"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Romans 5:12
The sentence of death defiles the ingenuity of man. The best that man can come up with is no match for death. Man has conquered virtually everything in nature, but succumbs to death. Only by what God accomplished in Christ on the cross can death be subdued. To the chagrin of man, death has shown no respect for all of his attainments, whether in science, technology, or the arts. Each time you come to a graveside, you come to the end of all of man's glory and power. Death reigns without any opposition among mortals.
It stings the educated, it stings the unlearned, it stings the rich, it stings the poor, it stings the cultured, it stings the primitive, no one can escape the tyranny of death. By the fear of death, the bible tells us, the devil has held humanity in bondage. And all of this is the result of the disobedience of one man, Adam.
The only hope for the end of the tyrannical reign of death over humanity is found in the death of a sinless substitute, and that sinless substitute was Jesus Christ, who on the cross, laid down His life as a ransom for all. He went into the region of death, conquered death, and rose triumphantly on the third day to an endless life.
It is to this triumphant life over death that the gospel invites all, promising that all who come to Christ in faith will no longer be subjected to the dread of sin, which is eternal separation from the presence of God. Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us that, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage". In Jesus Christ's death on the cross, death's reign was terminated, and all who believe can partake in this triumph over death, which nothing else can bring about.
Toni
