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It is a ‘Good Friday’; and the word ‘good’ is not a misnomer! For, all that needs to be done for a broken world and a broken life to be made whole has been accomplished by Lord Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. And may the glorious truth set you free this day. The gospels describe the unimaginable physical pain and trauma that the Lord went through, even as He was lifted up on the Cross, to suffer and die for the sins of the whole world. But it was not the complete picture, for, in His death, Christ was scripting a victory in the spiritual realm, by destroying the works of the evil one who held mankind captive in sinful darkness.
It is the truth that is revealed in the epistles, to turn your sorrow into joy. And you and I, as children of God, can join with the apostle to triumphantly declare – ’O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, And the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord, Jesus Christ [1 Corinthians 15:55-57]. The Son of Man was manifested that He may destroy the works of the devil, by His death on the Cross, to open the door to a restoration of the good plan and purposes of God, the destiny that God had planned for the man whom He had created to be in His own image.
‘I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; and now, therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may live’ were the Lord Almighty’s words to the people of Israel, through His servant Moses, as they stood at the threshold of the blessed promised land [Deuteronomy 30:19]. Life is nothing but a conscious existence of unbroken communion with God. And Christ came to give life in all its abundance, revealing in His own words that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And Death was the last Enemy that He overcame to arise victorious from the grave.
‘You shall surely die..’ :
It is the law of the first mention concerning death, in the scriptures. And it was a warning that came to the first man Adam, from the Lord God Himself, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die [Genesis 2:17]. Death is separation, and the ultimate death in a person is a separation from God forever. But it was not His original design. It was the entrance of sin that brought with it, its wages of death into the picture, to end up separating man from God, and needing a Redemptive Savior.
For, sin is at its root, disobedience that comes as a result of doubting the word of God owing to unbelief – Thus, Disbelief; doubt; disobedience = sin. It happened in the life of Adam and Eve, through a wrong conversation, that led them to reject the truth to embrace a lie. They chose to believe the father of lies, instead of the One who never lies! It is what sin does to your reasoning, foolish and senseless though it may seem! And it is why bad company corrupts good character is the scriptural truth that one ought to take note of in order to keep it.
Sin is deceptive, and your heart can be deceptive, and the two combining together can destroy you. Death was not instantaneous, in the sense that Adam and Eve did not drop down dead physically immediately after their act of disobedience. But the negative effects that ultimately lead to a physical death years later began to work in them, and it is the legacy of the first Adam, that every person born into this fallen world carries within him, in the form of a sinful nature within him.
Man is living, and also dying!
The unraveling of death in him happens in a step-by-step progression of painful negative things, the final fulfillment of which becomes the stillness of death, or an absence of life in him, a cessation of growth that results in decay. The fact of life as you live on earth is that you are living and at the same time dying! But as a Christian, the wondrous truth that can make your heart rejoice is that, though death may come in the here and now, the ultimate victory in the then and there is yours in Christ. It becomes your experience as you by grace and through faith, acknowledge and appropriate His finished work of the Cross.
The side effects of death :
1. Originality replaced by duplicity :
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covering [Genesis 3:7]. Put very simply, they knew that they had lost something God-given, and what only God could give. And enveloped with shame and guilt they tried to hide from the Omniscient God, covering themselves, by leaning on their own effort, instead of calling out to God for help in their time of need. It is how sin operates in a person even today, making him think that He does not need God in his life in order to cope with life’s circumstances, both good and evil.
Figleaves was the duplicity, the self-effort in the life of Adam and Eve, to overcome the guilt and shame that comes with sin. Guilt comes when you realize that you have done what is wrong; but shame goes deeper, to make you feel that you yourself are wrong. But you have a God who can make the wrong, right, to deal with your sin; and He is the only One who can do it. Submit to God, therefore, who gave His own Son to die for your sins, and if you do not believe in Him, you will die in your own sins. The scripture in the Lord’s own words makes it very clear [John 8:24].
Christ died your death!
And it is by trusting in this truth that you are victorious, though outwardly the aging process ultimately reaches its logical endpoint, in seeing you being transported to glory to be in the presence of the Lord forever. Life can be a frustrating struggle owing to inadequacies otherwise, with something or the other always missing, hindering your fulfillment and rest [Isaiah 28:20]. Or it could be like an unending wilderness journey, with the promised land only a mirage. And like the Israelites who were forever grumbling it can make you too wish for a death that would only be being swallowed up by the enemy, the evil one.
