Sin and death

When does the soul die? Whenever there is the domination of the lower order over the higher order, whenever there is the domination of the individual over the community, of flesh over the spirit, of time over eternity, of the body over the soul, then there is death and that death we call sin. That is why scripture equates death in the biological order and sin in the moral order: “The wages of sin is death.” If you buy an electric coffee pot, you will find instructions. The instructions may read, “Do not plug this coffee pot in when the pot is empty.” Well, suppose you say, “Why should anybody tell me what to do? He's violating my constitutional rights.”  When you say that, you forget that the manufacturer of that coffee pot gave you instructions in order that you might get perfect coffee out of it. Sin is a deliberate violation of the law of God. When God made us he gave us certain laws, not in order to destroy our freedom, but in order that we might perfect ourselves. When we violate those laws, we break a relationship, and we hurt ourselves. That is why in the parable of the prodigal son the father said of the prodigal, “He was dead. Now he is alive.”