Thread:Superdadsuper/@comment-26998507-20150921001036/@comment-1777104-20150930035446

HailGodsOfWar wrote: But why does ANYBODY have to die? I wonder if you would accept the Word of God on this, but that is where I get my answers. From the second chapter of the Bible: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it. For on the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die (lit: dying you shall die.). [Gen. 2:17]

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their rebellion deserved swift and sure judgment. God showed mercy instead, postponing death for centuries. However, God killed animals to provide clothing for them, leading to a system of sacrifices first practiced by Abel. [Gen. 4:4]. After nearly everyone was killed in the flood (as a consequence of sin), sacrifices were offered to God in gratitude of the salvation the eight humans and  a multitude of animals in the ark. [Gen. 8:20-22]

God required a sacrifice when he made a covenant with Abraham, swearing that He himself would suffer the fate of the dead animals if the covenant was broken.[Gen. 15:13]  From the ram in the thicket until Jesus Christ, God had provided a substitute for guilty humans so they don't have to die.

However, as Paul writes: "The wages of sin is death." [Rom. 6:23]  And as the writer to the Hebrews penned: "It is appointed for man once to die, and after this, the judgment." [Heb. 9:27]

Justice requires death, but God is merciful. He takes upon himself the judgment that we deserve. That is grace.. and a love that goes beyond understanding.

Peace to you, through Jesus Christ the Savior,

SouthWriter, Administrator