Romans 8:1~2
God knows everything. He is happy for He can do anything. Because God is the truth, He keeps every promise that He made with us though we are miry creatures. His words came from His loving heart. He guarantees every word He said fulfilling all his promises.
God created the first man Adam and kept all His responsibilities to mankind. He gave all the creatures on earth the best environment that we can live in. God also gave authority to man to rule over and use all creatures on earth.
That is the grace that God gave to mankind. God gave man’s soul eternal life, which is God’s word. God commanded “You shall not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and evil. If you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). God tried to care for man’s life concerned that man may eat the forbidden fruit and die. However, man listened to the serpent and ate the fruit to become like God. As result, their disobedience brought death just as God told them (Gen 3:1-6). Therefore, God’s word is the law of love to the one who obeys it while it is the law of death to the one who disobeys it.
All of God’s word has been fulfilled just as He said. God is impartial, truthful and graceful. By disobeying God’s word, men died eternally under sin. No one who is dead under sin can avoid the suffering of hell. It all came from an unchangeable law, “The wage of sin is death” (Rom 6:23) Therefore, what is based on law shall be resolved by the law.
However, on the earth, there is no way, efforts or legal procedure that can set ourselves free from sin and the devil’s reign. Created human has no way but to accept the law “The wage of sin is death” and pay the wage of sin.
Man can do nothing but dwell under sin, curses, suffering and avoidable suffering in hell that never ends. That’s the heartbreaking tragedy. To resolve our death, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to earth. Christ came to earth to bear on His body our death which is the wage of our sin.
In Old Testament days, people killed animals whenever they sinned against God. They confessed “Lord, I shall be dead because of my sin. I kill this lamb to replace my death.” Then they were forgiven and freed from curses and death. That is the definite law of justice that sin shall be repaid by death. That is the reason Jesus Christ came down to the world in human flesh. He came to bear our death Himself. The John the Baptist described Him as “the Lamb that takes away sins of the world.” The Holy Spirit said Jesus is the Savior like a dove. God the father said Jesus is My beloved Son.
Only Jesus is the legal savior who can save man from sin ( Is 53:5-6). Our life was dead because we disobeyed His words “Do not eat the forbidden fruit.” At that very moment Jesus Christ bore our death on His body to save our life, men are freed from the law of death. Therefore, man possessed death the moment he ate the fruit confirming Jesus’ death. That’s God’s law of justice and truth that saves men from sin. Therefore, men have to die legally and also be saved legally. Not only sin, but the curse followed by the sin was removed.
That’s legal. That is the legal right that man shall enjoy. Legal salvation and blessings were demonstrated with Jesus’ resurrection. If Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead after He Himself bore our death and died, He would be dead by His own sin. But He was raised from the death revealing that He is the Son of God. He was accused as the Son of God. He is innocent. The innocent shall not be dead. But he was killed by falsely accusation. That covered our sin.
The evidence is the resurrection of Christ. For man, the evidence is sanctification, holiness and the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s resurrection from men’s sin and the law of death. Beloved brothers and sisters, you are sanctified saints. You became holy. You received the Holy Spirit as evidence of holiness. From legal sin and the law of death, you are saved by the law of life and Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. Let’s thank Him and praise Him. Let’s work for God even to the point of death.
2013.3.29
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