 Murder, rape, child abuse, spousal abuse, violent crime, kidnapping, robbery, abortion, war, starvation, abuse of elderly, sickness, disease, pain, suffering, loneliness, poverty, homelessness, despair, hopelessness . . . These are the headlines facing us day in and day out. These are the desperate situations that may even be raging in our own private worlds and lives. What is the meaning of life? Is this all there is? Why is life so hard? Is there no relief, no help, and no hope? The world did not start out like this. The bible tells us in Genesis 1:1 that "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth", and all within the earth, in 6 days. Each day as His progressive work of creation was completed, God pronounced that "It was good." The 6th day He created the man and the woman, in His own image. He blessed them, and gave to them, everything upon the earth, to tend, to rule over, to care for. And Genesis 1:31 tells us "And God saw ALL that He had made, and behold, it was VERY GOOD. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day. " On the 7th day, God rested from His labors.
God had given them every good thing. He offered one warning, for their protection, that was to leave the tree alone, in the center of the garden, that contained fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned them in Genesis 2:17 "From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you WILL SURELY DIE." Yet Satan, the deceiver, the enemy of God, and enemy of God's precious crowning creation - mankind, caused them to question God's word, His love, His motives toward them. And they sadly fell for the lie, which promised them they would be like God. Immediately after the act of disobedience, they knew it was all a lie, but it was too late. What followed was painful, heartbreaking for all involved in that terrible day. First, God's heart was broken. Adam, the man had hidden from Him when He came to the garden that day.(Sin breaks man's fellowship with God.) God questioned Adam, then Eve, and then the serpent who had tricked them. God then pronounced a curse upon the serpent, that he should crawl on his belly and be despised by all; and pronounced a curse upon Eve, promising pain in childbirth, and marred husband/wife relationships. Then God spoke to Adam and cursed him, promising toil, burdensome labors all his days, and God also cursed the beautiful creation with thorns and thistles, hard ground that would yield crops reluctantly, to the man. And then, in Genesis 3:21 the bible tells us that "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." This is a significant action, for the sin, the wrong committed, called for the slaughter of an innocent .. . an animal who's blood was shed and skin taken, and fashioned by God, into a "covering" for the man and his wife. (Sin must be paid for - someone must pay.) This is the first recorded sacrifice. A sacrifice is a symbolic transfer of sin from the guilty to the innocent, after which the innocent must be put to death, to "put one's sins to death." After the sacrifice had been made, the man and his wife's sin had been "covered", they were driven out of the garden by God . . away from the paradise He had created for them, away from the easy friendship with God, they had enjoyed. In that day they began to die, as God had promised they would if they disobeyed and ate from that tree. They died a spiritual death immediately; they were separated from the sweet fellowship and favor of God. They would also begin to die physically. Romans 6:23 ~ "For the wages of sin is death . ." And we will learn the rest of that verse further down!
Why was covering necessary?(What's so bad about sin, anyway?) God, who is holy and perfect in all His ways, cannot look upon sin. God will have nothing to do with sin. Sin is ugly, abhorrent, offensive to a holy God. And sin cannot enter heaven. So if we are sinners, and we are, then we have no hope of ever enjoying a relationship with God. In order to have fellowship restored between God and man, the sin must be paid for, or atoned for. God's justice must be satisfied. Of course, the sacrifice system was symbolic of the future time when Jesus, the perfect, sinless, holy, Son of God would take the sin upon Himself, then be slaughtered, and give His righteousness in exchange, make CLEAN those who would trust in Him. For generations after Adam, mankind increased in wickedness. Yet God continued to promise one who would one day redeem His people from their sin, provide a way to once again be clean, and have fellowship with God.
Hear these powerful words from the apostle Peter, after Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven. From Acts 2:22-24, 36-38 ~ "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know - this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its' power. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "REPENT, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." When God raised Jesus from the dead, He affirmed to all the world that His death was sufficient. Jesus' death on that cross satisfied God's righteous demands that sin must be punished. Jesus was punished on our behalf, that we might be able to be reconciled to God. Romans 5:1 says Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
|
Beloved, any sin torments. Isaiah 48:22 says "There is no peace for the wicked"
REPENT! This means turn around, change direction! Change your mind! Agree with God that yes, you are in deed, word, and thought - a sinner. Acts 2:38 Peter says, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."
If you prayed this prayer earnestly to God, you can be sure that He has received you as one of His own, and He will never let you go! You are eternally secure! The bible tells us in Colossians 1:13-14 ~ "He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!" You can THANK Him! And begin today, to read the bible. If you begin reading first, in the Gospel of John, the 4th book of the New Testament, you will learn more about Jesus and what He has done for you, and you will want to learn more!
