Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.”
"But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:12-21
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
When you look at the salvation story, it is really centered on two men.
Ironically, the first of these two was indeed the first man ever, a man named Adam. He was created perfect by God and given domain over a perfectly created world. He was even given a companion, a woman named Eve, because God didn’t wish for Adam to be alone. These first two people in the world would be the progenitors of all mankind. We all trace our roots back to them.
Yes, all was perfect as long as the first couple remained obedient to the God who made them and everything else they got to enjoy in the Eden’s Garden. They had only given one commandment to follow:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 1:15-17
Everything else was allowable except eating from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. It seemed easy enough, right?
But when left to their own devices, Adam and Eve failed miserably and altered the course of mankind forever. Instead of honoring God’s demand, they allowed their own desires to dictate their behavior.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened. Genesis 3:1-7
Just like that, God’s perfect couple gave birth, not to the first children of the world, but rather to sin. Adam had been given the initial warning from God as to what he couldn’t do and he ultimately became the one primarily responsible, even though all parties, Adam and Eve and the serpent, were held accountable by God for what happened. We know this through the words of Paul in today’s passage from the fifth chapter of Romans:
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.” Vv. 12-14
The light of God’s perfect act of creation was quickly shrouded by a shadow of darkness as iniquity entered in through one man, the first man Adam, and destined all mankind to death because all people were sinners.
Thankfully, God didn’t wish for this narrative to continue and so He sent a second man, Jesus, as a reconciling, saving gift to all mankind. We go back to the words of Paul:
“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Vv. 15-21
Unlike the first sinful man, Adam, Jesus was perfectly sinless. God’s gift was far and away different from the trespass. They had nothing in common.
God’s grace, justification, and the blessing of eternal life came to every person who would believe in Jesus as Savior just as surely as condemnation, death, and everlasting damnation would come to anyone who rejected God’s Son, those under the influence of the sin initiated by Adam.
One man, Adam, destined people for hell.
The other man, Jesus, destined His followers for heaven.
The salvation tale is definitely one of two men.
Which one have you chosen to associate with?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment