03/17/2025
THE DAY MAN DIED
The garden was still. The air carried no hint of the storm that had just shattered the universe. Adam stood there, the taste of rebellion still on his tongue, his breath quickened—not from joy, but from something new, something dreadful.
For the first time in his existence, he felt it.
Separation.
Something inside him was gone. Something had snapped between him and his Creator. The trees around him swayed as they always had, the sky still stretched endlessly above, and his heart still beat in his chest. But he was no longer the man he was a moment ago.
He had died.
Not in the way we think of death. His body still stood, but his soul had collapsed. The very breath of life that once connected him to his Maker had been cut off. He was nothing more than a walking co**se, a man breathing the air of a world he no longer belonged to.
And this death—the death of the soul—was passed down like an inheritance of ruin. From Adam to his children. From generation to generation. Until it reached us.
We were all born dead.
THE DEATH THAT WAS WORSE THAN THE GRAVE
When God warned Adam, “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17), He was not speaking in riddles. He was not exaggerating. Death was not delayed—it came immediately.
Not the kind of death that sends bodies into the ground. That would come later. But something far worse—something that made physical death feel like mercy.
This was spiritual death.
What happened in that moment? Adam lost everything.
His fellowship with God—shattered. (Genesis 3:8)
His mind and heart—darkened. (Romans 1:21)
His will—enslaved to sin. (John 8:34)
His nature—corrupted beyond repair. (Ephesians 2:3)
Adam did not become “sick with sin.” He became dead in sin. And his children—us—were born that way. Not merely broken, but completely ruined. Not just lost, but rebellious by nature.
The Bible spares no feelings when it describes us.
“Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)
“All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)
Not wounded. Not struggling. Not trying our best. Dead.
DEAD MEN DON’T CHOOSE GOD
If this is true—if we are truly dead in sin—then what does that mean for the choices we make?
It means we do not seek God. We do not love Him. We do not desire righteousness.
“No one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Romans 3:11)
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
“The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.” (Romans 8:7)
This is what no one wants to hear: Man’s will is never free.
The idea that sinners can wake up one day and “choose” God is a lie. A dead man does not choose life. A co**se does not crawl out of its grave. The will of man is not free—it is bound to his sin.
Jesus Himself said it: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” (John 6:44)
No one. Not one. Unless God moves, we will never come.
MAN IS NOT GETTING BETTER—HE IS GETTING WORSE
History is the graveyard of human failure.
From the flood in Noah’s day to the Tower of Babel. From Israel’s constant rebellion to the crucifixion of Christ. The story of mankind is the story of a co**se rotting in the sun.
The world does not improve. Men do not grow holier on their own. The Bible does not describe humanity as “getting better.” Instead, it tells us:
“Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse.” (2 Timothy 3:13)
“Because lawlessness is increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12)
“They loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)
This is the state of man. Blind, bound, and in love with his own destruction. He does not merely sin—he delights in sin.
And if left alone, he will gladly perish in it.
ETERNAL DEATH
There is a second death coming. A death that is worse than the first.
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14)
“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
Man’s fate is sealed unless something outside of himself intervenes.
Because here is the truth no one wants to admit:
You are not on a journey to find God.
You are not slowly getting closer to the truth.
You are not neutral.
You are already condemned.
IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND THIS
This is the state of humanity according to the Bible. If you cannot grasp this—if you refuse to believe that man is not just wounded, not just sick, but dead in sin, utterly corrupt, and completely incapable—then you will never understand the cross of Christ, the love of God, or the gospel itself.
Because if man is not truly dead, then the cross becomes unnecessary. If we still had the ability to choose God, then Christ’s sacrifice becomes nothing more than an emotional plea, a tragic display of suffering instead of the crushing judgment of God against sin.
If our will was free, if we had even the slightest strength to turn to God, then why did Jesus have to drink the full cup of God’s wrath? Why did He cry out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46)?
Because the cross was not a second chance for fallen men to make the right decision—it was the only way for dead men to live.
If sin had only made us weak, then why did Christ have to be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5)? Why did He have to bear the full weight of divine wrath? Why did He have to be slaughtered like a Lamb?
Because the love of God was not a response to something worthy in us. It was not God looking down and seeing some potential, some flicker of goodness, some ability to choose Him. No!
God looked down and saw only corruption. Only rebellion. Only spiritual co**ses, rotting in the filth of sin.
Yet He chose to love. Not because of us, but in spite of us.
And the gospel? It is not an invitation to try harder. It is not a call to do better. It is not God waiting for you to take the first step.
It is a command to the dead: Live!
This is the truth no preacher wants to preach. It crushes pride. It shatters self-righteousness. It leaves no room for boasting. It does not flatter the sinner—it condemns him. It declares:
You are dead.
You are corrupt.
You are helpless.
And unless God moves, you will remain that way.
But for those whom God has raised to life, this truth is humbling and glorious. Because we know—we did nothing. We were not wiser. We were not more spiritual. We were not more willing.
We were dead.
But God—rich in mercy, full of grace—made us alive.
That is the gospel. And until we see how lost we were, we will never see how great His salvation truly is.
Let him who has ears to hear, hear.
Jeremiah Knight
The Reformation Resurgence
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