Why Do People Die?

I could end this article in one word: SIN. Of course, virtually no one would benefit from that, so I must elaborate. By the way, this is going to be the first in a series of posts leading up to the topic of why Christians should observe Passover. If you don't see the connection already, then I highly suggest that you follow along!

Why Do People Die?
In the beginning of human existence on earth, Adam and Eve lived in a lush garden and talked with God directly. God had given them instructions to tend to the garden, with the only restriction being that they could not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He said the following:

Genesis 2:17
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.

We all know how this story pans out: Adam and Eve ate from the tree. And where are they now? Dead.

Man was made from the dust of the ground - we were brought from the depths of the earth to be created in the image of God. Not one of us has done anything to deserve our own existence, let alone an existence that expresses the image of Almighty God! In light of that fact, what right do we have to disobey the command of God? ABSOLUTELY NONE. God gave Adam and Eve a simple commandment, and they disobeyed. It was an act of pride and defiance, to which they added deceit by lying to God about what they had done. This is often called the story of Original Sin - the first time in the history of man that human beings disobeyed God.

Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden as a lesson to us: sin cuts you off from God and ultimately brings death. Whatever relationship you have with God becomes irrelevant when you sin because you are choosing to separate yourself from God. That's why human beings die, even to this day: because God has ordained that death is the punishment for sin. God has given us a choice to make about how we will live our lives:

Deuteronomy 30:15-19
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you... But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away... you shall surely perish... I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Unfortunately, we have ALL chosen death by sinning in our lives. God, in His great mercy, sent His son to die in our place - not so that we can sin without repercussions, but so that we can live a Godly life:

Romans 6:3-4
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Accepting the sacrifice of Christ is not enough. You must also allow your old, sinful ways to die and, thereby, walk in newness of life. You can't escape the death that results from sin. Therefore, you have two options: either choose to live a sinful life and die for it OR put yourself to death so that you can live like Christ lived.

Over the next few posts, I'm going to go more in depth on what sin is, how to repent, what baptism represents, and what all of this has to do with Passover.