ALL HAVE SINNED?
Does it sound fair to say that, 'all have sinned?' When Adam first sinned in the Garden of Eden, was all mankind alive now, with him when he committed his sin? Or many Billions of others who have ever lived since Adam sinned? Obviously they were not were they? So, why can it be said that All have sinned, when obviously they have not all sinned, as Adam did.
12 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned "{Romans 5:12 NIV}—
23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." {Romans 6:23 NIV}
23 "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." {Romans 3:23 NLT}
So, from all of this we see, that we're all sinners! All of us fall short of God's standards. All of us must pay the wages of sin, because, death comes to all men. Why does it say, 'death came to all men because all sinned?' When you think about it, that really doesn't sound very fair does it? Why, though, is that the case? What explains it, so we will not feel as though we are being dealt with unfairly, or unjustly, by our Creator?
Let's assume for a moment that Adam had never sinned! What would have been Mankinds condition, as we exist on this earth now, today?
Now, obviously Adam passed on to all of us, through his disobedient actions, the legacy of sin, with it's subsecquent result of death. What, though, would he have passed on, had he of never sinned?
Had that sin in the Garden never have taken place, Adam and his Wife Eve, would still be alive right here on this earth today as two young healthy vibrant individuals, over 6 thousand years later; and rather than all of we dying, because of inherited sin, we all would be righteous, and sinless, with the opportunity to live forever before us, as they would also have had. Sadly that's not the case, is it? Adam never passed on to us Life, but rather, sin and death; but it could have gone the other way, could it not? We, like them, could have had, right at this very moment in time, Jehovah's Blessing upon us, as the pair had it in the beggining. {Genesis 1:28} What would conditions be like now, was that to be a reality? Our earth by now, would be a beautiful paradise - like park, filled with happiness and joy, rather than what we have, of misery, mourning pain, death and deseases of such a variety it is tiring to number them all. Not too mention, very depressing.
As miserable as all that is to contemplate, we must keep in mind, what Jehovah's purpose for the pair in that Garden was; and that purpose has not changed; this earth will one day be, just as Jehovah desired it to be in the Garden of Eden. A beautiful Pardise, with righteous sinless human-beings living on it forever. {Psalm 37:29}
In the meantime we must tolerate, the effects of Adams sin on all of us. What we inherit from his disobedience to Jehovah. Paul will explain how it effected him, but in actuality, how it effects all of us:
15 "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22
For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members."{Romans 7:15-23 NIV}
Paul here expressed a truth as noted by the writer of Ecclesiastes in these following words:
20 "Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins." {Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT}
It is as the Bible says: "ALL HAVE SINNED and fall short of the glory of God." No one exempt from the law of sin and death!
Remember the Christ had to die to take away the sin of the World, so it's all inclusive! All should feel the way Paul did, as he expresses himself in the following:
24 "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."{Romans 7:24,25 NLT}
Are not we all? "ALL have Sinned!"
As unhappy as all this may sound, read Genesis 1:28 and carefully consider the words of Jehovah through his Prophet Isaiah! To follow:
10 "As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."{Isaiah 55:10,11 NIV}
7"The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;
They break forth into shouts of joy." Isaiah 14:7 NASB}
Jehovah's purposes was slowed down some-what, but he will accomplish and achieve what he desires, as he has told you all so, here! As it says: the whole earth will be quiet and restful, and filled with joy! It cannot fail to occur, just as Jehovah has purposed! Do not doubt that for one moment! It will all come true, just as he has told you, it would!
45 "Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true." {Joshua 21:45 NLT}
56 "Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant!" {1 Kings 8:56 DT}
Good enough for me! How about you? Wannabe