Thurs.'s Devo - Victory in Death

Read Romans 6: 17-23
Verse 19 causes me to ponder. Our flesh has this disease called sin because we have used it for that purpose. Sin leads to bigger sin. Proverbs says that "Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." (Pro. 27:20) So if sin leads you down the path to destruction, then righteous living will lead you down the path to holiness. It is not our own efforts that make us righteous, but our abiding in the vine that make us righteous. You act like those you hang out with. If you hang out with God you start looking like him and thinking like him. Verse 22 says that if you are free from sin and a servant to God then what you produce will be pure which will end in everlasting life. If the wages of sin is death and the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, then why do we have to die?
Death is mentioned 342 times in the Bible. It talks about the gates of death, the shadow of death, waves of death, snares of death, the firstborn of death, the sleep of death, and the second death. Death is a real entity in Revelation that rides on a pale horse. Hell is right behind him.
Enoch was translated so that he would not see death. (Heb. 11:5) Melchisedec was saved from death (Heb. 5:7) Elijah left earth in a firey chariot. (2 Ki. 2:11)
So why do we have to die? The answer is found in Heb. 2. Verse 8 says that he put all things under the feet of Jesus but right now we don't see everything put under his feet. (Vs 9) But we see Jesus who was brought low so that he would suffer death for us all. Death is our door into everlasting life just as it was for Jesus. We will never experience the second death that the unbelieving will suffer. 1 Co. 15:26 says that the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. Death will be swallowed up in victory so we will be able to say, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"