“In the day you eat from it, you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17). Adam ate from the forbidden fruit and he died that day! God always keeps His promises. Adam’s once perfect fellowship with his Creator was broken by his sin. He died a spiritual death and became alienated from God. Adam also acquired a sin nature the moment he disobeyed God. God made Adam the representative for all humanity. When Adam sinned, all people sinned. It’s as if we were in the garden eating the forbidden fruit; that’s how God looks at people. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All are guilty of breaking God’s law and all have acquired sin natures like Adam’s. Adam needed a way to be reconciled to God. God provided a way for Adam to be forgiven when He sacrificed an innocent animal and covered Adam and Eve’s nakedness. That sacrifice was a picture of what God would do for sinners through His Son so they could be forgiven of their sins and reconciled to God.
All people start life spiritually dead and alienated from God with no ability to love God or keep His commandments (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 8:7). Sinners are proud, selfish, easily offended, idolators, blasphemers, haters of those we don’t like, bitter, judgmental, unforgiving, and slaves to sin (Titus 3:3). The result of our sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). God designed a plan to rescue helpless sinners from death. He sent His only begotten Son into the world to be that sacrifice for us that would remove our sins and reconcile us to God. The Son of God was incarnated and lived a sinless life and then died in our place as our Substitute. As Jesus was hanging on the old rugged cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” (John 19:30). That meant that Jesus had paid our sin debt in full and made salvation possible for all who believe. Reconciliation and forgiveness were accomplished by Jesus’ sinless life and substitutionary death.
Whoever believes in Jesus for salvation receives the gift of eternal life. Born again believers are delivered from the penalty and the power of sin and are enabled to love God and fellow human beings. When God saves a sinner, He places a new nature in him (2 Peter 1:4) that desires to please God and become more like Jesus. Believers have the capacity to forgive others who offend them and even to love their enemies. Jesus loved us when we were His enemies and He forgave us all our sins (Romans 5:10). Are you like Jesus? Are you able to love and forgive those who speak or act against you? The Bible tells us to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32). Nobody could ever sin against us more than we sinned against God. He forgave us all our sins. We must be able to forgive others as Christ forgave us if we are truly His.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dennis
