August 30
And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
(Genesis 8:20-21) KJV
Noah’s flood pictures the cleansing that we receive symbolically in baptism. The Earth was baptized and regenerated. Harmful pollutants which had been accumulating since the fall of man were washed into the oceans.
We were caught off guard in a Twitter conversation some time ago when someone told us that God had removed the curse of original sin. It’s amazing how confused some people are. It’s probably not their fault though, Satan’s been hard at work making sure that everything that can be confused, is confused.
It caught us off guard because original sin isn’t a curse. Original sin can’t be removed, it happened and it’s going to stay happened.
If the Tweeter was referring to the punishment that resulted, meaning death, then that’s not a curse it’s a punishment. It can’t be removed either, it’s a necessary part of the plan of redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. If there was no punishment for sin then we wouldn’t need a savior. As we all know, we’re all sinners and we all need a savior.
Was a curse removed? And if so, when and where did it occur? We’re going to answer this question by bringing in the concepts of purification and cleansing, the ordinance of baptism and our regeneration.
Removing the Curse – Navigation
Section | Title | Scripture |
1 | Removing the Curse | Genesis 8:20-21 |
2 | The Original Sin | Romans 5:12 |
3 | Cursed Earth | Genesis 3:17-19 |
4 | Baptism, Cleansing and Regeneration | Genesis 8:21 |
Hydroxyl (OH) | Isaiah 1:16 | |
Nitre: בַּנֶּ֔תֶר – nether | Jeremiah 2:22 | |
Soap: וּכְבֹרִ֖ית – borith | Malachi 3:2 | |
Create, purge: בֹּרִית – barar | Ezekiel 20:38 | |
Why are the Oceans Salty? | Titus 3:5 | |
Salvation | Romans 10:9-10 |