The Human Condition & God's Love
(VERY IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ, THEN PROCEED)
We are all born with a sinful nature because we are descendants of Adam (the first man), who took God's freedom for granted and disobeyed Him (and you and I do too, because we have this nature in us). God gave Adam (and gives us) the freedom to do whatever he wanted, because God is not a dictator!
God is Love (1 John 4:8). And if God forced Adam (and us) to do what is right, then what has he created? -- A robot. Can you love a robot? Can a robot love you? No. So, you see, the fact that God allows us to choose to do things that go against everything that he is, is a testament to the INCREDIBLE love that he has for us!
BUT, my friend, God is not ONLY love. God is everything that is good. And these are not only attributes, they are who he is! Being JUST (Psalm 7:11) is one of the good things that he is as well and that is VERY important to understand. I love my children, but as a good father, there must be consequences when my children disobey me! If I just "let it slide" then I don't truly love them as I should because they are going to grow up disobedient and rebellious, which is going to result in them getting into trouble and leading a life doing things that are wrong because they were raised with no accountability.
When the child of a good, loving parent is caught breaking a rule, that child is punished. It's only after that punishment has taken place that we are able to reconcile with our child, because the punishment has been paid and the child has now been forgiven (as long as they regret it).
Our penalty for not obeying God's perfect law is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23). And not only physical death, but also spiritual death (separation from God from day one). The spiritual death that we inherited can be seen in Genesis 3:8 when the fellowship between God and man had been broken ... they were spiritually dead, and we are too because we also sin against God due to the nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve.
We are in debt to God because we sin against him. We are criminals to God, just as someone who breaks the law is a criminal in the justice system. If we desire to ever "get right" with God, then our sin debt MUST be paid!
But there is one problem. We aren't capable of completing the death sentence that we have been given, because death is eternal. Just as a murderer who takes a life when he is 20 years old is still a murderer when he is 90 years old, we are sinners and criminals to God after our very first sin. Even if we could stop sinning right now and never commit another sin in our lives, we would STILL be sinners and criminals to God!
Our ONLY hope is that someone else will serve this sentence for us. But there's a problem with that as well. Every one of Adam's descendants inherit that sin nature. That means that if someone is going to serve the sentence for us, that person cannot be a descendant of Adam. There must be another Adam, who's Father is God Himself and who is not a criminal to God... who God is "well pleased" with. ONLY someone who is no less than perfect could stand in our place and pay our sin debt. Anything less would not fulfill that sin debt because anything less would deserve the same.
But again, we have a problem. There is not, nor ever has there been, a created being that has lived without sin. In order for our sin debt to be paid, GOD HIMSELF would have to come to earth, in human form, and pay it for us because God himself is the only one without sin.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, came to earth and took our sin upon himself and was (Isaiah 53:7) "oppressed, and he was afflicted ... brought as a lamb to the slaughter" and (Isaiah 53:5) "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:11) "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."
When the Lord Jesus Christ (the "last Adam"), died on that cross, the sins of his descendants, were washed away by his blood and his descendants were reconciled to God... no longer criminals, but holy and righteous and perfect in every way because Jesus Christ is holy and righteous and perfect in every way! Just as we inherited a sinful nature from Adam, Christ's descendants inherit a holy, righteous, perfect nature.
To be a descendant of Jesus Christ, you MUST be born again. (John 3:3) "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And this is not an act that you can do yourself. It is not something I can do for you. It is not something a church can do for you. It is something that ONLY GOD can do for you. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Have you received this Gift of Eternal Life?
