#FROM DUST YOU CAME FREE#

More and more, I have a harder time looking death square in the face. Hundreds of faces вЂ¦ sorrowing loved ones вЂ¦ faithful parishioners now gone вЂ¦ sad and mourning families of suicide victims вЂ¦ vestments flapping in a frigid wind вЂ¦ unexpected deaths вЂ¦ deaths after long illness вЂ¦ many different cemeteries вЂ¦ loved ones gone.

We now commit the body of our brother/sister to the ground earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subdue all things to Himself. Jared Melius ( ) is pastor of Mount Zion Lutheran Church, Denver, Colo.How many times have I stood at an open grave and spoken these ancient words: > Did you know? Historically, palm fronds from Palm Sunday are burned and ground up to create the ashes used on ash wednesday.ДЄbout the author: Rev. You are dust, and to dust you shall return.

#FROM DUST YOU CAME FREE#

You will be free-free to be the person you were created to be and free of your temptations and regrets. The old Adam cannot survive it.Дoes the old Adam in you still want his way? Does he still com-plain and lust? Give God some time, and that old rattling nuisance will be put to death. The dust to which God will return our lowly bodies is something like a refinerвЂ™s fire. He makes a start at this by daily contrition and repentance, but the only way to be fully free of him is to kill him and bury him. The Bible calls the will characterized by original sin the вЂњold manвЂќ or the вЂњsinful nature.вЂќ When God gets His way, what happens to the old man in us? Read 1 Cor. Name some of the ways these two wills are described in Rom. But he also still loves and serves himself. He is not guilty, and yet, unlike before the Fall, Adam is now conflicted, torn between two different wills. His sin is not held against him, but itвЂ™s still there. AdamвЂ™s body will return to the dust, because even though Adam has the promise of the forgiveness of sins, he is still a sinner. The penalty for AdamвЂ™s sin is satisfied by the cross.

There is no punishment from God for Christians. Thus, the following verses, which apply to all Christians, apply also to Adam: Rom. Adam is a Christian he believes the promises of the Gospel (Gen. Then God says to Adam, вЂњBy the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return.вЂќ WasnвЂ™t the devilвЂ™s work supposed to be defeated? WasnвЂ™t the penalty to be paid by the Seed of the woman? Is this punishment? God promised Adam that the devilвЂ™s work will not stand, that his head will be crushed by the Seed of the woman. This is the content of the most important promise in the Old Testament (Gen. God forgave him for the sake of Jesus ChristвЂ™s death on the cross. He should have died the moment he forsook God. This should come as a surprise because every breath that Adam takes comes from God (Col. The day he ate it-that very moment-he died spiritually. The Bible says plainly, вЂњin the day you eat of it you shall surely die.вЂќ Adam ate the fruit. What are the consequences of eating from the tree? This might be considered a preaching of the Law, since death is a preaching of the Law. Every participant, pastor and children included, is marked with ashes and pronounced mortal. 3:19 are repeated: вЂњRemember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.вЂќ The sign of the cross is smeared upon the forehead while the words of Gen. A new practice in Lutheranism that has become popular quickly is the Service of the Imposition of Ashes conducted on Ash Wednesday.

From dust you came