When the Lord’s people on earth rebelled against Him in sin, this planet became the only one in the universe in rebellion against God. This presented the Lord with a new and serious problem: what to do.
To the utter surprise of the vast unfallen universe, the Lord solved the problem in the most unthinkable way: He frankly forgave us all.
The apostle Paul thought it through, and he has written out the story for us in Romans 5:
“It was through one man [Adam] that sin entered the world, and through sin death, and thus death pervaded the whole human race, inasmuch as all have sinned. [That last phrase in the Greek suggests that we can’t blame Adam entirely for our plight, because we have all done what he did—sinned].
“... But God’s act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam’s wrongdoing. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many [everybody!], its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many [everyone] by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. And again, the gift of God is not to be compared in its effect with that one man’s sin; for the judicial action, following on the one offence, resulted in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following on so many misdeeds, resulted in a [judicial] verdict of acquittal. ... Much more shall those who in far greater measure receive grace and the gift of righteousness live and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ.”
So, what is Paul’s point?
“It follows, then, that as the result of one misdeed was condemnation for all people, so the result of one righteous act is acquittal and life for all” (vss. 15-18, Revised English Bible).
(a) Since the world began there has been only one act of “righteousness” ever performed—the sacrifice of Christ.
(b) On God’s part, it is a gift given.
(c) Our salvation personally therefore consists simply in a gift received.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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