The Bible declares very plainly that the reason why we die, is because we have what the Apostle calls “mortal flesh,” (2 Cor. 4:11), or “mortal bodies” (Rom. 8:11). But there is the claim that we also die because of comitted sin. Hence the Sale Christadelphian Website teaches:
“Sin is the act of disobeying God and breaking one of His commandments. It creates a barrier between us and God. The Bible teaches that death is the punishment for sin and therefore because everybody sins, everyone dies.”
Again, this is the teaching of the CBM:
“Questions and their Answers: Why did Dorcas die? Why do we die? Because we all sin, that is, we all disobey God.” (Persian/English course on Acts)
“Adam’s death was no different from ours. We all sin, so we all die” (Lesson 22 of 40 Lesson course)
“It is because of sin that we die. If our sins are completely forgiven then, just like Jesus, we cannot stay dead” (Lesson 23 of 40 lesson course)
“So we see that Adam sinned, and, because he was a sinner, he died. We also sin and die” (Lesson 2 of 22 lesson course)
But it is not true that everybody sins: babies in the womb die “neither having done any good or evil” (Rom 9:11). Moreover, Paul state that “sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13): people are not accountible for sinning when they knew no better. This why “many’, not all men will be raised for judgment (Dan. 12:2). The basis of accountability is knowledge: “… therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin”. Conversely, to him that doesn’t know to do good sin is not imputed. This being so, it would not be Just to punish people for disobeying laws they knew nothing about. Also, those who do obey the call of the Gospel message are forgiven their sins – so why punish with death sins which have been forgiven?
The doctrine that death is a punishment for committed sin breaks down very badly when we consider the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not “all” have committed sin, for he did not sin. Where then, was the righteousness in his death? If death is because of committed sin, then as Messiah did no sin, there would be an injustice in his death. It would be a declaration of unrighteousness, not of righteousness! But the Apostle spoke of the Master:
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25-26).
How would God be righteous in requiring the death of a sinless man, if death is the punishment for committed sin? He would be condemning an innocent man to die for a crime he never committed—there is no righteousness in that! Indeed, such a theory only leads to the substitution idea, which we have considered and refuted elsewhere. To say that the innocent has to suffer the punishment due to the guilty is almost identical to the standard church teaching concerning the Atonement, which Christadelphians have long rejected. Robert Roberts expressed it thus:
“The crucifixion was a Divine declaration and enforcement of what is due to sin, and as it was God’s righteous appointment that this should be due to sin, the infliction of it was a declaration of God’s righteousness”. (The Law of Moses)
THE TEACHING OF JAMES, PAUL AND EZEKIEL
Bearing these principles in mind, we consider the teaching of James:
“… every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:14-15).
The question arises, if we do not die as a punishment for comitted sin, what is James describing? There is a parallel expression by Paul in Romans chapter 6:
“the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
When a person earns wages, when are they normally paid? Surely after the work has been completed – or “when it is finished,” and not before. That is the situation here, Eternal life as the “gift of God” will be received at the judgment seat and not before, and so it is the same time when the wages of Sin shall be paid. The work of sin will render the recipients to be worthy of their hire: a man will be rewarded according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6) – once they have been “finished: – and not before. There is a difference between the natural process of death (the consequence of having “mortal flesh”), and the judicial sentence which will be issued at the judgement seat of Christ.
This also illustrates the principles taught by the prophet Ezekiel:
“The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4, 20).
This, it is contended, proves that death is a punishment for acts of sin. However, as with all passages of Scripture, the context is key. The context also speaks of the righteous: “he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord Yahweh” (vs 9). So then, sinners die, but the just shall surely live. But in actual fact, the just also die. No matter how righteous a man is, he will certainly die—unless the Lord returns before that event. How are we to understand this passage?
It is self-evident that this is not describing the natural process of growing old and dying—both the just, and the unjust still grow old and die no matter what kind of lives they live. It matters not how contrite a man is, or how repentant he is, he still has the law of sin and death as part of his physical make up, and dying he will surely die. As I say, this passage is not speaking of growing old and dying naturally (or even premature death due to disease or some other misfortune), but of a judicial sentence issued upon the basis of a wicked man’s lack of repentance. For the enlightened this is something that will be determined at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and not before.
KNOWLEDGE THE BASIS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
A related question which we briefly touched upon above, is What is required for a person to be held accountable by the Lord? Who will be raised for judgment? As we said earlier, men are not held accountable for disobedience to a law they knew nothing about. James 4:17 which we already cited above is helpful in this regard: “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin”. Knowledge then, is the basis of accountability: it is counted as sin for a person not to do good, when they “know” they should do it. Jesus also confirms this, saying to his adversaries: “if ye were blind, ye should have no sin” (Jno. 9:41, see also Rom. 2:12, 4:15). And Paul: “it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Pet. 2:21).
It is sometimes said that we will not appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), unless we are first Baptised. But in this scenario, a person can themselves make the decision to avoid judgment. They can spurn the Gospel, and despise the holy things of God, yet can evade being judged for it, by refusing Baptism. So, Baptism becomes the grounds of wrath and condemnation – something which the Bible doesn’t teach.
Jesus taught: “he that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him …” (Jno. 12:48). In the words of James: he who knows to obey Christ, and does it not, “to him it is sin”. We must know and receive The Truth, believe and obey it in love – then we will be accepted of him, and be given life and inheritance in his kingdom.
To summarise, we die because we inherit “mortal flesh” from Adam. But once a person has received a knowledge and the calling of the Gospel message, they are accountable for their rebellion against it. At the judgment seat of Christ, those who are held responsible will have to give account of themselves (Rom. 14:12), and it is only then that the wages of Sin will be granted, and the gift of God will be bestowed upon the faithful. Our part is to heed the message, repent of our sins, and live as faithfully as we can, awaiting the coming of our great Redeemer.
Christopher Maddocks
