Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

God is holy (without sin). When God originally created humans, they also were without sin, and could thus have fellowship with Him.

When humans fell into sin, that fellowship was broken, and all humans became estranged from God. Because of their sin, there was also nothing that humans could do to restore that fellowship (or, in other words, to reconcile themselves to God).

In response to that situation, God -- in grace (undeserved favor), love, and mercy toward humanity -- took the initiative to reconcile humanity to Himself, and to make it possible for humans to once again have fellowship with Him. He did this by incarnating Himself in a Being (Jesus Christ) who was both truly, fully God and also truly, fully human (except without sin).

Jesus lived the sinless life of which no other human was (or could be) capable, and then died a sacrificial death in which He paid the penalty (eternal separation from God) that was deserved by all humans from eternity past to eternity future as a result of their sin. He then rose from the dead to demonstrate that God had accepted that payment.

As a result, it thus became possible for humans to attain eternal life in God's presence by placing their faith in the redemption from sin that Christ had achieved, rather than depending on their own efforts -- which, no matter how "good" those efforts might be by human standards, could nevertheless not achieve the perfection that God required.

Once Christians receive (through faith in Christ) the reconciliation to God that Jesus made possible, they also then have a responsibility given to them by Jesus Himself (Matthew 28:19-20) to act as God's representatives (ministers) in extending that same possibility to others by telling them about Jesus, and inviting them to also be reconciled to God through that same faith in Christ.

February 14 2020 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report