RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-04-27	The Power of Death (He.2:14)
		The Power of Death Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil Hebrews 2:14 says Christ came to destroy him who “holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” What does it mean that the Devil holds the power of death? A surface reading suggests that if a person dies it is the Devil that kills him; that we live or die depending on what the Devil decides. That is not what the passage means! Simply stated, The Devil is linked with human sin and human sin is linked with death (1Co.15:56). Therefore the Devil is linked with death. Let's be clear, the Devil is linked with human sin (Genesis 3), but that does not mean the Devil makes us sin. He cannot force us to do something we do not choose to do. He is spoken of as the tempter and seducer which is what he does. But he cannot make us sin by sheer coercion. Sin is not sin if a sinner doesn't freely choose it. Sin is like an infection and we can catch it from one another. So it is true that the devil brings temptation. But sin is our own doing. We cannot say, “The Devil made me do it” as if we are laying blame upon him. Romans 5:12 tells us that sin entered the world through a man! We must not take the Devil out of the entire equation. If we want to remain true to the biblical Story but we must lay sin squarely where it belongs—at the feet of humanity. Satan could only afflict the patriarch as Jehovah allowed, and the Lord refused to grant permission for Job’s life to be terminated (Job 2:6). The link between Satan and human sin is that he tempted us, we chose sin and the consequence was death. So the Devil has “power” in a historical and associated sense. But in what way is death the consequence of sin? Who brought death into the human experience? It was not Satan it was God (Ge.2:17; 3:14-19). Gen 2:17 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." It would be a mistake to think that death is something “natural” or something independent of God. Death is not something that sin inflicts. Rather death is a judgment that God brings down on sinful humanity (Rm.1:32). Rom 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. The immediate context here is of those who are worthy of death. But in the end, do we not all deserve God's judgment which results in death? Yes! Hallelujah for our Savior! God brought death into the world in response to human rebellion. Death is one face of His redemptive anger against sin. One day God will end death because it is not what God wants for people (1Co.15:54-57). But why is death linked with Satan? For the same reason human guilt is linked with one man (Adam). Satan doesn't actually kill us any more than Adam actually made us guilty by his personal sin (Rm.5:15-19). Because of Jesus' resurrection He has delivered His people from the slavish “fear of death” (He.2:15). Heb 2:15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Rev 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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