“The offense of Biblical Christianity is the cross. A crucified Messiah who died a substitutionary death says that we are not just a little mal-adjusted, we are desperately wicked and deserving punishment.”1
Repent! For the end of the world is near!!! Who can tolerate listening to a message of fire and brimstone? Although this message couldn’t be more true, it doesn’t seem to be very effective in convincing people they are sinners in need of salvation. This is a desperate cry of the Lord, and it couldn’t have been any louder than when our Savior was hung on the cross. The innocent Son of God was mocked and tortured beyond recognition (Is. 53:3-9), and yet was able to say “Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they do” as He willingly gave His life as a sacrifice to save us from death and forgive us of our sins (Lk. 23:33-34).
It is God’s desire for us to come to the knowledge of truth, and that includes coming to understand our sinful nature and the impact it has on our relationship with Him. Do we realize the sinful nature we have inherited since the original sin took place and how it makes us enemies of God (Rom 5:10; 8:7; Col. 1:21), and that it can keep us in the condition of being dead, eternally separated from God if we refuse the mercy and grace of His salvation (Eph. 2:4-5; Heb. 12:25-26; 2:2-3; Rom 6:23)? Do we understand the righteousness of God and our desperate need for it (Rom. 3:10; 1 Jn. 1:9; Phil. 3:9; Matt. 5:20)? These are the basics of Christianity, the foundational teachings that will give us eternal life, and lead us to true repentance that will produce the genuine fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
It is necessary for us to come to terms with the true nature of our sin and the inevitable result of death, and why it is subject to the judgment and wrath of God, in order for us to be sincerely repentant and filled with overflowing gratitude for His provision of salvation.
God has taken away the fear of facing the evil behind our sinful nature by revealing His unconditional love, which was demonstrated through His act of salvation by the sacrificial atonement and forgiveness of His Son. He had this planned out even before the world began (1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8). People tend to think God in the Old Testament is represented as judgmental and in the New Testament as full of grace. Adolph Saphir clarifies the consistent character of God in this big picture analysis of the Bible:
“The only difference between the O.T. and the N.T. is this – that the arrangements of subjects is different.
The O.T. puts it this way:
God is holy
You are sinful
Therefore the wrath of God is upon you
Oh that a Redeemer would come to deliver you
The N.T. puts it this way:
He has come
He has redeemed you
Now understand how holy God is who could not save you except through the blood of Jesus Christ, and now understand how great and evil a thing sin is, that it required the stupendous sacrifice of God’s own Son to remove it.
But the character of God is the same throughout.”2
Am I a Sinner?
You may be saying to yourself, “I may sin, but I’m not evil or wicked.” Adam and Eve fell into sin by partaking of the fruit that would give them the knowledge of good and evil, making them independent of their need of God. This was an act of rebellion toward God their Maker. In our fallen condition we are still capable of being kind and doing good; but what makes it evil is that now it is done with the wrong motive, because now we do things for our self-gratification and glory, which is to be in opposition to God who should receive all glory.
How We Sinned
To go our own way is to rebel against God’s way, we think we know better and desire to be self-sufficient. We have turned away from God as being our Creator and source of life; He is our loving provider of all that we could ever need; He is the ruler and controls all things; He defines the law, the moral standard of life; and He is the all-knowing One and the source of wisdom and truth.
In their foolishness Adam and Eve were vulnerable to think that they, the created, could be equal to our Creator, attaining divinity. We are made in the image of God but not divine ourselves, we are earthly creatures. They thought they could be self-sufficient and provide their own needs (but notice how we cannot produce rain or prevent death). We are not meant to be in control of the world, but to be submissive to God’s authority. The only control we are to exercise is self-control. We are not to lean on our own limited understanding, but to depend on His revelatory knowledge and guidance.3 If we all operate as individuals who think we know what is right in our own eyes, we could never be unified with such diversity. Can you see how this is not God’s way, but evil? But if we all have the mind of Christ, we would all be of one mind, in unity and peace.
Why Death
The original sin results in death as a consequence because God is the source of life, and to disconnect from our source of life would cause instant death, spiritually and relationally (we no longer wanted to be submissive and dependent on Him), and eventually we physically begin the slow process of decay, back to the dust of the earth where we came from.
Why Wrath
This act of rebellion would incur God’s wrath because love and hate are not compatible. Our human nature has now been taken over by our fallen nature that is ruled by the prince of all evil, Satan (Eph. 2:1-3). The evil nature desires to corrupt all that is good; and the Evil One, the Devil, desires to murder all that is life. So it is understandable why the rebellious nature would be worthy of the utmost penalty of God’s wrath.
God’s Provision – The Way Out
When we are able to see the truth about our sinful nature and repent, we can be free of its bondage by learning the process of being conformed into the image of Christ. We accomplish this by being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and depend on Him to guide us into all truth and teach us in His Word, the Bible. When God sees the righteous presence of Christ in us, His wrath is turned away because we have acknowledged that His Son took it upon Himself in our place. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, they wanted to exalt their human nature, and in doing so they forfeited eternal life and their spiritual relationship with God. Now that Jesus appeased God’s wrath and was able to conquer death, there are no longer any roadblocks preventing us from having a restored spiritual relationship with Him. Only now, it’s even better than it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden, because Christ is in us, our hope for glory. What would you rather desire, to be like God or to have His very presence living in you, through whom you live and move and have your very being?
Notes
1. CIC # 9, Bob DeWaay, http://www.cicministry.org/commentary/issue9.pdf
2. The Divine Unity of Scripture by Adolph Saphir, Pg. 146, http://www.archive.org/details/divineunityofscr00saphuoft/page/146/mode/2up
3. How People Grow by Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, Pg.32, 2001, Zondervan