Have you ever thought about the concept of “Original sin”?
I mean, according to the Bible (and many theologians and preachers) it was the “Original sin” of disobedience toward God, by Adam and Eve, that caused, and is still causing, all our grief and troubles today.
How fair is that? Our great-great-great-great-etc ad infinitum-grandparents, messed up and we are still paying the price!
Besides the infantile foot-stomping over the fairness of it all, have you ever wondered about SIN and why the Apostle Paul tells us that The PENALTY for SIN is DEATH – and how all that started?
And why does “CONFESSING JESUS with our mouth” make any difference?
And why is the remedy for the effects of sin, THE BLOOD of Jesus? And, why BLOOD?
And why REPENTING is a necessary step in being SAVED from the penalty of our sins?
And why do our Churches (pastors, preachers, etc.) put so much focus on everything EXCEPT the foregoing?
The more I study this, the more I pray to understand this, and the more I ask God to show me and to give me wisdom on this, the more I begin to understand, THIS IS A BIG DEAL!
When you try to “Google it” or look it up in a Bible commentary, the explanations are long, convoluted with denominational doctrines and confusing. So, here is the ‘short version’ from the Bible.
It all started in the Garden of Eden, at creation. So, this began at the beginning.
IN THE BEGINNING
(NOTE: An asterisk* denotes the progressive consequences of sin. A plus sign+ denotes the benefit of Salvation)
GOD’S COMPASSIONATE WARNING
God created humankind and warned us that disobedience to His laws, rebellion toward Him, would be fatal. So, in His infinite love, He gave us instructions, from the beginning, on how to live and what to avoid.
Genesis 2:17 but 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.” – GOD
*THE PENALTY FOR SIN IS DEATH
Genesis 2:23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
PERFECTION, PEACE, THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Our beginnings were perfect. Adam and Eve walked with God. Everything was provided for them and there was no sickness or death, no worry, no doubt, no fear, no shame.
*THEY WERE NAKED AND WERE NOT ASHAMED
INNOCENCE LOST
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew…” Innocence was forever lost and sin began to spread as a disease, infecting everything with a coming death.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
*THEY KNEW THEY WERE NAKED
THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN INFECTS, SPREADS
8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
*THEY HID THEMSELVES FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD GOD
9 ¶ Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
*FEAR
*SEPARATION FROM GOD
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
*EMNITY
16 ¶ To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
*HE WILL RULE OVER YOU
17 ¶ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
*CURSED
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
*SWEAT AND TOIL
24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
*ESTRANGEMENT
5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
*ANGER
*SHAME
6 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
*SIN
8 ¶ Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
*MURDER
9 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
*LYING
*DECEIT
*DEFIANCE OF GOD
10 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.
*SPILLING OF BLOOD
*DEATH
A WAY OF ESCAPE
God loved them. Even though Adam and Eve were now sinners, God demonstrates His love toward them. God makes Covenant, a way of escape from eternal separation from God.
“The Book of the Covenant” – Exodus 20:22- Exodus 23:19
**Exodus 24:8 So Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
*Exodus 34:10 ¶ Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant (an alliance of friendship, a treaty; a divine ordinance with signs or pledges). Before all your people I will perform miracles which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the LORD, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
+A CONVENANT BY GOD
*Leviticus 7:16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:
+17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.
+20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
+AND YOU WILL BE FORGIVEN:
Le 4:26 ‘All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.
Le 4:31 ‘Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
Le 4:35 ‘Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
Le 6:7 and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”
+Le 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’
(atonement: to cover, purge, make reconciliation for sin,)
“For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life.
Leviticus 17:14
A NEW COVENANT – A NEW TESTAMENT
++Hebrews 9:13 “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
+THE BLOOD OF CHRIST TO CLEANSE YOUR CONSCIENCE
++Hebrews9:15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. 17For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. 18Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.
19For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.” **21And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. 22And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
+THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Matthew 26:28
This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 13:20
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Matthew 26:28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Hebrews 9:16
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives.
Deuteronomy 29:12
That you should enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God makes with you this day.
+THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU
+John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
+THE LAMB WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD – John 1
From the beginning, we have been waiting and God has been preparing, the Perfect and Permanent Sacrifice, the Atonement for our sins. This is why Jesus is called The Lamb who takes away the sine of the world.
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
+REPENT
+THE KINGDOM AS NOW AT HAND
Now, you must speak the Covenant Oath in order to be forgiven and saved…
Romans 10:9 (b) “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
This confession is your agreement, acceptance and binding oath of faithful obedience to God’s merciful Covenant which, by His Grace, transferred the penalty of sin to Christ by His shedding of His blood and sets you free to live with a clear conscience, now and forever.
+CONFESS JESUS, BELIEVE, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED
This is important to understand because when you decide to become a Christian,
you enter into a binding ‘Covenant, a contract with God, which is irrevocable.
“From the Original Sin to Salvation”,
“From Death to Life”.
From “the beginning” to “THE NEW BEGINNING”. Now, let’s go and do His Works, which he prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them; and you shall do even greater works, because He is now at the Right Hand of the Father.
Your Brother and Friend,
“Washed in His Blood – together”
Mike Young
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Whitestone Fellowship 