Chapter 1
WHY DO WE NEED SALVATION?
This introductory chapter discusses the reason why the salvation of
the human race was necessary.
REBELLION IN HEAVEN
Satan is a created, highly intelligent and tremendously powerful, angelic being. At first he played a prominent role in God's kingdom. But then he determined to raise himself above the throne of God. Other angels joined him in his rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:13-15, Revelation 12:9).
Because of the evil they began and the devastation and ruin their actions continued to generate, God resolved to have a day of judgment. On that day He will put an end to all rebellion and sin. With this purpose in mind He has prepared a place for the confinement of every influence of evil. The Bible calls it hell.
There are now two opposing kingdoms in the heavenlies, God's Kingdom of Light and Satan's Kingdom of Darkness. And they are engaged in an unrelenting war. We're unaware of our own involvement in this conflict because it's in the spiritual realm (c/f Daniel 10:1-14). Nevertheless, there is a battle being waged for our souls, and the outcome will determine our individual eternal destinies. All who become part of God's Kingdom of Light will enjoy eternal life. But those in the Kingdom of Darkness will be separated from God, as well as from His influence, eternally. The Bible refers to this as "eternal destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
THE FALL OF MANKIND
Mankind was the pinnacle of God's creation, made in His own likeness. The first couple, Adam and Eve, talked with Him regularly, in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8). They had a carefree, idyllic existence. God gave them only one restriction; warning them not to partake of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, as this would result in their deaths.
But Satan is not only God's enemy. He is also the enemy of mankind. He is the epitome of evil and stands for everything that God is against. His aim was to bring about the downfall of God's whole magnificent world system. So the ruination of the human race was high on his agenda. Setting his evil plan into action, he enticed Eve to rebel against her Creator (Genesis 3). Firstly he put doubt into her mind about the seriousness of God's warning. Then he maligned God by implying that He didn't have their best interests at heart. He put the idea into Eve's head that God wanted to prevent them from partaking of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, simply because it would elevate them to the place where they would know everything, and become like Him. Lastly he wound up his web of temptation, deception and lies by insinuating that God had lied when He'd said that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit.
Eve fell into Satan's trap and disobeyed God's command. Then Adam joined her. But instead of feeling wise and godlike as Satan had promised they would, they felt guilty, ashamed and fearful. So they hid away from God. Not only had their disobedience and sin ruined the previously trusting relationship they'd enjoyed with God; it had also effectively created a barrier between them. Adam blamed Eve for his predicament (Genesis 3:12). But he was also at fault. He was Eve's husband, and it was his duty to protect and care for her. And he didn't do this. He had stood by whilst she'd sinned. And then had joined her in her rebellion against God. He'd failed in his God-given duty as her husband. So although she was indeed guilty and was punished by God, Adam was held as being primarily responsible, and the Bible refers to the fall as being due to Adam's sin.
Through the crafty use of enticement and subtle flattery, Satan had managed to bring Adam and Eve around to his way of thinking. He had convinced them that their desires and opinions were more important than God's were. This had started a chain reaction that was a recipe for disaster, heartache and misery. Their lives did an about turn from being God centred, which would have resulted in righteousness. Instead they became preoccupied in serving their own interests. Self will, self justification, pride and prejudice became the order of the day.
Through the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has succeeded in alienating the whole of mankind from the One who'd created us for fellowship with Himself. He's also alienated us from one other. We're a fallen race, living in a ruined world — so we exist on a much lower level than God had intended. Initially mankind had enjoyed physical and mental well-being: Love, peace, and togetherness with God and with each other, had been the norm. But the fall of the human race has, amongst other things, brought about distrust, enmity, suffering, fear, anguish, disease and death. And we're caught in a downward spiral that has to end in God's judgment.
Satan had won a resounding victory. His victims stepped out of God's Kingdom of Light and into his Kingdom of Darkness.
THE CURSE OF SIN
The Bible tells us that as a consequence of their deliberate and wilful disobedience, God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden with the sentence of death hanging over their heads. He also cursed the earth so that Adam would have to work long and hard to make a living. Eve was told that childbirth would be agonizing, and that although her desire would be to "rule the roost," she would be subservient to her husband. Satan was also cursed for the part that he had played in their downfall. (Genesis 3:14-19).