When it comes to dealing with sin, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags, like leaves that shrivel and die [Isaiah 64:6]. Therefore when the realization, that in you, there is the wrongdoing that is sin comes, turn immediately to God, for in Christ you have the victory. He has dealt with sin and its source, the evil one, on the Cross, that you may live, even though physical death happens at some point. It would only be an entrance into an unending greater glory. The Cross is the only way and nothing else can take its place!
2. True condition is hidden by a mask!
Sin’s detrimental effect then, and also now, is the onset of fear that makes you hide without success from God who knows it all anyway! It was what happened in the lives of Adam and Eve. So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself [Genesis 3:10]. And today because he is afraid to come into the presence of God, because of his sin, his wrongdoing, or what is wrong in his very being, man hides behind a fancy title or his money. They are just a few of the masks behind which he takes shelter, out of fear and insecurity.
But whatever the mask may be, it has been ripped open by the work of the Lord on the Cross, to reveal your true self. ‘If only you knew me!’ could be what you say to your neighbor or close friend, but the Lord knows you, warts and all. And He loves you, just as you are, without one plea, but that His Blood was shed for you on the Cross. And as you draw near to Him in faith, saying, O Lamb of God, I come, it is His Blood that cleanses you of all unrighteousness, to stand unafraid, clothed in His righteousness alone, every vestige of fear cast away by His perfect love.
3. Responsibility replaced by blame game:
Then the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said The serpent deceived me, and I ate [Genesis 3:12,13]. And thus began the perennial problem, which is still very much around. For it is when you are able to take responsibility for your wrong, that God can deal with it, to make it right. Adam tried to blame God when it was a problem of his own making. God was, on the contrary, the solution. And even today, it is humbling yourself before God, that is the solution. For, when you and I did not take responsibility, He did to die for our sins on the Cross. All we can do is lift up our cup of salvation, giving thanks unto Him for His inestimable grace and love.
4. Dominion replaced by domination:
The Lord God blessed Adam and Eve together on creation, to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth [Genesis 1:28]. But sin destroyed the nature of the relationship, to bring with it the pain of childbirth that became the woman’s portion, for God’s word to her was, Your desire shall be for your husband; and he shall rule over you [Genesis 3:16]. Life then became an unequal and painful tussle between the man and woman, with domination, intimidation, and manipulation rearing their ugly heads and bringing people to subjection. It is what can be said about many relationships in this world even today. There is a struggle to be free in the lives of people, a heart crying out for freedom and liberty that only God can give. And thanks be unto God who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus.
5. Enjoyment in work replaced by toil :
The way that leads to death became Adam’s lot, owing to his disobedience, and the Lord’s words to him were, ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil, you shall eat of it all the days of your life’ [Genesis 3:17]. Even today, the deception of the devil can speak to you in the guise of voices that try to influence you into going against what the Lord has prescribed for your goodness and well-being in life. Your eyes need to be focused, directed towards the Builder of your life, therefore, that you may be victorious in Christ, even as you receive His blessed word of promise that declares The Lord will open to you His good treasure the heavens, to give you the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow [Deuteronomy 28:12].
6. Good repaid with evil :
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field [Genesis 3:18]. In a fallen world, corrupted by sin, you can sow seeds of goodness, in doing what is good in the lives of people, only to receive a bad and cruel backlash, the thorns and thistles, or weeds that you did not deserve to reap. But it would all pale into insignificance when you consider Christ, the Sinless One, and the path that He trod, for He went about doing good among the people whom He came to save, only to hear them say, Crucify Him. But Christ is now your hope, living in you, to give you victory, that you may reign in life receiving an abundance of grace and God’s gift of righteousness.
7. Dust returning to dust!
The side effects of death, the various stages of it, inevitably lead to what is the logical end of it all, which is physical death. For dust you are; And to dust, you shall return [Genesis 3:19]. But to a Christian, there is a singular and majestic difference.
Death – swallowed up in VICTORY!
It is a day when you can rejoice; for you can focus not on the problems that lead to death, but on the One who has overcome it all. Christ died, was buried, and rose again. It is the victorious truth; for it speaks even to us this day, to say that, the dead will rise again, and the body sown in dishonor will be raised in honor. Every Christian funeral is an off-season Easter celebration! Resurrection is our bright hope for an eternal future in heaven, for Christ in us is the hope of glory.
We thank Thee, Father, for giving us your Son, to be the one, perfect, atoning sacrifice for our sins. And when we see the vile effects of sin, the side effects of death at work in us, when the evil one buffets us with trials, may we uproot them because of what Christ has already accomplished on the Cross. And may our hearts be filled with His victory to rejoice forevermore, for our sins are nailed to the Cross, and we bear it no more. Indeed, it is well with our souls. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
