Spiritual Death
The Bible is very clear that death is not restricted to merely the physical death of the body, but the death of the spirit. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they died that very day spiritually and lost their personal relationship with God. Is the concept of spiritual death supported in the Bible? Here are the scriptures (many by Jesus Himself):
- But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:22) - (How can physically dead people bury anyone?)
- "And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)
- "'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." (Matthew 22:32)
- "But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found." (Luke 15:32) - (The prodigal son was spiritually dead until he repented)
- And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)
- And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (Colossians 2:13)
- For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)
- For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. (1 Peter 4:6)
- And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20)
- I protest, brethren, by the boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. (1 Corinthians 15:31)
Reflections
We are what we think.
- 05/21/2019 12:00 PM
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On my Facebook and Twitter pages I have a weekly segment called #FridayPhilosophy, where I provide quotes from great philosophical thinkers. One philosopher I quote often is professor Ed L. Miller. Dr. Miller’s book Questions That Matter was the first philosophy textbook that I ever used in teaching philosophy and his writings significantly influenced my thinking on the subject. Here is a brief biography…
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What can past defenders of the faith teach us today? As it turns out, historic Christianity’s preeminent voices have passed on a treasure trove of wisdom. In parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 (of six) in this series, we highlighted the term apologia sophia (Gk: áŒÏολογία ÏÎżÏία), which transliterates the Greek word endings and roughly translates to “apologetics wisdom.” In that spirit, I offer some more practical…
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Do you struggle with how to engage people who disagree online? You’re not alone. As noted in parts 1, 2, and 3 (of six), the term Apologia Sophia (Gk: áŒÏολογία ÏÎżÏία) transliterates the Greek word endings and roughly translates to “apologetics wisdom.” In this post, I hope to offer more such wisdomâpractical adviceâthat can lead to more fruitful online discussions. Let me enumerate three points that I…
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One of my favorite contemporary Christian theologians, Dr. Desmond Ford (1929â2019), died recently. He was an Australian evangelical theologian with deep roots in the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) theological tradition. He was educated at both Michigan State and Manchester Universities, where he earned dual doctorates in New Testament studies. At Manchester, he studied under the eminent New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce.…
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