Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Redemption

This is what I have been thinking about today; therefore, I have written it down.
God created the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. All human beings are created in the image of God; therefore, all human beings are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Sin can be described in many ways, but it is essentially falling short of our created purpose.
The penalty for sin is death, which occurs in three phases: 1) Spiritual death: When our first parents Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God expelled them from the garden, away from His presence; therefore, all of their children are born spiritually dead. For this reason Jesus said, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 2) Physical death: On the day that Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, God told them that life would now be difficult and at the end of their days their bodies would return to the dirt of the earth from which they were made, then God placed to Cherubim at the entrance of the garden and a flaming sword to keep them away from the tree of life. For this reason, all have difficulties, and all physically die. 3) Eternal death: Not only Adam and Eve, but all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; therefore, all deserve to be abandoned in hell. 
There are two things that you need to know about the nature of God: 1) He is a righteous judge; therefore, He must punish the guilty. 2) He is a compassionate and gracious Father; therefore, He forgives sin. How can God, therefore, be just and justify anyone? 
The answer is through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a merciful atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith. God became a human being in the person of a Son, Jesus Christ, and died in our place for our sins, and He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day. Jesus death and resurrection accomplished two things: 1) It demonstrated the righteousness of God, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 2) It demonstrated the power of God over sin and death for those who put their faith in Jesus.