God’s Remedy for the Sins of the World

Romans 1-3 This weekend of Easter is an important holiday in American culture and in the life of the Christian Church. It is celebrated with Easter egg hunts, the bunny rabbit, and church programs that emphasize the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. People who are not Christian; even some who do not believe that the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection celebrate the holiday. Now, I remember when I was a kid our church had sunrise services followed by an Easter egg hunt. I could not figure out what the egg and the rabbit had to do with Jesus. Fortunately, my mother explained to me that from a biblical perspective the egg and the rabbit are irrelevant although some people use them to explain some things about the Christian’s relationship to God. In this article I want to look at Easter not from a point of view of our celebration along cultural and religious lines, rather I want to examine Easter from the perspective of what God was doing when He allowed His innocent Son to die on the cross for the sins of guilty people. All four Gospels have an account of the Easter story as it relates to the human events, but I want to use Romans 1-3 to examine the story from the perspective of God’s purpose. Why is His death essential to our relationship with God? Why was it necessary for Jesus to be raised from the grave? Christians believe that mankind is separated from God because of sin. Sin is the result of the disobedience of Adam and his wife in the garden when they chose to heed the words of the serpent instead of obeying the command of God not to eat from the tree of life in the middle of the garden (Gen. 2:8-9, 16-17). God “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” (Gen.3:24, NASB). The man and all of his descendants are now unable to eat from the tree that gives life. They are dead in their sin, but God demonstrates His grace and mercy; His intention to redeem mankind when He clothe them with the skin of a sacrificed animal (v. 2:21), and He prophesys the coming Redeemer (v. 2:15). In the book of Romans, Paul the apostle tells us that God has a remedy for the sins of the world. A remedy is usually used in medical terms. A remedy is something that relieves pain, cures disease or corrects a disorder. The various sins found throughout the Bible are signs and symptoms of the disease “sin.” In chapter one Paul tells us that those who are without the Law of Moses (Gentiles) are lost in their sins. In chapter two he tells us that those who live according to the Law (Jews) are also lost in their sin. In chapter three he tells us that all people are incapable of living up to the legal standards set forth by God as revealed in the Law (vv.10-18). He concludes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23, NASB). However, all who believe in Jesus Christ regardless of human status are saved by the grace of God because of the redeeming death of Jesus Christ (v.24). God used the public death of Jesus to demonstrate to the world that He is a just God who forgives the sins of the ones that believe in Jesus (vv. 25-26). Today, just as was the case in Paul’s day, people find categories of people that they condemn above others because they have this notion that God does not forgive certain sins and certain people. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All have sinned and all are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). When we categorize people as being unable to be saved we show that we do not understand grace and mercy. Grace is unmerited favor from God. It means that there is nothing that a person can do to influence God to save them. It is simply that God loves His creation, and God sent His Son to die a vicarious death to redeem everyone who believes in Him. Grace means that God gives us something that we do not deserve, and we cannot earn it. Mercy means that God does not give us something that we do deserve. Mercy prevents the curse of death from holding us in our sinful state, and grace gives us the opportunity to be reconciled to God. Since mankind is under the curse of sin and the sentence of death God extends His grace and justifies us through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (3:24). So, regardless of one’s sins he or she is forgiven of their sins when they confess Jesus Christ as Savior and makes Him Lord of their life. Thus, the Bible tells us that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone (John 3:16; Acts 4:12). Since we are saved by grace from our sins we are promised a future life with God in His kingdom. How do we know this? Although we are saved from our sins, what gives us hope for eternal life in the kingdom of God? Our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6 tell us that Jesus died and was buried in the grave. He died so that we can be forgiven of sin and given life again. We know that those who believe in Jesus will die a physical death, but through faith in Jesus they have life, and they will never die a spiritual death. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus is sick and near death his sisters Mary and Martha send for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus does not arrive until after Lazarus is dead and buried in the tomb. Jesus arrives and tells Martha that Lazarus will live again. He says, “‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die’” (John 11:25-26, NASB). Jesus prays and calls Lazarus from the grave as a demonstration of His power to raise the dead (vv. 41-44). The Gospels record that Jesus rose from the grave on the third day just as the prophets had foretold and Jesus had said to His disciples. Jesus is living when He ascends to heaven on a cloud and the angel proclaims that He will return in like manner (Acts 1:9-11). The Bible and history tells us that during the early church period Christians were persecuted. Sometimes they were killed for continuing in the name of Jesus Christ their Lord. They often became discouraged, but they were encouraged to live a life worthy of their calling to salvation. Today, it is becoming inappropriate to claim Jesus as our only Savior. Many people, both individuals and church congregations are willing to compromise the teaching of the Bible because of the cost that comes with confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior. At this Easter season I want to remind us of the words of Jesus: “‘He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it’” (Matt.10:39, NASB). Thus, we can conclude that ultimately our hope is not in gaining favor with men. Rather, our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus. Just as He died and rose again, we too will die and be raised again to live eternally with God and the Son in the kingdom of God. Let us conclude with the words of the apostle Peter. He said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3, NASB).