If Jesus took away all our sin on the cross, then why do saved women still go through birth pains? ~ Kenny W. Briscoe
On one hand, there is sin for which souls are guilty before God. Everyone has sinned (Romans 3:10, 23). Jesus Christ came into the world to take sin away or to save souls (John 3:16; 1 John 4:14). Though Jesus sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world, the benefit of that sacrifice, chiefly His blood (Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5), is applied through being baptized into the death of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21); preceding baptism, one believes that Jesus is the Son of God (John 8:24), repents of sins (Luke 13:3) and acknowledges publicly confidence that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10; Acts 8:37). This is how one takes care of the sin problem in the God-appointed way and becomes a Christian (and is added to the church by Christ Himself, Acts 2:47). When sin enters one’s life after becoming a Christian, repentance and prayer is God’s appointed way for those sins to be forgiven (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:9).
Secondly, there are consequences for sins. A person whose drunkenness may have resulted in the vehicular death of somebody can be forgiven of his sins, but forgiveness of sins does not erase the consequence of his sins. Although no one is guilty of the sins of Adam and Eve (Ezekiel 18:20), some of the consequences of their sins affect all of humanity throughout all ages, such as death (Hebrews 9:27) and pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16).
