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 it’s still there. Adam’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 Adam’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, “By 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.” Wasn’t the devil’s work supposed to be defeated? Wasn’t the penalty to be paid by the Seed of the woman? Is this punishment? God promised Adam that the devil’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 Christ’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, “in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.” 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: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

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.

Alternative imposition of ashes