Genesis 2:7 and 3:19, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul... In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
I oftentimes visualize people for what we really are, that is, flesh covered
skeletons with a spirit dwelling inside. Genesis 2:7 teaches that God
lovingly formed mankind from the dirt of the earth (i.e., from the
Periodic Table of Elements), and then breathed the breath of life into
that dirt, and man became a LIVING SOUL.
That is amazing, and not some laboratory feat that can be reproduced by even the greatest scientific minds in the world. Mankind cannot so much as produce the life of a small ant. Men are completely helpless and unable to produce even the smallest element of life. Men are only able to manipulate life in a laboratory, tampering with DNA; but they begin with life which God has created. In the horror movie, THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, Dr. Moreau didn't create life, he simply tampered with the DNA of humans and animals, attempting to eliminate bad gene pools and create the perfect human being that would never get sick, grow tired, or suffer.
Of course, in the movie things didn't go quite as planned and the hybrid chimeras (half human, half animal creatures) took on their own religion, moral conscience, and questions about whether they were truly human or animal. The immoral consequences eventually led to a chimera revolt, taste for human blood, and an all-out battle for survival.
The next time you see people walking down a busy street, dancing to the music, reporting the news (lying propaganda), having a political debate, or whatever; picture them as skeletons instead, merely covered with flesh and living on borrowed time before their body cannot no longer house the spirit which will eventually return unto God Who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It's change your perspective on life. As the little boy says in the thriller movie, THE 6TH SENSE... “I see dead people.” We're all dead already, unless you've been born-again by the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; John 3:5; Ephesians 2:1; Romans 5:12). Only by faith in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God can anyone have new spiritual life (John 6:63; John 14:6; Romans 10:3-4). John 1:4, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
I realize that I am stating the obvious to say that we're all flesh covered skeletons; but I mean much more here. Most people place so much weight upon this temporal, earthly, shallow life; however, the true life that we posses is in the spirit, if we have so found Christ Jesus. Once the body wears old, suffers a tragic accident, or is rendered uninhabitable, we are in trouble!!! Where will the spirit go to live? Our spirit must go somewhere. Praise God, we have an answer in 2nd Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The Bible is assuring Christian believers that we have a place to live when this earthly tabernacle is no more. Amen and amen!
Jesus PROMISED in John 14:1-3 that He is going to PREPARE A PLACE for us, that where He is, there we may be also. Hallelujah, I can't wait!!! I want to be with Jesus forever and ever. Don't get attached to anything in this world my friend, because you're going to soon leave it all behind (1st Timothy 6:7). MSNBC.com this week featured the world's wealthiest women. Yet, they are poorer than poor without Christ. Their flesh covered skeletons can only enjoy this world's temporary wealth so far, and then death and the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
PLAYBOY founder and multi-millionaire Hugh Hefner can only fornicate with so many beautiful women, only enjoy so many delicious meals, only enjoy the best that this wicked world has to offer for so long; but then his body will rot in a grave and his soul will fall into God's hands... Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
I tell you my friend, you're living on borrowed time. You could be a quadriplegic by sundown. You could lose everything in a single breath. Proverb 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” If you would begin to view yourself as a spirit, and not this tabernacle of flesh and blood, then you would begin to walk in the spirit as you already live in the spirit if you've been truly born-again.
Galatians 5:25, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” This is PROOF that a person can be saved and still continue in sin, refusing to walk in the Spirit. That's not to say that it's ok nor permissible with God to continue in sin, God forbid (Romans 3:31). I've had people argue with me, claiming that a person cannot be saved unless they walk in the Spirit. They attempt to use the latter portion of Romans 8:1 to claim this, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” According to the proponents of the heresy of Lordship Salvation, a person cannot be saved unless he or she chooses to walk in the spirit (thus ceasing from committing deliberate sins). However, Galatians 5:25 plainly refutes this false teaching.
It is plain to see from Galatians 5:25 that a believer can LIVE IN THE SPIRIT (Romans 8:9) without actually WALKING IN THAT SELFSAME SPIRIT. Certainly God wants each of His children to WALK in the Spirit by which they have been saved, and those immature and backslidden believers who don't want give account at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:10-11); but they are saved nonetheless, even if they live in grotesque sin (1st Corinthians 5:1-5). Eternal life is a free gift, with no strings attached (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift merely intended to be received; not a reward that must be earned or merited in any way. Salvation is receiving, not giving.
This life is short. Each morning when your flesh covered skeleton arises to face a new day, think about the Lord Jesus Christ and what it is that He expects of you. Behind all of our fleshly bodies are spirits. We are living on a planet of spirits, either saved or unsaved. You either have the Spirit of God as your Father; or else you have the spirit of Satan as your father. This is why a Christian can walk into a place and immediately be under spiritual attack, because the battle we fight as believers is of a spiritual nature (Ephesians 6:12). Ultimately it is the Holy Spirit within us (1st John 4:4) verses the spirit of Satan that is in the world. The spirit of Satan is at work relentlessly in secular TV, Rock music, Harry Potter, Walt Disney, MTV, Hollywood, evolution, public schools, and other worldly influences to corrupt our youth.
I challenge you whoever you may be to count the cost of this life. Is it worth the cares, riches, and pleasures of this temporal life to forfeit all the eternal rewards and treasures that we ought to be laying up for Heaven (Matthew 6:20)? Please don't misunderstand me. Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 6:23), paid for by Jesus' precious literal blood sacrifice (1st Peter 1:18-19).
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe nothing. There's a popular hymn that says Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. No, that's not Biblical. Perhaps the writer of the song meant that he feels that he owes Christ everything; but technically, theologically, and truthfully, we don't owe anything to God for saving us because it is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). It is reasonable that one should want to please the Lord by obeying His Commandments, but neither I, nor you, nor anyone else owes anything to Christ for the gift of eternal life; otherwise it would be obligatory and no gift at all.
We must be very careful not to add any unnecessary requirements to simple faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. The Bible says that we are bought with a price (1st Corinthians 6:20); but that doesn't mandate good works as being essential for salvation as some heretics teach. God is simply saying that we ought to live for Him since He gave His Son to die for us. It is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1-2). However, if a person continues in sin and shirks off their Christian duty, they're still saved but won't have any rewards in Heaven and will face the terror of the Lord on Judgment Day (2nd Corinthians 5:10-11; Psalm 6:1; 1st Thessalonians 4:6; Romans 14:10-12, Romans 12:19).
