davidbowerkingwood

Our Universe is Totally Amazing!

Last time we considered how distinctly different the Bible is from conventional human wisdom and reason; it looks at life and living from a point of view that is virtually unrecognizable to human thought. We saw how God took steps to redeem his creation that included the establishment of a completely new human race unlike any that had existed before; a humanity that possessed a living spirit and was indwelt by God. God had truly begun his process of conforming his new creation to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ!

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

³⁰ Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8: 28-30

Now let us look at the situation we face as born-again Christians who must live out their mortal lives on a spiritual battlefield called Earth. While God is in the process of conforming us to the image of his Son, I think we’ll all agree we have a long way to go!

GOD KNOWS US BETTER THAN WE KNOW OURSELVES

As painfully aware of our failures as we might be, God knows our failures even better and in spite of all of them has sent His Son to die in our place and pay for all of our sins past, present and future.

In Romans 5:8 the apostle writes: “But God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” It is at this point that the confusion about sin begins in the minds of many.

When we think of being sinners our minds review the committed sins of which we have been guilty over the course of our lives. The knowledge of those sins can all too easily haunt us as our minds replay those events of rebellion and transgression against God.

Are our personal sins the sort of thing the Holy Spirit had in mind as He inspired Paul to write those words? I think not because a few verses later He led Paul to explain the primary reason Christ died on the cross.

THE FEDERAL HEADSHIP OF ADAM

Mankind truly has a big problem with sin, but it is not the sins of commission or omission which so quickly come to our minds; it is rather the sin of being a human being; it is the sin of being a descendent of Adam. I have written more on this in a two-part series which starts with “In Search of Truth Part 1, the Nature of Sin.”

In Romans 5:12 the apostle writes: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.” In the following verses Paul goes on to explain what is called the doctrine of the federal headship of Adam. Adam, as the first man had within him all who would be born subsequently into the human race. When Adam sinned against a direct command from God, he died spiritually and all who would be born of a human father died at the same time.

What this teaches is that both you and I and everyone who was to later be born died spiritually in Adam in the Garden of Eden! This is God’s primary charge against the human race and the main reason Christ died on the cross.

There is absolutely nothing you can do or undo that would change that one fact, you are a human descendant of Adam’s race and you spiritually died in Adam in the Garden.

TWO DISTINCT TYPES OF HUMANITY

As I mentioned last time, the earth today is inhabited by two distinct types of human beings; those who are spiritually alive and indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, and those who are spiritually dead. Spiritual life comes only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s Savior. In Ephesians 2:1 Paul writes: “And you hath he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins;” spiritual life came with salvation and only salvation and the second birth can provide spiritual life.

These then are the issues at play when one accepts the saving work of the Lord as their payment for sin. The Lord Jesus Christ as our kinsman redeemer has paid the price necessary for our redemption from Adam’s transgression. We have received the gift of spiritual life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, and eternally joined with God, the Holy Spirit in an unbreakable union for all of time and eternity!

Where then does personal sin enter the picture? With regard to the believer’s eternal place in God’s family it is irrelevant; with regard to the Spirit led life it is critical. In I John 1:8-10 John writes: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

The good news there is God hears us when we confess our sins to Him and is also faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Confession of our sins before God restores the power of God the Holy Spirit in our lives and permits us the privilege of enjoying the fruit of the spirit as described in Galatians 5:22f. Remember, the new birth and salvation are a matter of faith alone, not of works; forgiveness of personal sin is likewise a matter of faith alone, not of works!

The motivator for resisting sin should not be fear of losing our salvation which is impossible, but rather our devotion to and love for the Lord Jesus Christ and our sincere desire to please the one who died in our place!

With regard to our salvation there is nothing whatsoever that can separate us from the love of God; in Romans 8: 38-39 Paul writes: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

With this you, as a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, can know beyond any doubt that your place in God’s family is preserved eternally by the mighty power of God. Rejoice in your good fortune and give thanks to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christians have an obligation to the family to behave in a manner that brings honor to the family; as an eternal being, inseparably joined with God, the Holy Spirit, you have an obligation to live your life as a representative of the family with the honor and respect due to your heavenly Father!

Noblesse Oblige