Prior to the fall of man, Adam and Eve enjoyed close communion with God. God walked on planet earth and communicated directly with man as friends would. Man was placed on an exalted position. Man's fall was a great fall from grace. A being that once enjoyed close relationship with God was driven out of the garden of Eden, driven from the presence of God and reduced to struggling with the earth to make ends meet. Not only that, while once originally intended to commune with God forever, now destined to die. What a great disgrace!
Ephesians 2:1-5 And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).
A life outside of Christ is a beggarly life. This world and all it has to offer to anyone, falls short of what God has for man. A life outside Christ is a life of sin and a life of sin is a life that always falls short. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23. Emphasis added).
At the fall of man, man came down from an exalted position to a life of servitude. We were now slaves to sin. It is not unsurprising that shortly after the fall, Cain murdered Abel. Sin didn’t waste time in going about its business. Man's struggle wasn’t just with the earth, man also constantly struggled with sin. And this is a struggle that sin constantly won hence the great flood in the time of Noah, hence the call of Abraham out of idol worship, hence the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, hence the need for the Law of Moses, hence the long history of punishment of the Israelites. Sin is a very strong taskmaster that man cannot defeat alone. Morality, vain principles and discipline, vain religion—none of these can overcome sin.
But because our God is a merciful and gracious God, He wasn’t finished with man. He refused to give up on us. Thus the coming of Jesus. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth John 1:14 KJV. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men...Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity... Titus 2:11 & 14a KJV.
With Christ, not only do we have a chance at overthrowing sin, our victory has already been guaranteed. The concluding part of John 16:33b KJV says “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” With Christ we are liberated from bondage, we are no longer slaves to sin. This is why Romans 6:14 KJV says “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
Not only are we liberated from sin, we are restored to the position which we lost at the garden of Eden. Galatians 4:7 KJV “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” Romans 8:17a “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
A life in Christ is a life that harbours grace. A life outside Christ is a life given to adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murder, drunkenness, revelling, and the likes of them (Galatians 5:19-21). And after wallowing in all these while on earth, the ultimate result will be eternal death. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a).
All the works of the flesh are shameful, dark acts which cannot stand before God. They all ensure that a person remains permanently enslaved, permanently displaced from God's original intendment and permanently disgraced.
The thing about sin is that it tends to give a false sense of comfort and security. This is because when a man is living a life of sin, the flesh is in charge and doesn’t have to war with light. Due to the absence of struggle, a person may be tempted to relax and just “enjoy” sin. Enjoy is obviously in quotation because we all know the end. For the sting of death is sudden and at that point it will be too late.
Grace is the key. For it is by the grace of God that we can live a pure and holy life. A life pleasing to God, a life that showcases His glory, a life of sonship. And the only way to tap into grace is by believing in and accepting Christ. For by grace are ye saved through faith... Ephesians 2:8a KJV. The presence of Grace doesn’t mean that you won’t feel like sinning ever again. We are in the world and definitely the world will want us to join it. But grace ensures that no matter the number of times sin tries to rear its ugly head, we can overcome it. It is only by grace that this is possible.
If you are yet to receive Grace, you can get it free of charge, without any cost because it was gifted to us. Ephesians 2:8b describes it as the gift of God. Why don’t you invite Christ into your life this moment? Invite Him and get ushered into a life of liberty and victory. Get lifted out of the Adamic pit and into a glorious life.
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