The biggest killer known to man.

When asking what is the biggest killer of mankind, many people would likely take a guess at some form of disease or illness, natural disasters, abortions, or wars being responsible for the highest number of deaths. Many would expect the number one cause of death to be perhaps a type of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or something else such as malaria, maybe even some form of plague. Unfortunately there’s a very long list for the cause of so many lives to end. Death is a constant upward rising body count during each hour of every day.

Everything except the biggest killer is shown on the diagram above; there is no mention of sin.

There are groups such as the World Health Organisation showing ‘official’ figures relating to the main causes of death, with various studies into how to treat (and maybe cure) some diseases, yet not once will you find the actual real reason for why we die; even if we avoid some of the causes on their list of potential killers. The reason we are not lasting, on average, beyond our late 70’s and 80’s, is due to something many don’t consider, let alone believe. There is a hard fact the Bible can help us understand regarding the cause of death, even for physically healthy people. This mass killer has been around for thousands of years, cutting short the lives of countless people. It strikes everyone, irrespective of skin colour, status, or gender; and nobody can escape the problem. The main issue is that we are all imperfect, and these imperfections infect every single person born into our fallen world, leading us to the number one killer. For every single person alive today, there is no bigger enemy, it’s a guaranteed life-ending sickness and is 100% unavoidable; no other threat compares to this deadly inevitability.

Time moves fast, and we don’t last forever in our current state. We age and grow old in a short time (when we compare it to everlasting life).

So what is the number one killer of mankind?

The number one killer is sin, no other killer comes even close by comparison. It originates with our first human parents, Adam and Eve, and came from the time while in Eden they both lost their gift of eternal life by choosing to ignore a specific command God gave to them: Genesis 2:17 But you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die. Both Adam and Eve were deceived by Satan and their error has since caused every person to inherit their sin. With this sin comes death, a guaranteed end for everyone: Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

God gave Adam and Eve everything, there was no need to desire anything else, yet both sinned when tempted by Satan.

Before sin existed we were supposed to live forever (See the article on this website: The Bible and scientists confirm we should live forever…), but sin changed all of that. It seems we are fighting a hopeless battle when considering there has been no escape from death, it’s a depressing thought. So, does any one of us have the remotest chance of finding a cure for sin? Sadly we do not have the power to cure this deadly disease. But there is someone who can. Thankfully we find some positive bible scriptures that say we can have a hope for everlasting life: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible says that death is the final enemy, but it will later on be destroyed: 1st Corinthians 15:26  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

When God delivers His Kingdom the time limits on our lives will be gone, we’ll never die.

The good news about death later on being completely removed from us, once God has established His Kingdom and resurrected all those who have died, gives us a hope that no human can provide. God can do anything, except lie, so we can always fully trust in His promises: Titus 1:2 This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. And: Hebrews 12:18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. This is good news for those who decide to change their life and follow God and His son Jesus Christ, repenting of former sinful ways and making sure to keep away from anything that God sees as willful sinning. We are all born sinful and God knows this. He wants us to side with him and His Son Jesus Christ, and avoid temptations from Satan. Although it can be easy to fall into a regular pattern of sinful behavior, this willful sinning against God can be prevented: James 4:7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. With daily Bible study, and applying the principles found in scripture, we can change for the better and perhaps earn everlasting life.

Even a few chapters each day will help us build a relationship with God and His Son, no other book has such power and the ability to change people for the better.

Our time on earth is very short, especially when you compare the time it would take to travel to even the nearest galaxy (Andromeda) at a distance of 2.537 million light years from earth. If we lived for 2.537 millions years and traveled at the speed of light we’d only just reach Andromeda. Consider our life span averaging 70 to 80 years, or somewhere in between. That puts into perspective just how little time we have on earth. God tells us our life is short in many scriptures, here is an example: Psalm 103: 15-16 As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. A poet named Linda Ellis wrote about the dash you see on a headstone over a grave. The dash sits between the date of birth, and date of death. When you consider the time between these two numbers, it’s very sobering to realise just how much our time matters, and to not waste it on the temporary pleasures that Satan promotes as more important than serving the true God who can give you life lasting forever. The title of the poem Linda Ellis wrote is called The Dash, and I recommend you read it when you find a spare couple of minutes.

The Andromeda Galaxy, a journey time from earth of 2.537 million years if traveling at the speed of light. At some point in the future God promises us to live well beyond this amount of time, even forever.

It’s a good thing we have a God that cares for us all, and is willing to do whatever he can to reach out and offer help to save our souls. We have been given an amazing opportunity to change course if we are willfully sinful. To help us with this change of course, God has given us all the greatest gift ever; He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. To someone who doesn’t fully understand this scripture and the reasoning behind the ransom sacrifice, think about the following scenario: A person commits an offence by not paying a large amount of overdue parking fines. The driver is ordered to appear in court, and when there is about to be charged and demanded to pay the outstanding debts with additional court fees and interest. During the trial someone comes into the court room and offers to pay all the fines; a total stranger who really owes the guilty person nothing. The judge allows the fines to be paid, and clears the guilty one of the debt so they can walk free. You’d expect the person to thank the stranger for his random act of kindness, and return to him his request of in future not avoid paying fines. This is a very basic example of a person doing something good for a stranger, and God sacrificing Jesus for sinful human life is nowhere near as insignificant as the fines in the court example, but the principle is similar. God gave us our way out of trouble by offering to pay our fines, our sins being cleared, by sacrificing His Son and in return asking us if we will put faith in His Son and repent of our sins. This amazing gift doesn’t automatically give us carte blanche to continue sinning, we still have to continually repent from our wrongdoings. The same would be the attitude adopted by the judge if the same person kept on returning to court with unpaid fines; they’d soon be given some form of punishment if continuing to disobey the law.

A judge will not tolerate a person committing crimes over and over, God is the same. He paid for our debts with the ransom sacrifice of His Son; this is His greatest gift.

Knowing what God has done for us, we have to ask ourselves: would any of us sacrifice an only child for complete strangers, knowing that many would be so ungrateful and not offer their thanks for such a massive gift? I know I wouldn’t sacrifice a child for people I know, let alone complete strangers, especially knowing that most of them wouldn’t be grateful for such a huge loss. But God is not like us, He is perfect and He knew that by sending His only begotten Son into our world it would create an opportunity for everyone to repent of their sins and put faith into Jesus Christ.

Death is such a strange concept, the end of a life. It was never meant to be an experience for anyone until Adam and Eve sinned in Eden. God never designed and created with the intention for any of us to die, we find it alien and extremely difficult to deal with the loss of a loved one, pets too cause much grief for us when they die. Life was meant to last forever, and if most people were asked to be honest, they would never want to get old and die: Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

God created animals that we can share our lives with. When we lose them it is very upsetting; we simply were not created with the concept of death until sin introduced it into our fallen world.

The upsetting experience of losing a loved one, knowing that we too don’t live forever in a sinful state is, thankfully, a temporary condition. God has promised us that He will soon destroy death, our final enemy, and give us everlasting life. If not for this promise, the article you’re reading would make the future look depressing and without hope. If we study the word of God each day, we build our relationship with Him and His Son. God tells us to do this: Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Doing our best to please God and His Son only benefits us, while making our chances of everlasting life more likely. Instead of following this world and its temporary pleasures we need to focus on what God can provide. Satan has fooled many into believing short-term enjoyment matters more than serving God; never fall for that lie. Sin is the deadliest threat ever known to man, it hangs over us all right now, but soon it will be done away with, forever.

Feel welcome to get in touch if you would like to know more about the bible.

mark@truthministry.co.uk