Why does mankind need redemption? To understand the answer to this question, we must go back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked with God in sinless obedience. Although fully human, Adam and Eve enjoyed a spiritual dimension in their relationship with God that was lost as a result of their rejection of God and his law. In disobedience to God, they wanted to determine for themselves what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil.
God had given Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. They had access to God and dominion over everything on the earth. However, in the midst of the Garden were found the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God counseled Adam that he might eat freely of everything in the garden, but not of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; ``for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die''. Notice that God had not denied Adam access to the Tree of Life; it was only after he sinned by disobeying God that he lost free access to the Tree of Life.
Until that time Adam and Eve enjoyed tremendous rights and privileges. However, determining what is good and what is evil is reserved for God alone, it is not for man. In essence, Adam and Eve had aspired to be God, determining for themselves what is good and what is evil.
It's evident that the sin committed by Adam and Eve is still very much present in today's society. Situational Ethics, with its lack asolutes, espouses that each person has the right to determine what is right and wrong depending on the situation. Satan as the serpent had appealed to Adam & Eve's pride, deceiving them into thinking that if they disobeyed God, they would become like Him, able to determine for themselves what is right and what is wrong. What an echo this is of Isaiah 14:12-14, where Satan's true heart and motives are revealed; ``I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High''.
``I will be like the Most High''. This is the heart of Satanism today, which espouses that every person shall be a god. Alexander Crowley, the famous Satanist, summed it up as follows: ``Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law''. In other words, anything goes; you decide what is good and what is evil.
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (PRO 14:12)
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1CO 6:9-10)
These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren. (PRO 6:16-19)
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (PRO 14:12)
Adam and Eve chose this path and faced God's judgment. They were exiled from His presence, denied access to the Tree of Life, and became slaves to Satan. Romans 6:16 clearly indicates that to whom you yield yourselves his servants or slaves you become. Adam and Eve had become slaves to Satan and, as slaves, forfeited the right to rule the planet. Their intimate fellowship with God was broken through disobedience (sin) and at the same time their obedience to Satan caused the title deed of the earth to be passed to Satan.
It becomes clear why Jesus, in his wilderness temptation (Matthew 4:1-11), did not refute Satan's Claim to all the kingdoms of the world. It was a valid claim. The kingdoms of the world were under Satan's dominion. Starvation, war and crime are results of Satan's influence;he is the prince of this world, the ``Prince of the Power of the Air''; a perhaps prophetic title considering the pervasive evil effect T.V. has on today's society.
So mankind lost their right to rule the planet and mankind's power and glory were broken. Man had become only a hollow shell of his former stature; the immortal had put on mortality, and the incorruptible had become corrupted. But the good news is that God, in his great love for mankind, provided a plan of redemption; a redeemer would come forth, the Messiah of Israel, Jesus the Christ, who would redeem mankind back to God.
Adam & Eve did not surprise God when they rebelled against God in sin. God is all-knowing. In fact, one of the first thing God did after they sinned was to make a covering for them of animal skins. Leviticus tells us that without the spilling of blood, there is no forgiveness from sin (Lev 17:11; Heb 9:22). In other words, the blood of an innocent animal was spilled so that their sin might be covered.
Throughout Jewish history hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of ``lambs bulls and goats without blemish'', were sacrificed for atonement for sin. And yet God says in Psalm 50:7-15 that He does not desire the blood of bulls and goats. Incredible. Then why was the sacrificial system instituted by God in the first place? Clearly, it was so the Jewish people could recognize their ``Kinsman-Redeemer'', their Messiah, their ``Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world''. This was Jesus who came to earth, lived a sinless life and in the fullness of time died the most excruciating death known to mankind. He spilled His precious blood to pay the price and to give us the right to be born into the family of God, redeemed from Satan's control.
Jesus wants to be our ``Kinsman Redeemer''. But this is only possible if we make Him our ``Near-of-Kin'' by being adopted into the family of God
Jesus wants to be our ``Kinsman Redeemer''. But this is only possible if we make Him our ``Near-of-Kin'' by being adopted into the family of God. God is spirit; therefore, to be adopted requires a spiritual rebirth. This is what Jesus was talking about when he told Nicodemus that he must be born again (born from above [John 3:3]). If we're not born into the family of God, Jesus can't redeem us. But if we'll just ask God to forgive our sins and ask Jesus to become Lord of our lives, then He will also become our Kinsman Redeemer. We will be spiritually regenerated (reborn) into God's family. God will seal us with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our redemption when Jesus comes again. (Eph 4:30).
Jesus is coming soon! Are you ready to meet your God? Are you a faithful servant?
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations +will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (MAT 25:21-46) "Watch and pray, therefore, that you would be counted worthy to escape the judgment that is coming upon the earth and be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
Maranatha!
References:
What the World is Coming To, Chuck Smith, The Word for Today, 1980.
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