Man attributes all of life’s ills and woes to an endless list of rationale: bad environment, lack of education, lack of things – usually on the grounds that man was deprived of something. The Bible totally refutes that theory from page one. Man was actually set into an absolute paradise, endowed with every attribute and blessing that he could ever hope for. In fact, man was created saved, created in the image of God, crowned with glory and honor and given dominion over everything.

Adam actually chose to be unsaved, (as it were) he chose death over life! Thus, it is through “one man” that the curse of sin and death came, and that curse would ever descend upon his offspring. Maybe that does not seem fair. Perhaps had we been in Adam’s place, we would have stood the test? Actually, mankind has had a choice ever since. Man can still choose eternal life and still has the prospects of returning to the paradise.

God made a provision for every generation to be redeemed. From the time of Adam and Eve, there were prescribed sacrifices and rituals given whereby sins could be atoned for. Although there was no power in those sacrifices to take away sin, they were acceptable to God for that present time. The only way a man could approach to God was through a sacrifice. The animal was taking the place of the offender. The blood was shed, the appeasement was accepted, and man could be forgiven. However, the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were only a figure of the “Once for all Sacrifice” that was to come.

John 3:16 states,“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.” In Scripture, Christ is called “The Second Adam.” The first Adam was of this earth and because of him we all must die. However, through the Second Adam who came from heaven we all can live!

• 1 Corinthians 15:47, “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
• Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..”
• Romans 5:19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Salvation is not complicated. Our first father sinned, bringing judgment upon the whole human race. Our Father in Heaven sends his Son, (The Lord Jesus Christ) who also becomes a man by being born through a woman. (God cannot die, therefore he had to become a man so that He could die.) The whole purpose of this God/man coming was to die, to become the sacrifice, to become the once for all appeasement on the cross. “…that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life! We are justified through Him alone!

1. By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous (Rom. 5:19).
2. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever… (Heb. 10:12).
3. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified (Heb. 10:14).
4. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). (He rose from the dead and ever lives to intercede for us!)
5. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Let us again consider what we have said; All men are doomed because of what one man did. Yet, man can be restored because of what another man did, the Man Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ was not just an ordinary man. He was the Co-Creator of the universe, The Son of God. To reject this offering is to choose eternal death.

The Bible speaks of two births and two deaths: A physical birth takes place when we are born into this life. A spiritual birth takes place when faith enters our heart to believe on Jesus the Son of God. [See John 3:5-6.] A physical death takes place when this body that we dwell in dies. However, there is going to be a resurrection of both the believer and the non-believer. For all of those who have not experienced the second birth, there shall be a second death where the immortal body is sentenced to hell forever! [See Rev. 21:8.]

God so loved the world that He gave His Son… O, hear His voice today! If you have never received His gracious gift of pardon and forgiveness, do it now! Receive Jesus into your heart; receive the words of His book into your heart. Let Him set a new course for your life. Salvation is just the beginning of a new journey.

Prayer: My dear Father in Heaven, I believe your word, I see my need as a lost sinner, and I want to receive your gracious provision of salvation found through the cross of Christ. I pray now for Your faith to enter my heart that I might know that I am your child, and that you have forgiven my sins. I also pray that Your Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, might enter my heart, and enable me to follow in the steps of my Lord, according to Thy Word. Amen!