Spiritual separation from our Creator is the first stage of death. The very moment they had sinned they became spiritually separated from the One who is the source of all life. Their bodies immediately began the process of decay and it would only be a matter of time before it completed its task and physical death occurred. God had never intended that mankind should die, but because of sin, death has now become our enemy.
As described above, as surely as night follows day, spiritual death is followed by the next phase, which is physical death (Hebrews 9:27). Then the third and last phase is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God and His influence. This final death is the full penalty of sin (Revelation 20:13-15). That is why salvation from sin always includes the free gift of eternal life.
SIN SPELLED THE RUINATION OF MANKIND
Although Adam and Eve had originally been created in the image of a morally righteous God (Genesis 1:27), we note that after the fall their progeny were born in their own sinful likeness (Genesis 5:3). The effects of the fall were so invasive and deep-seated that they were passed on to their offspring.
The fall of Adam and Eve spelled the ruination of mankind.
THE EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
Sin's influence permeated the psyche of mankind like an invasive poison, affecting even our powers of reasoning. And there was no turning back. From that moment on, instead of seeing life through the purity, goodness and righteousness of God, we viewed everything through the grid of our fallen, corrupted 'selves.' Rather than being God-centred, we became self-centred, biased and prejudiced. This warped our judgment. The lines between right and wrong became blurred. Truth became relative. Our motives were no longer what we imagined them to be, as we had become adept at subconsciously protecting, justifying, promoting and worshipping our 'selves.'
The Bible tells us that even our very hearts deceive us:
God knows that fallen man is incapable of contributing anything at all towards his salvation. That's why compassion compelled Him to send the Lord Jesus Christ on a rescue mission, to pay the terrible price necessary for our redemption from sin.
GOD, MANKIND, SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
When we live the way God created us to live, we glorify Him. But when we miss that mark we dishonour Him. All unrighteousness, disobedience, transgressions of His law (and even not doing what we ought to do) is sin, because it opposes what God stands for. But sin goes even further than that. As the Lord Jesus explained, entertaining or harbouring bad attitudes, evil thoughts, or wrong ideas in our hearts is also sin because it affects and influences our judgment, motives, and actions:
WE HAVE A PROBLEM
God would never declare us unrighteous or sinful merely because our forebears, Adam and Eve, had sinned. The sad truth is that each and every one of us is personally guilty of sin.
WHY COULDN'T GOD JUST FORGIVE US?
Some of God's characteristics are holiness, power, righteousness, goodness, justice, mercy, love, omniscience and so on. But He is always all of these things, together, all of the time. In other words, He doesn't set aside one of His traits in order to be able to display another. So although He is compassionate and forgiving, He is also righteous and holy. Consequently, although it breaks His heart, His justice and righteousness compels Him to judge us. And on the other hand, His compassion compelled Him to pay the necessary cost for our redemption from sin, its shame and its condemnation, through Christ Jesus, provided we trust in Him for salvation.
GOD IS GOING TO JUDGE SIN
This article is merely background material. The following link will take you to the next chapter that explains what salvation is all about, and what it will cost us: Copyright 2009 by Yvonne Gibbs. All rights reserved.
REBELLION IN HEAVEN
Satan is a created, highly intelligent and tremendously powerful, angelic being. At first he played a prominent role in God's kingdom. But then he determined to raise himself above the throne of God. Other angels joined him in his rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:13-15, Revelation 12:9).
Because of the evil they began and the devastation and ruin their actions continued to generate, God resolved to have a day of judgment. On that day He will put an end to all rebellion and sin. With this purpose in mind He has prepared a place for the confinement of every influence of evil. The Bible calls it hell.
There are now two opposing kingdoms in the heavenlies, God's Kingdom of Light and Satan's Kingdom of Darkness. And they are engaged in an unrelenting war. We're unaware of our own involvement in this conflict because it's in the spiritual realm (c/f Daniel 10:1-14). Nevertheless, there is a battle being waged for our souls, and the outcome will determine our individual eternal destinies. All who become part of God's Kingdom of Light will enjoy eternal life. But those in the Kingdom of Darkness will be separated from God, as well as from His influence, eternally. The Bible refers to this as "eternal destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
THE FALL OF MANKIND
Mankind was the pinnacle of God's creation, made in His own likeness. The first couple, Adam and Eve, talked with Him regularly, in the cool of the evening (Genesis 3:8). They had a carefree, idyllic existence. God gave them only one restriction; warning them not to partake of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, as this would result in their deaths.
