THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH (NOT HELL)

My Response:

Following God: The Dilemma

How does one follow God and His Word? I guess it would depend upon which church denomination one is a part of. There are literally hundreds of different denominations, and each one has a different formula for following God and His Word. Some teach that you have to become a member of their church. Some teach that you have to confess Christ by saying a "sinner's prayer," and that's it. Some teach that you have to believe that God is a "Trinity," and therefore you must be baptized in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Others hold the "Jesus Only" viewpoint, and teach that you have to be baptized in Jesus' name (only). And some say that you must show the "evidence" of the Holy Ghost by speaking in tongues. Which one is right?

Here's what God's Word has to say about it (all passages are from the NKJV):

"The LORD looks down from heaven, upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one."(Psalm 14:2,3)

"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)

"Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight…" (Romans 3:20)

"Not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:9)

God's Word makes it clear that we cannot attain our own righteousness by good works (religious or otherwise). But one did come, one who could please our heavenly Father:

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Mark 1:11)

Where we prove to be a miserable failure, Christ overcomes on behalf of us all:

"For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's [Christ's] obedience many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)

Christ was able to please His Father. We are not able. Are you with me so far?

Punishment for Sin

In your email you stated: "that there is punishment for not following God and his Word." But didn't we just learn that none of us are even capable of following God? There was only One who ever did: Christ Jesus the Lord. Are you still with me?

I hope so, because now I am really going to throw you for a loop. Please bear with me. This may be a hard concept to grasp at first, especially when none of the churches (at least none that I am aware of) are teaching what I am about to show you.

Now, would you believe that God has already punished mankind for sin?

That's right! God has already punished mankind for sin!

Now before you pick up stones to throw at me J, please observe:

Romans 6:23 declares that "the wages of sin is death." Nearly every Christian on the face of this earth can quote this passage of Scripture from memory, yet very few believe it. Why? Because Christians have been taught (and therefore, most have been led to believe) that the wages of sin is "eternal torment in hell." But is this what the Scripture is saying? Does it say eternal torment? Does is say eternal death? Or does it say death?

Now, when did God pronounce His punishment of death upon sin? To find the answer, we have to turn all the way back to the Book of Genesis:

"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" (Genesis 2:16,17)

And we all know the rest of the story…

Now, it doesn't say "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely suffer everlasting torment in hell" does it? No, the punishment for their crime was death, and nothing more. Are you still with me?

COMMENT: You said that: "…people need to understand that we do not get away with whatever because God loves us." And I agree. And so do the Scriptures. Did Adam and Eve get away with their sin? No. And why not? Because God excommunicated them from the Garden of Eden before they could eat of the Tree of Life and live forever (see Genesis 3:22). If they had been able to eat from the Tree of Life, then they would have gotten away with their sin, and God would have been proven to be wrong when He told them that they would surely die. But of course, God is NEVER wrong.

God has also ordained various systems of law and government to deal with criminals and lawbreakers in society (read Romans 13). But any system of government that is run by fallen, sinful men will never be perfect, try as they may. But where men will always fail, God will never fail.

EXAMPLE: Many people believe that O.J. Simpson got away with murder. Now it is not my intention to judge this man one way or another, but IF he did indeed commit this horrible crime, then he will also die and appear before the Judge, where his sin will be exposed for all to see. This will most assuredly cause him to bitterly repent with much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, which will bring about God's desired result:

"The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." (II Peter 3:9)

His ways of dealing with the sinful nature of mankind are much higher than our ways. Those who would consign this man to an eternity in hell will also one day have to repent of their vengeful, unforgiving attitude. But God will judge the world in righteousness:

"For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world WILL LEARN righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9)

Most Christian churches teach that Christ died for our sins, and that He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserve (which, according to them, is hell). Oh really? Then please explain this to me. If Christ really took upon Himself the punishment that we deserve, then (according to fundamental Christian doctrine) He would have to be in hell, eternally separated from the presence of His Father, forever and ever, on our behalf. Is this really what the Bible teaches? Please be honest.

No, the wages of sin is NOT eternal torment in hell. The wages of sin is DEATH! And just as we all have been handed a death sentence (because of one man's disobedience), Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us, and DIED on our behalf. He fulfilled the requirements of God's Law by living a sinless life, and was the perfect atonement for our sin. And His Father raised Him from the dead, so that we also may have life. This is the GOOD NEWS!

"For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Christ Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ ALL SHALL BE MADE ALIVE." (I Corinthians 15:21,22)

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL peoples to Myself." (John 12:32)

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

"ALL the nations that Thou hast made [Are there any nations He has not made?] shall come and bow down before Thee, O LORD, and shall glorify Thy Name." (Psalm 86:9) [Will they glorify His Name while burning in hell? Would you?]

"And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for ALL PEOPLE a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface covering cast over ALL PEOPLE, and the veil that is spread over ALL NATIONS. He will swallow up death forever, and the LORD God will wipe away tears from ALL FACES. [This statement – along with Revelation 21:4 – totally obliterates the orthodox teaching of an eternal place of weeping and gnashing of teeth!] The rebuke of His people He will take away from ALL THE EARTH, for the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'" (Isaiah 25:6-9)

According to these passages that we have just read, the fundamentalist's teaching about an eternal hell cannot be true. You do believe these Scriptures, don't you?

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

I pray that God will, by His mercy, open your heart, your eyes, and your ears to these marvelous truths.

God is with you!

Gary

"The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning ... for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth." - Peter Abelard (1099-1142) French philosopher and theologian