them not to or they would die as a consequence.  Now that Adam and Eve became spiritually dead, all of their offspring are to be born with the same sinful nature, since they cannot pass on what they do not have – spiritual life.  The fact that we do not easily believe in the spiritual realm verifies our spiritual death.  We inherited it from Adam who represents the head of the human race,  “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12). There are also our own individual sins that we commit under the influence of this fallen condition. So we are all sinners in the eyes of God, even if you think you can say you never did anything bad. “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

The opposite of being a sinner would be to become sinless. But even if we desired to sin no more it would be impossible for us to become sinless according to God’s standards through our own efforts, just try it. He has given us His law to obey in order to get right with Him, yet we know from experience that it is impossible to keep them all. Even the slightest sin will keep us from entering the gates of heaven, leaving us condemned in our sinful condition.¹ So how do we get ourselves out of this dilemma? It’s like being lost in a riddle with no solution, leaving you frustrated and hopeless, wondering why God even bothered to create us if He knew we had the potential to do something that would cause us to die and be separated from Him for all eternity.  But God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that His law not only reveals His holy nature, it has another useful purpose.  It is His useful tool for us to see for ourselves that we are sinners who “miss the mark” of His standards. When we realize we can’t perfectly keep them, hopefully we will be convicted of having a sinful nature and seek God’s mercy to save us somehow from condemnation.

In the Old Testament He gave the Israelites His law and commandments to reveal His holy nature and the way of life that is required to receive His blessings.  Because our sinful, fallen nature is prone to sin, making us imperfect before God, and therefore, having the need for righteousness, He showed them how to receive atonement and forgiveness for their sins through the sacrificial system performed by the High Priests who served as their mediators for God.  That institution was meant to be temporary and to foreshadow the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would be the lamb of God who’s sacrificial life would display the righteousness of God and atone for our sins once and for all (Heb. 9:24-28).

Since our fallen nature cannot be improved, it must be replaced.  Although we cannot become sinless in practice on this side of heaven, we can become righteous through His Spirit, and that’s even better. For those of us who desire to become children of God through having a restored relationship with Him, He has provided a way for us to be forgiven and made right in His eyes.

Romans 3:21-22 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.”

Titus 3:3-7  “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

2 Corinthians 5:17  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Galatians 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

As a Christian, you have come to the knowledge of the deceptive motives of our fallen nature that is bound to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, with the desire to be self-sufficient (Eph. 2:1-3), in comparison to the requirements of God to be submissive, obedient, and fully dependent on Him in all things, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory, honor and power. By the outpouring of God’s forgiveness, mercy and free gift of salvation, we now have grace and peace to fulfill the will of God through His Spirit.

In the same way Adam became head of the fallen race, Christ represents the head of the spiritual race, the children of the kingdom of God, as the Savior who takes away the sin of the world.

Romans 5:18-21 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Notes

1. “Paul made it clear that all who are not believers (that is, not in the kingdom of Christ) are in bondage to the hostile powers.  This concept is especially difficult for Westerners to grasp, but nevertheless it is true.  Even those who are “moral, who obey the laws of the land and appear to be productive members of society, are captive in Satan’s domain if they are not believers.”  -Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 112, 1992, Inter Varsity Press.