DAY 5: 2 TIMOTHY 1:13-14
MAN AND SIN
Read Romans 3:9-20.
“We believe that the entire human race is separated from God by sin and that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead.”
The human race has been under the curse of sin since Adam’s first act of disobedience. Unlike some who see mankind as inherently good, the Bible teaches that under the curse of sin mankind is inherently (or should I say ‘inherit-ly’) bad. That is to say, he is born with the natural bent toward self-centeredness in opposition to God-centeredness. Sin broke the relationship between man and God back in Adam’s day, and that continues today in us, Adam’s offspring. No amount of apparent goodness on our part can repair that relationship. As a result, man dies both a physical death and a spiritual death that leads to eternal separation from God and a life that has been described by Jesus as a place of “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12). Paul describes us as “by nature objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) and our destinies as “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). In theological terms, mankind is totally depraved – unable to always do what is good and right.
The solution to this problem? Either destroy man or change man. God chose to change man. How? Through Jesus Christ. Because man was unable to change himself, God made the change for us by making us new people (new creations) through the death of Christ. Christ’s death paid the penalty for our sin, cleaning the slate for us once forever. We are changed people through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says this was a gift from God. Not earned. Not deserved. A gift.
How do we receive that gift? More on that tomorrow… For now, if you are a follower of Christ, God did an incredible thing for you. We were separated from God by sin. Jesus Christ removed the barrier of sin and enabled us to have a new relationship with God as new people. Today consider the size of that gift. There has never been nor will there ever be a gift of such height, depth, or breadth. God is deserving of all praise.
