By Alex Polyak
Many Christians believe that Genesis 3:19—in which God said to Adam: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”—refers to God cursing Adam with physical death. If Adam hadn’t eaten the forbidden fruit, he would have lived forever physically.
But is that really what God meant? I think that interpretation is reading far more into the passage than is warranted. All God meant is: “Since you (Adam) disobeyed me by eating the forbidden fruit, you will not get to live on spiritually after you die physically. By sinning, you lost your eternal (spiritual) life. All you get is your physical life. From the dust you are, and to the dust you will return. You get nothing more than your physical life.”
Jesus is the solution to this problem. Christians still die physically—obviously—but Christians get to live on spiritually after death. As Jesus said, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26).
What happens to those who reject God’s solution to sin? They eventually perish, both physically and spiritually. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23; see also Ezek. 18:20). This passage cannot possibly refer to physical death because everyone—even Christians—die physically.
Those who reject Christ eventually perish (John 3:16). Keep in mind, they will first have to pay for the sins they’ve committed during their lifetimes. “Will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Prov. 24:12; see also Heb. 9:27). And without Jesus, it’s “an eye for an eye”–style justice (Lev. 24:19–21)!