The way of death
1.4 - Foundations of the Christian Faith
The “way of death” is a phrase pulled from Proverbs. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). In short, the way of death is a life without God’s love and Holy Spirit, a life controlled by things that cannot bring a person eternal joy, leading only to darkness, misery, and eternal condemnation. This echoes Paul’s comment that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). In the book of John, we read that “He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). As you can see, we were all walking in “the way of death” before we came to believe that Jesus is the Christ, sent to save the world from its sin.
Your assignment: Read the following scriptures to see what else God’s Word says about the way of death and why it should be avoided.
Genesis 2:16–17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Deuteronomy 28:15–19
15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. 17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. 18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
John 8:34
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Romans 1:24–25
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
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