C.J. Mahaney, in his sermon "Death Swallowed Up in Victory," quotes D. A. Carson on the nature of death. Carson notes, "death is God's limit on creatures who want to be God...Death is God's determination to limit our arrogance." For the natural man, death is the cessation of life--and consequently the cessation of the enjoyment of God's goodness unto all eternity. Death is God's just response to our sin and rebellion in Adam. Adam acted in pride. God acted in ustice. But as a practical point, "death is God's determination to limit our arrogance."