they sowed themselves fig leaves, covered their physical nakedness. But what area have they still not dealt with? The spiritual. They have now tried to deal with the physical, but there's no way they can restore that fellowship with the Creator. That's broken. Sin has broken it. All right, now then, if you'll come down to verse 8. And so they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Oh, I wish we had another hour. They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife did what? Hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. I thought they were covered. But you see, when the chips are down, what do they suddenly realize? Those aphron leaves aren't going to cut it. They're in no shape to meet God. And so what do they do? They run and they hide. Let me quickly—I hope we've got time—quickly run back to John's Gospel chapter 3 to show that the human race hasn't changed one iota. Now back to John's Gospel chapter 3, remembering what we just read, that even though they think that they have covered their bases, they've sown their fig leaves, and yet when they're confronted with the Holy Creator God, they run and hide. All right, now in John's Gospel chapter 3, the Lord Jesus is speaking. If you have a red-letter edition, it'll be in red. Verse 19, and He says, "...and this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world," and of course He was speaking of Himself, "...and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Now remember what Adam and Eve did. They went and hid. Now look at verse 20, "...for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light." What's the opposite of coming to the light? They go to their darkness, see? All right, that's still the same way today. "...men will not come out of darkness seeking the light, but they'll always run and hide." All right, "...lest his deeds should be reproved." Now I've got one final thought, and it's time to quit. No sinner ever goes looking for God. God looks for the sinner. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like to be part of our studio audience, call 1-800-369-7856. That's 1-800-369-7856. Or, if you would like a copy of today's Bible study on tape, send your gift of $5 or more to Les Feldick Ministries, Kinta, OK 74552.