The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This shows that death comes through sin. All men born into this world are destined to die. So this eath is called the world of sin. Then, which sin brings death, the sin committed on earth or the sin committed in heaven?
In this world, no one can escape death. It happens even to babies under a year old. So, we cannot say that death is caused by the sin committed in this world, can we?
Focusing on the words, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), let’s study the principle of sin and death. According to the Bible, the reason Adam and Eve died was that they could not eat from the tree of life by breaking God’s command in the Garden of Eden. If they had eaten from the tree of life even after committing sin, they would have lived forever. For it is written:
Genesis 3:22-24 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.
These words imply that Adam would have lived forever if he could have eaten of the tree of life, even though he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The reason all men die is because they cannot eat from the tree of life, not just because they commit sin in this world.
Now, if we eat from the tree of life, we will live forever. However, sinners are not allowed to reach out their hands and take from the tree of life and eat. For the poor men destined to die, Jesus came and opened up a way to the tree of life; only those who are cleansed with Jesus’ precious blood, shed on the cross, can have the right to the tree of life and to the holy city (Revelation 7:14; cf. 22:14).
However righteous a man may be on this earth, he cannot come near the tree of life without the precious blood of Christ. Though a man is a grave sinner in this world, if he is purified with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, he can have the right to the tree of life.
No one can enter the kingdom of heaven without Jesus’ blood of the covenant, the blood of the Passover of the new convenant. At the Holy Supper of the Passover, Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:7-20).
May God bless you all.
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