But Satan is not only God's enemy. He is also the enemy of mankind. He is the epitome of evil and stands for everything that God is against. His aim was to bring about the downfall of God's whole magnificent world system. So the ruination of the human race was high on his agenda. Setting his evil plan into action, he enticed Eve to rebel against her Creator (Genesis 3). Firstly he put doubt into her mind about the seriousness of God's warning. Then he maligned God by implying that He didn't have their best interests at heart. He put the idea into Eve's head that God wanted to prevent them from partaking of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, simply because it would elevate them to the place where they would know everything, and become like Him. Lastly he wound up his web of temptation, deception and lies by insinuating that God had lied when He'd said that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit.
Eve fell into Satan's trap and disobeyed God's command. Then Adam joined her. But instead of feeling wise and godlike as Satan had promised they would, they felt guilty, ashamed and fearful. So they hid away from God. Not only had their disobedience and sin ruined the previously trusting relationship they'd enjoyed with God; it had also effectively created a barrier between them. Adam blamed Eve for his predicament (Genesis 3:12). But he was also at fault. He was Eve's husband, and it was his duty to protect and care for her. And he didn't do this. He had stood by whilst she'd sinned. And then had joined her in her rebellion against God. He'd failed in his God-given duty as her husband. So although she was indeed guilty and was punished by God, Adam was held as being primarily responsible, and the Bible refers to the fall as being due to Adam's sin.
Through the crafty use of enticement and subtle flattery, Satan had managed to bring Adam and Eve around to his way of thinking. He had convinced them that their desires and opinions were more important than God's were. This had started a chain reaction that was a recipe for disaster, heartache and misery. Their lives did an about turn from being God centred, which would have resulted in righteousness. Instead they became preoccupied in serving their own interests. Self will, self justification, pride and prejudice became the order of the day.
Through the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has succeeded in alienating the whole of mankind from the One who'd created us for fellowship with Himself. He's also alienated us from one other. We're a fallen race, living in a ruined world — so we exist on a much lower level than God had intended. Initially mankind had enjoyed physical and mental well-being: Love, peace, and togetherness with God and with each other, had been the norm. But the fall of the human race has, amongst other things, brought about distrust, enmity, suffering, fear, anguish, disease and death. And we're caught in a downward spiral that has to end in God's judgment.
Satan had won a resounding victory. His victims stepped out of God's Kingdom of Light and into his Kingdom of Darkness.
THE CURSE OF SIN
The Bible tells us that as a consequence of their deliberate and wilful disobedience, God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden with the sentence of death hanging over their heads. He also cursed the earth so that Adam would have to work long and hard to make a living. Eve was told that childbirth would be agonizing, and that although her desire would be to "rule the roost," she would be subservient to her husband. Satan was also cursed for the part that he had played in their downfall. (Genesis 3:14-19).
Spiritual separation from our Creator is the first stage of death. The very moment they had sinned they became spiritually separated from the One who is the source of all life. Their bodies immediately began the process of decay and it would only be a matter of time before it completed its task and physical death occurred. God had never intended that mankind should die, but because of sin, death has now become our enemy.
As described above, as surely as night follows day, spiritual death is followed by the next phase, which is physical death (Hebrews 9:27). Then the third and last phase is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God and His influence. This final death is the full penalty of sin (Revelation 20:13-15). That is why salvation from sin always includes the free gift of eternal life.
SIN SPELLED THE RUINATION OF MANKIND
Although Adam and Eve had originally been created in the image of a morally righteous God (Genesis 1:27), we note that after the fall their progeny were born in their own sinful likeness (Genesis 5:3). The effects of the fall were so invasive and deep-seated that they were passed on to their offspring.
The fall of Adam and Eve spelled the ruination of mankind.
THE EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
Sin's influence permeated the psyche of mankind like an invasive poison, affecting even our powers of reasoning. And there was no turning back. From that moment on, instead of seeing life through the purity, goodness and righteousness of God, we viewed everything through the grid of our fallen, corrupted 'selves.' Rather than being God-centred, we became self-centred, biased and prejudiced. This warped our judgment. The lines between right and wrong became blurred. Truth became relative. Our motives were no longer what we imagined them to be, as we had become adept at subconsciously protecting, justifying, promoting and worshipping our 'selves.'
