One of the most iconic and memorable TV commercials comes from Life Alert. It says, "Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!" Did you know that this is your condition before God?

How did we get here?

To understand what happened, we have to turn to the very beginning of the Bible. God is a perfect and good creator who made the entire universe, including mankind. As God placed the first man in the garden, he gave him rules so that he could flourish as God created him to live. We too should live by the ways that God created us to live, so that we can live the

good life and flourish. God told him, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:16–17). Shortly after, the story introduces a new character: a serpent, who is the devil and Satan (Rev 20:2).

He seeks to tempt and deceive the woman by getting her to doubt the words of God. He says to her, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen 31). The problem is that God did actually say. Yet, the serpent distorts the Word of God because he didn't say they couldn't eat from any tree but just the one. The serpent then tells her that she won't really die and that God is just holding her back from being like him. The serpent has the same tricks today. He continually wants us to believe that God is not trustworthy and that his ways are holding us back. Eve responds by looking at the tree and she sees that the fruit looks tasty. So, she eats and gives some to Adam, who also eats. In this moment, they fell. Their eyes were open to sin.

So, what?

At this point, you may be thinking, "So, what? They messed up. What does this have to do with me?" Paul reminds us that sin entered into the world through Adam and his actions (Rom 5:12a). Spiritual death ensued, just as God said it would (Rom 6:23a). And this death affects every human (Rom 5:12b). We know that all have sinned and that no one is righteous before God (Rom 3:23).

We often say things like "nobody's perfect." Yet this began with Adam: "as one trespass led to condemnation for all men" (Rom 5:18a). This original sin that Adam committed affects all of us today. That is what this has to do with you. When you look at the world around you, you can see that there is brokenness everywhere. All death, suffering, sickness, and evil are a result of the fall.

Where's the problem...wait, it's me?

We have to understand that we too are under this fall. We, too, are separated from our relationship with God because of Adam and because of our own sin. James teaches us, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" (Jas 2:10). So, besides the fact that you're dead in your sins because of Adam (which would be enough), you also fail to keep the law. Have you ever lied, taken the Lord's name in vain, or dishonored your father and mother? Have you ever murdered or committed adultery?

Jesus says that even if you desire it in your heart you're guilty of it. Have you ever stolen anything? If not, have you stolen in your heart by coveting and wanting something that you don't have? Even if it was only one sin at any point in your life, you would be separated from God and spiritually dead. Sinners will sin. That's who we are in Adam. We can't help it. This is our nature. We have a sin nature.

What Now?

By this point, anyone reading would feel guilty. We often try to avoid thinking about our sin because of the shame and guilt that it brings. However, you should wrestle with that guilt because that's what you're supposed to feel when your sin has been exposed. Your conscience is flashing warning signs: YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS BROKEN. Here's the problem with the fall: there is nothing we can do to fix it, because it's already broken and we're under the curse of Adam's sin. When you begin to grasp the gravity of your sin, you should be feeling hopeless and thinking, "What can I do? I'm in trouble." These are actually the right kinds of thoughts.

Here are the wrong kinds of thoughts that we often have in our sin: "I'm a pretty good person." "I've lived a good life that outweighs the bad." "I'm not perfect, but I'm not as bad as that person." "God will forgive me." "I will do x, y, z so that God will accept me." "If I do enough of these good things, I can earn my way." "No one can really know." "I'm hoping for the best." These are all the wrong things to think. Do you really feel comfortable guessing and hoping you're safe? The correct thoughts are "I'm a sinner who is guilty, and there's absolutely nothing I can do when I stand before a righteous and just God to make myself acceptable on my own."

How do we get up?

Here's the amazing and remarkable fact: God has offered a way to fix that relationship. Because you could never save yourself, he sent his Son, Jesus, to take the punishment of death on himself that you owed. He lived the perfect life and obeyed all the rules God laid out. This is why Jesus died on the cross: to reverse the fall for those who trust in his work. You don't have to work to be right with God because Jesus already did the only work that ever could.

What are you supposed to do about this good news? Turn from your old way of life and trust in what Jesus has done. This will give you new life today and you will begin to live as you were created. Will you respond to this right now? If so, your next step is to find a local church to be discipled and baptized. If you've already responded to this life-altering news, praise God and rejoice today that even though you had fallen and you couldn't get up, the Holy Spirit picked you up and gave you new life.