The Soul that Sins

Q: The Bible confirms [in] Acts 2:34 that David did not go to heaven. According to John 3:13 it`s confirmed. Ecc 9:11 also confirms that, then where does the `soul` never dies theory emerge from? `The soul that sinneth shall die.`

A: Perhaps this theory that the soul never dies comes from confusing the soul with the spirit. The soul is the mind, emotions and will of every living creature. However, it is the spirit of man that separates mankind from other forms of life. When God created Adam He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (Genesis 2:7)." This life, Adam received, was the very life of God which made Adam a reflection of God and spiritually alive.. This is more popularly described as him being created in the image of God. However, God warned Adam that on the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). When Adam sinned, the life of God breathed into him at creation was removed and he died spiritually. Subsequently, all mankind is born in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God, in sin, without the life of God indwelling them.

During Peter’s sermon, in Acts 2, he is in the middle of preaching about the resurrection of Jesus Christ when he quotes David from Psalm 110:1. "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘ The LORD said to my Lord," Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool (Acts 2:34-35)." What Peter was alluding to is the fact that after Jesus died, and ascended to heaven, He sat down at the right hand of the Father which indicates His redemptive work was finished. Prior to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, Old Testament saints like David, could not enter heaven because the sins that separated them from God had not been taken away. Therefore, they resided in a place called paradise, or Abraham’s bosom, until Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world. I am sure you are familiar with what Jesus said to the thief on the cross. "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)." Jesus, upon His death, was able to enter paradise to gather all the saints, including David, and usher them into heaven upon His resurrection and ascension.

It is in Ezekiel where we read, "The soul who sins is the one who will die (Ezekiel 18:4)." The soul sins because the spirit of God was removed from mankind at the Fall. God, in His love, desired to restore His life, we lost in Adam, to mankind. But, before He could do that, He had to deal with the sin that caused that life to be removed in the first place. The penalty for sin is death and no man has a life worth giving that would have satisfied God. Therefore, God sent His Son to take the penalty for our sin. That is why we read that "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man (John 3:13)." Now, all who die in Christ go to immediately be with Him in heaven. Scripture says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). A believer can be present with the Lord when they die because God is now able to restore His life, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as a free gift to all who place faith in Him.

The theme in the early part of Ecclesiastes 9 is the common destiny of all mankind. "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten (Ecclesiastes 9:5)."Because of the Fall, all men and women will eventually die. This fact should serve as a reminder that if we die apart from faith in Christ, there are no second chances available. We never know when our time is up on this earth."The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all (Ecclesiastes 9:11)." The soul that sins will die, but because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sting of death will not be tasted by those in Christ. David didn’t go to heaven upon his death, but he rejoiced in the hope that a day would come when his Savior would clear the way for that to happen. Peter proclaimed the fact of that Day’s arrival to all within the sound of his voice. And all believers can now rest in the assurance that when we die we will be ushered into the presence of our Lord in heaven.