~ Sin’s Curse > Sin Dominates the Pages of Scripture
< Sin’s Curse Removed ~
There are a
number of fascinating parallels between the first three chapters of the Bible
(Genesis 1-3) and the last three chapters of the Bible (Revelation 20-22). In between we find 1,183 chapters which
record mankind’s struggles as well as instructions for the struggle. In this series each post looks at one of the
parallels—it is not an exhaustive
coverage of all the parallels.
The Beginning
~ “Then
the Lord God took the man and put
him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
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 2:15-17).
The Middle
~ Since mankind succumbed to
Satan’s lies and deception sin has been prevalent and life on earth has been a
struggle. The Apostle Paul describes his
struggles as follows: “Has then what is good become
death to me? Certainly not! But sin,
that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good,
so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I
am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am
doing, I do not understand. For what I
will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree
with the law that it is good. But now,
it is no longer I who do it, but sin that
dwells in me. For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice. Now if I do what I
will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans
7:13-20). How then should we live? The Apostle Paul writes: “I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
The End
~ In
the New Jerusalem—our eternal home “there
shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the
Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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