God's Solution to Our Sin
Genesis 3:15 - "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (NIV).
Isaiah 53:5 - "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (NIV).
Romans 5:6-8 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).
Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (NIV).
2 Corinthians 5:21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (NIV).
Hebrews 9:26-28 - "Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (NIV).
When someone breaks something that you highly value, what is your response? Perhaps someone carelessly damages your phone or gets in an accident with your car. What do you do? Look at what Father God did as soon as the first humans broke His creation. This was not an accident. Adam and Eve made a move of wilful rebellion and brought death into creation. God immediately responded with a plan to sacrifice His Son, Jesus (Gen. 3:15). Our Father did not walk away in anger. He responded with immediate personal sacrifice. The painful life that Adam and Eve now faced was a natural consequence of their choice to sin. It was not the fist of an angry God that they experienced. In fact, the Father walked out of the Garden with them. God's solution to our sin is always personal sacrifice.
Thousands of years later, we see the fulfillment of God's plan to sacrifice His Son, Jesus. Not just any sacrifice would do. A perfect sacrifice was needed to completely pay for the sin of every person. That is why it was necessary for Jesus to be the sacrifice. For the Father used the "precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:19 NIV). And in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, then rising from the dead, a way is made for us to have intimate fellowship with the Father.
At incredible personal cost, the Father holds out a solution to our sin problem. But, we have the choice to receive His solution. If we repent from our sins, confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then we will be saved (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9). In other words, our response to the sacrifice of Jesus is crucial in applying God's solution to our lives.
For More Study
Thoughts and Questions for Application
Memorization
Romans 5:6-8 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).
Isaiah 53:5 - "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (NIV).
Romans 5:6-8 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).
Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (NIV).
2 Corinthians 5:21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (NIV).
Hebrews 9:26-28 - "Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" (NIV).
When someone breaks something that you highly value, what is your response? Perhaps someone carelessly damages your phone or gets in an accident with your car. What do you do? Look at what Father God did as soon as the first humans broke His creation. This was not an accident. Adam and Eve made a move of wilful rebellion and brought death into creation. God immediately responded with a plan to sacrifice His Son, Jesus (Gen. 3:15). Our Father did not walk away in anger. He responded with immediate personal sacrifice. The painful life that Adam and Eve now faced was a natural consequence of their choice to sin. It was not the fist of an angry God that they experienced. In fact, the Father walked out of the Garden with them. God's solution to our sin is always personal sacrifice.
Thousands of years later, we see the fulfillment of God's plan to sacrifice His Son, Jesus. Not just any sacrifice would do. A perfect sacrifice was needed to completely pay for the sin of every person. That is why it was necessary for Jesus to be the sacrifice. For the Father used the "precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:19 NIV). And in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, then rising from the dead, a way is made for us to have intimate fellowship with the Father.
At incredible personal cost, the Father holds out a solution to our sin problem. But, we have the choice to receive His solution. If we repent from our sins, confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then we will be saved (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9). In other words, our response to the sacrifice of Jesus is crucial in applying God's solution to our lives.
For More Study
- Isaiah 53
- Romans 5-6
- Hebrews 9-10
Thoughts and Questions for Application
- Take some time to think about Jesus' death on the cross from the Father's perspective. Think about the sacrifice of the Father. Think about the pain He experienced for you.
- Sometimes we take our sins lightly. When you think about the undeserving, tortuous death of Jesus on the cross for your sins, how do you feel? Does it motivate you to please Him?
- In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul says, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (NIV). How much do you think and talk about the death of Jesus? When you are sharing the Gospel with others, how much do you focus on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross?
Memorization
Romans 5:6-8 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).
HOME | ABOUT | TODAY'S STEP |
|
© 2023 stepstudyteach.com
All Rights Reserved. You are encouraged to use this content for personal devotions, small groups and church groups. It may not be re-published or sold at any time. |