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NASB | Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, |
Subject: Can a toddler go to heaven? |
Bible Note: Dear Disciplerami, I think you would agree that Adam and Eve were created by God, not as flesh only, but as living spirits as well. As such, they had the liberty as well as the ability to choose between good and evil. They chose evil and brought upon themselves the curse which God had told them would be the result of disobeying His command, i.e. the death penalty. Not merely physical death but spiritual death as well. The first of Adam's offsping, that we hear about, were Cain and Abel. We are not told a great deal about them, but we do know that one pleased God and the other displeased Him. Now they both believed that God existed and knew that He requiered them to glorify Him through the means sacrificial worship. Evidently, God had commanded of them something that He had not orignally commanded their parents, and the essential ingredient in compyling with this new command was faith. Because The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God, we may safely conclude that Abel had faith but Cain did not. Why did the one have faith while the other did not? They were both born spiritually dead and therefore both must have sinned sometime or other in their lives. I believe Abel recieved something which Cain did not: A new heart. 1 Cor 4:7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? I cannot accept that the difference between the two men was "free will choice". The children of Adam were not born with the same blessing as Adam and Eve had recieved from God. Their parents had been created spiritual beings as well as natural beings. Cain and Abel were not. They were born bearing the curse imposed on them by their father's sin. For this reason Jesus told Nicodemus that "you must be born again". How else are we to understand Jesus as being the second Adam? Jesus suceeded in keeping God's command to perfection, not for His sake, but for the sake of those who place their faith in Him. He is our covenant head! We are "in Christ". Those who are not "in Christ" are under the penalty of their covenant head... Adam! Until you can show that spiritually dead creatures are capable (in and of themselves) of faith, I cannot accept that they are capable of any spiritual good. God Bless, John |