FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH TO ETERNAL LIFE 

             "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). Obviously, the immediate death suffered by Adam was not a physical death because he lived on with Eve his wife for many years. The word 'death' only means a separation has occurred. God created Adam and Eve as triune beings with body, soul and spirit. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul (soul)" (Genesis 2:7). Like Adam and Eve, all humans are made in the image of God and have body, soul, and spirit. The body is the part of us that relates to the earth and when we die our bodies go back to dust. The soul is the part of us that relates to other living beings. The same Greek word psyche is translated 58 times as soul and 40 times as life. Our soul is the life that is in our bodies and the seat of our personalities. Everything with a personality has three things - intellect, emotions, and will. The soul is the part of us that loves, gets angry, etc. The spirit is the part of humans that has a relationship with God. When a person grows to a certain mental state, the Holy Spirit uses his 'intellect' to create the 'emotion' of being convicted that he is lost and needs to be saved. At that point, the person is spiritually dead and separated from God, just as a cut umbilical cord separates a baby from its mother. The Spirit then uses the Gospel to convince the individual of the truthfulness of what Jesus did for him through His death and resurrection and draws him to activate his 'will' to accept Jesus as his personal Savior. A new relationship with God is established when the soul uses his free will to receive Jesus to be born again and the Spirit moves into the heart to give eternal life. Thus, the Gospel of Jesus Christ appeals to every part of the soul's personality - intellect, emotions, and will! When and how that new birth takes place is the issue I have with the Reformed Theology (Calvinist) doctrines. Their first letter in TULIP refers to what they call "Total Depravity".        

            I also believe in the total depravity of man as it is presented in the Bible. The term 'total depravity' is not found in Scripture, but it does fit the description of natural man as presented in the Bible. I believe every human is born with a sinful nature received as a member of Adam's race. That does not mean there is no good found in man, but it does reveal that a man will never come to God on his own without the influence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting him of sin and drawing him to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior. On the other hand, Reformed Theology teaches that a dead man cannot do anything anymore than someone buried in a cemetery. Therefore, they believe a lost person is dead and has no part in his own salvation. They believe the Holy Spirit must come into the heart of the lost person and give new life before he can hear and respond to the Gospel. After the Spirit has given new life to the one that was dead, then faith and repentance become gifts from God that brings salvation. Therefore, according to them the lost person can do nothing for himself but just wait to see what God is going to do. If God does nothing for him, then it means he is destined for Hell.

             Whereas a man may be dead spiritually, as long as the body and soul are still alive he will be able to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, be convicted of his sins, repent to God the Father, place his faith in Jesus Christ, and call on Him for salvation! That is how Paul preached, "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21), also in Romans 10:9, 13, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ---  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." There is too much evidence to deny that is the truth, rather than what is being taught by Reformed Theology. The space afforded in a short devotional does not allow me to go into great detail on some of the proofs, but I will enumerate a few for you to consider.

            1. Adam and Eve realized the effect of their sin as soon as they took a bite of the forbidden fruit. They immediately realized they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. But, God provided them a covering from the skin of an animal. Can anyone deny they had spiritually died?

            2. A favorite verse of the Reformed Theologist is Ephesians 2:1, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins". They ignore the next two verses which reveal what they were able to do as dead people. "Wherein in time past ye walked 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: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (verse 3, 4). It is amazing what they were able to do as dead people!

            4. After Peter's great message on the Day of Pentecost, the Jews were convicted of their sins and cried out to Peter, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter instructed them on how to be saved and 3,000 souls responded and were saved. They went from spiritual death to eternal life!

            5. Your own experience of salvation. Many of you reading this knew you were lost for a long time before receiving Jesus. Although spiritually dead, you knew you needed to be saved and you also knew Jesus was your only hope for salvation. Some of you may have made previous professions of faith before you realized you were lost and repented of your sins and trusted Jesus. Amazing what dead people can do!

            6. The salvation experience of those who believe in Reformed Theology doctrines. I know a number of preachers who were saved in their youth and for many years preached exactly what I believe before they began to espouse the false doctrines of Reformed Theology. They now preach a plan of salvation contrary to how they themselves were saved. It is scary to see how deceptive Satan really is! 

            From Adam you received spiritual death! From Jesus you can receive eternal life! "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthian 15:22). Choose life!