A recent titles What caught my attention was: “Is stem cell therapy going to replace medicine and reverse aging?” The column’s subtitle reads, “A clinical trial to reverse age-related vision conditions using stem cell treatment may finally deliver on what 20 years ago promised was a major discovery in aging and regeneration.” Will humanity finally discover how to live forever?
Of course, this study doesn’t claim to enable us to live forever – just to possibly reverse some of the effects of time. Yes, the world is obsessed with “antiaging” or reversing the effects of time and the curse on our bodies. It’s an $83 billion market – and that number is expected to grow to nearly $150 billion within a decade. Every new development makes headlines because people hope that maybe, just maybe, technology will evolve in our lifetime. And maybe it will.
Even if scientists could extend life span by a decade or two or more, they would not be able to save anyone from death.
Maybe someday they’ll figure out how to reverse our declining vision, smooth out wrinkles (without Botox!), or slow down our aging at the cellular level. But even if scientists could extend lifespan by a decade or two or more, they would not be able to save anyone from death. Everyone will die, and that’s just a fact (until Christ returns). How do I know that scientists will never be able to grant immortality or anything like that? Because God’s Word clearly says,
And just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
Death will come to us all because all have sinned. Our body does not ultimately deteriorate and die as we age. Yes, it may be natural mechanisms – along with disease, accidents and deliberate killing – but the ultimate cause is the same for all. The cause of death is ultimately the same: sin.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
You are a sinner and I am a sinner, because we are all descendants of Adam. And this is why our bodies will someday return to the dust from which we came (Genesis 3:19). The Apostle Paul describes our body as a tent in which our spirit/spirit resides.
For we know that if this earthly tent which is our house is destroyed, we will have from God an eternal house in heaven, not made with hands. (2 Corinthians 5:1 lsb)
The only way to escape death is through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross in our place, took the penalty of death for us, and then He rose from the grave. If we turn from our sins and trust in Him, we will be forgiven of our sins and given the gift of eternal life. Even though our bodies will die, our spirits will live forever – and someday, we will be given a new, glorious, resurrected body that will never grow old but will continue forever and ever.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
ken
This item was written with the assistance of AIG’s research team.
