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As explained in the previous segment, sin has separated us from God,
and death resulted from sin.
But even before man sinned and was given the death sentence,
God had already prepared a plan of salvation.
We may ask, “Why couldn’t God simply forgive sinners and let them live?”
We need to first understand the seriousness of disobeying God.
God the Creator and Ruler has established order in His creation.
When we disobey God, it's a violation of God’s order and a crime against the Creator.
If God were to look the other way and ignore it whenever man breaks His law,
He would not be the just God that He is.
We certainly wouldn’t wish mass-murderers like Hitler or Stalin to go unpunished.
Yet we expect God to forgive us when we violate His moral laws.
We want others to be brought to justice, but we want to be forgiven.
That's holding a double-standard, which the just God cannot do.
When man sins against God, death must ensue because choosing to reject God is choosing
to be severed from the life of God.
That is the deadly consequence of sin.
But God is not only just, He is also loving and merciful.
He does not delight in the death of a sinner.
He wants to restore the broken relationship with His children.
To do so without compromising His justice, He paid the greatest price of love.
He chose to take our place and bear the penalty for our sins.
A debtor cannot pay for someone else’s debt because he himself is in debt.
In the same manner, no other human being can save us because all have sinned.
Even the most pious person is but a sinner.
Only God alone can be our Savior.
In order for Him to pay the debt of our sins,
He must suffer the consequences of sin by dying on our behalf.
For this very reason He came into this world and became a man.
This man, who is God in the flesh, is Jesus.
The name Jesus means “the LORD saves.”
God Himself came to this world as a human being in order to save us from our sins.
Jesus, being in the flesh, was called the Son of God.
As a son, He lived in perfect obedience to the heavenly Father.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure."
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
Hebrews chapter 10 verses 5 to 7
Whereas mankind has disobeyed God, Jesus obeyed God’s will completely.
Although He was human and was also tempted like we are, He was without sin.
Finally, He obeyed God to the point of going to the cross
to die for the sins of the human race.
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus,
crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death,
so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Jesus was like a lamb without blemish.
He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.
Jesus’ obedience unto death reversed the disobedience of mankind.
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man,
much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Romans chapter 5 verse 17
Because Jesus was without sin, He was able to pay for the penalty of our sins.
The righteous One died in the place of sinners.
As a result, those who accept Him can be acquitted before God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter chapter 2 verse 24
In exchange for Jesus’ death, believers in Jesus receive the gift of life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans chapter 6 verse 23
Through the cross Jesus conquered the devil and the power of death.
Death could not keep its grip on Jesus because He is the Lord of life.
Three days after His death, Jesus was raised to life just as He said.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,
that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
1 Peter chapter 3 verse 18
Jesus rose from the dead as the Victor over sin and death.
He ascended to heaven in glory and will return one day as the Judge.
By His death and resurrection, the way to God is open again.
Our risen Savior has brought us a living hope.
We who believe in Him and are baptized in His name can receive a new life now
and will rise to everlasting life in the future.
Paul writes to the Christians about their glorious future:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body,
by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 to 21
This corruptible body that we have now will be transformed into an incorruptible body
when Christ comes.
Our physical death will be but a temporary sleep because we will rise again to life.
Like Jesus Christ our Lord, we will also be victorious over death.
This glorious hope of everlasting life is given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Even in the present life, we who are born again in Jesus Christ
can overcome the challenges in life.
In Jesus Christ we are given a new life and become a new person.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17
If you put your trust in Jesus,
He will save you by re-creating you.
As a new creation,
you can mend your broken relationships,
overcome addictions,
find meaning in life,
and face life’s difficulties with courage, peace, and joy.
He will turn hatred into love,
despair into hope,
and darkness into light.
Just as the Lord Jesus proclaimed,
He is the ultimate answer.
He is the bread that satisfies us.
He is the source of living water that quenches us.
He is he light that shines in our darkness.
He is the life that triumphs over death.
In Him we can have abundant life and a life that never ends.
And there is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts chapter 4 verse 12
Jesus alone is our Savior,
for He alone has paid the debt of our sins,
and He alone has triumphed over death.
Nothing in this life is forever.
The things and people we trust will not always be able to help us.
But Jesus will never fail us.
He lives, and He is our ever present help.
When death comes and when we have to face our final destiny,
Jesus and Jesus alone can receive us into His eternal kingdom.