The Bible tells us that even our very hearts deceive us:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV)In biblical days leprosy was a fatal, wasting and infectious disease. Lepers were compelled to leave their families, friends and loved ones, and live in isolation. As they walked along the road they had to ring a bell and shout out "unclean, unclean," to warn others not to come near them. Sin is like the disease of leprosy in that it makes us unclean in God's sight; it is contagious, and it contaminates everyone who comes into contact with it.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6, KJV)Then too, the Bible likens sin to insanity, where fallen man relates to everything that goes on around him through the prejudiced grid of his "self," as though he was the centre of the universe. His "insane" attitude and actions cripple, blight and destroy his own life, as well as the lives of others.
..... the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live ..... (Ecclesiastes 9:3, KJV)As Pogo so aptly said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
God knows that fallen man is incapable of contributing anything at all towards his salvation. That's why compassion compelled Him to send the Lord Jesus Christ on a rescue mission, to pay the terrible price necessary for our redemption from sin.
GOD, MANKIND, SIN AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
When we live the way God created us to live, we glorify Him. But when we miss that mark we dishonour Him. All unrighteousness, disobedience, transgressions of His law (and even not doing what we ought to do) is sin, because it opposes what God stands for. But sin goes even further than that. As the Lord Jesus explained, entertaining or harbouring bad attitudes, evil thoughts, or wrong ideas in our hearts is also sin because it affects and influences our judgment, motives, and actions:
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:45, KJV)Sin amounts to much more than wrong thoughts or actions. It's a determination to please ourselves rather than to please God. It's a rebellion against Him, a rejection of His purposes for us, and a declaration of independence, where we put our "self" in that central place that rightly belongs to God alone.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man ... (Matthew 15:19-20, KJV)
"The sinfulness of sin lies in the fact that it is against God, even when the wrong we do is to others or ourselves [Gen 39:9; Ps 51:4]." (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright 1988.)J. Sidlow Baxter puts it this way:
"Sin is not just a breaking of His law, but a wounding of His heart."
WE HAVE A PROBLEM
God would never declare us unrighteous or sinful merely because our forebears, Adam and Eve, had sinned. The sad truth is that each and every one of us is personally guilty of sin.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23, KJV)Mankind is in a precarious position. We are a fallen race, lost in sin. No matter how hard we try, sooner or later we find ourselves sinning in thought, word and deed. And we don't have the power, of ourselves, to change the status quo.
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth [only] good, and sinneth not. (Ecclesiastes 7:20, KJV)
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him [God] a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:10, KJV)
WHY COULDN'T GOD JUST FORGIVE US?
Some of God's characteristics are holiness, power, righteousness, goodness, justice, mercy, love, omniscience and so on. But He is always all of these things, together, all of the time. In other words, He doesn't set aside one of His traits in order to be able to display another. So although He is compassionate and forgiving, He is also righteous and holy. Consequently, although it breaks His heart, His justice and righteousness compels Him to judge us. And on the other hand, His compassion compelled Him to pay the necessary cost for our redemption from sin, its shame and its condemnation, through Christ Jesus, provided we trust in Him for salvation.
GOD IS GOING TO JUDGE SIN
"It is inconceivable that the all-holy God should govern His universe with even the slightest moral laxity. If the principles of absolute righteousness were not strictly upheld, there could be no true heaven; the universe would become a moral chaos, if not an inferno. The very safety of the universe depends upon the inflexible righteousness of the divine administration. Sin, whether in Satan and his angel-confederates, or in the human race, is not only moral leprosy, it is ugly enmity against Him who is pure light and love." (Page 91, Awake My Heart, by J. Sidlow Baxter)Heaven is the place where God rules supreme; where there will be no more tears, sorrow, suffering or death. Our own common sense tells us that in order to keep it that way, every influence of sin, injustice or unrighteousness must be barred from heaven, eternally. So God has decreed a day of judgment, when sin will be condemned. And although hell was prepared for Satan and his demons, those of us who have elected not to take advantage of God's way of salvation from sin, its consequences and its power over us; will find ourselves barred from heaven and consigned to an eternity separated from God and His influence. The Bible calls this hell.
This article is merely background material. The following link will take you to the next chapter that explains what salvation is all about, and what it will cost us: Copyright 2009 by Yvonne Gibbs. All rights reserved.
