What the Bible says about Sin, Universality of
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 3:19 The last part of God's curse on Adam involves the brevity of physical life. To this point, death had been mentioned only as a threatened punishment for sin (Genesis 2:17), so it must be assumed that, as long as Adam and Eve remained sinless, they would not die. Paul writes in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." God designed His wording of Adam's punishment to link mankind with the earth: He was created out of it, and when he died, he would return to it. His sin had removed him from the environs of the heavenly and forced him to dwell, labor, and die in the earthly. Yet even this has a silver lining: And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (I Corinthians 15:45-49) The benefit of a physical body is that it can die! This may sound strange, but it is exactly this fact that makes man able to become immortal sons of God! Men can die and be resurrected, following the pattern set by Christ, receiving eternal life and the rewards of His Kingdom. It is our righteous living in the flesh through the grace of God that qualifies us for this glorious potential. On the flip side, our physical nature also makes it possible for God to rid the universe of anyone unwilling to submit to Him. Unlike angels, men can be completely consumed in the Lake of Fire—totally destroyed for all eternity and unable to defile the holiness of God's Kingdom. Though God desires "all [to] come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9) and "all men to be saved" (I Timothy 2:4), He has this option should it be needed. Revelation 19:20 shows that it will indeed. Richard T. Ritenbaugh The First Prophecy (Part Three) Related Topics: Children of God | Curse on Adam | Curse on Ground | Curse on Mankind | Curse upon Generations | Curse, First | Death | Death as Permanent Cessation of Life | Death Penalty | Eternal Life | Eternal Life as Quality of Life | Eternal Life, Conditions for | First Adam | God's Children | God's Family | Heavenly Host | Image of Adam | Image of Christ | Image of the Heavenly | Image of this World | Lake of Fire | Physical Life Temporariness of | Second Adam | Sin Produces Death | Sin, Consequences of | Sin, Universality of | Spiritual Body | Spiritual Life, Permanence of

Romans 3:23 Sin is universal, and perhaps this is one reason why the term is so frequently ignored. So many are sinning so frequently that it is a way of life! It has become acceptable because everybody is doing it! Sin is not like a disease that some contract and others escape. Some may self-righteously think they are better than others because of outward appearance - living by sight - but we have all been soiled by it. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Perfection is gone. Because of sin, we have all come short of the glory of God. The phrase in Romans 5:12, "And thus death spread to all men" can be translated into more modern English as, "When death entered the race, it went throughout." It means death indiscriminately affected all because all sinned. It almost seems as though sin is like an amoebic blob whose tentacles reach out to encompass all in its path, absorbing and sweeping everything to its death. John W. Ritenbaugh What Sin Is Related Topics: Death | Death Penalty | Sin | Sin as a Way of Life | Sin as Cancer | Sin as Leaven | Sin, Habitual | Sin, Universality of

Romans 3:23 Every human being who has ever lived - except Christ - has broken God's laws. Therefore, everyone needs to be saved from sin's consequences. Earl L. Henn Basic Doctrines: Salvation Related Topics: All Have Sinned | God's Law | Law Breaking | Lawlessness | Sin | Sin Produces Death | Sin's Consequences | Sin, Consequences of | Sin, Universality of | Wages of Sin

Galatians 3:22 In Galatians 3:22, Paul adds to the Bible's teaching of the universality of sin. "The Scripture" is the Old Testament; it is man's jailer, condemning and confining him because he has sinned. This shows the uselessness of trying to be justified by lawkeeping. How can one expect the very thing that declares him to be guilty and condemns him to death also to pronounce him innocent? We would no more expect the law of our land to declare a murderer guilty and at the same time acquit him! John W. Ritenbaugh What Sin Is Related Topics: Justification | Justification by Law-keeping | Justification by Works | Sin | Sin as the Transgression of the Law | Sin, Universality of

 

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