Man who is born of
woman is of few days
and full of trouble.
He comes forth like
a flower and fades
away: He flees like
A shadow and does not
continue.
And do You open Your
eyes on such a one,
and bring me to
judgment with Yourself?
Who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean?
No one!
Since his day are
determined, the number
of his months is with
You; You have
appointed his limits,
so that he cannot pass.
Look away from him
that he may rest,
till like a hired man
he finishes his day.
Job 14:1–6
Oh! What a
fallacy it is to think that you are autonomous, that you control your life. I
some ways you do, but you do not have the day, hour, or minute that you pass
from this world. God knows and controls our time here on earth. We do know that
death is coming, how, when, why, where, and by who, we do not know unless it is
be some terrible disease, but we do know it will fade away like a flower. Who
can save one from such a terrible curse? NO ONE! No one but God. This is His
world, it is His to maintain, to control so that His purpose for creation will
be accomplished. None of this curse that is applied to the world caused by
man’s sin, or the death that plagues the world would exist if not for the sin
of one man; Adam. Would it not have been better if Adam had obeyed the command
of God? Would it not be better for us to obey the commands of God? To not obey
God is not to love God, it is to be carried away by the blasphemies of Satan;
it is to annihilate the glory of God. Would have not been better for Adam to keep
his desires in restraint? Yes, Satan did exist, and Satan is a liar, a thief
for he stole what man had, a true relationship with the creator, and immortal
life, a time by which he could eat of the Tree of Life. God would then in His
providence deal with Satan, and man would not be in the turmoil he finds
himself, the world would not be groaning under the sin that plagues the
universe: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but
because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with the
pangs together until now” (Romans 8:20–22).
We may fail
to realize that Adam’s spiritual life was what was affected and that is the
cause for him to have the curse put on him by God. Our spirit life is to be
bound with our creator, and not to be bound to Him is to be estranged from Him
by the death of our soul: this is what happened to Adam. Now the world, a
perfect world, was perverted and the whole order of nature is deteriorated by
this revolt towards God. Are you revolting from God? Why should the world bear
the punishment of Adam? This question is asked and it is a good question. The
world was made for man, for a perfect man but now man was no longer perfect as
created and the world fell under the curse upon Adam, a curse that would not
allow for the world to provide the perfection that was lost by sin. This was
the punishment deservedly for man, for man was the “apple of God’s eye” and the
reason for all other things to exist. All creatures were then affected by this
original sin, and this made cause for death, for sickness, for pain, and
suffering. Ante–flood people still lived in a world that is not as our is, a
world that was still in the throes of perfection but was being destroyed by
sin, and sin would have it way with the people of that era, a sin that made
cause for God to desire to destroy all that He had created but for one man Noah
who found favor in the eyes of God, God was merciful and saved him and seven
others of his family. God is merciful, but God does require payment for sin.
The question for us is will God be merciful to us and save us from the calamity
that is destroying us eternally? Will God see faith in us, a faith in Him? If
so that faith will be seen in our exercise of that faith by following His
commands. Noah was faithful and built a “boat” when boats were not even known
about at that time, a boat to house animals: think on this, a faith that God
would somehow bring to him animals of all kinds? HUH! How, how can I believe
that? Noah may have wondered but Noah believed in God. God offers salvation to
His children, eternity that was lost by original sin of Adam that spread to all
the world, his progeny. Do you believe that? Or is it just a hope! Are you
doing the will of God that is as simple as what Adam had placed upon him, to
not eat of one tree in the garden? God gives us two things: His commands, things
which we can perform, and He gives His children His Spirit to guide us in our
exercise of His commands. Unless we ignore the influence of the Holy Spirit,
and we ignore His commands so that we can live the way we desire, a way that is
blasphemous to God, a revolt against the God, our creator, our Sustainer, our
Savior.
It is not
unreasonable to think that a holy God would require payment for willfulness of
man, a willfulness shown in revolt to Him, and a willful sinning that has
affected to world. God is just, not just a fair God. This is His world, it is
His to control, and to determine even our days on this earth. It was Original
Sin that we are in bondage too, and there is NO ONE who can save himself; it
requires what man cannot do: It requires God who created us to save us. This He
has done by His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and all we have to do is allow the
faith that God gives freely to believe on the Only Begotten Son of God and be
saved. Will you!
For those who live according
To the
flesh set their
Minds on the things of the flesh,
But those
who live according
To the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For to be
carnally minded
Is death, but to the spiritually minded
Is life and
peace.
Romans 8:5–6
Be Counted Today As One Of God’s Children
Richard L. Crumb
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