After the fall, people were condemned to death for their sins. God provided the law to establish His standard for living. Yet, God knew that we could never live up to the law perfectly. He knew that we need someone to be the sacrifice for us, someone to save us. God had a plan.
“Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.” Galatians 1:4 NLT
Jesus was that substitute for us.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.” Romans 6:23-26 NLT
Jesus defeated sin and death. He shed His blood on the cross and died. Jesus was the sacrifice whose blood cleansed us from our sins. Then on the third day, He rose from the dead to conquer death.
During this Christmas season, we can have joy in knowing that Christ’s born is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Redeemer to the world. Jesus came to live among us, minister to us, and die for us.
Amen!
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NLT
