“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:17 (NKJV)
The world today is such a wicked place but that’s what happens when not everyone recognizes that S I N is the culprit. The non-believing folks, that live in the same society we do, will deny the existence of the God of the Bible and be dismissive of sin but will be the first ones to ask, “How a good God could allow evil in this world?” That kinda question has led me to believe they know good exists against the backdrop of the bad they see being committed but won’t actually go to God and ask Him why, let alone seek His salvation from it. But, all in all, neither the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood Christian nor the Nietzche reading atheist are too comfortable living in a world that is such a wicked place.
Sometimes, after an hour of today’s news I have to ask, “Why do I gotta live here? Couldn’t God have placed me in one of those remote, beautiful, imaginary places where life approaches perfection like Shangri-La?” I mean, I’m living in a place where one man tells a bad joke about another’s mans wife, thinking it funny and harmless, only to have the husband get up from his seat, slap his testimony to worldly goodness right across the offender’s face and then sit down only to say, “The Devil made me do it.” Really? And this is world news with its pseudo moral message attached? Really? This has to be the part in the movie where someone is handing out t-shirts that say, “Ya’ll Need Jesus” isn’t it?
Ya know, I’m not sure about your Bible, but my Bible teaches me that S I N is mankind’s fault, not God’s. And while God is in control of every detail in this wicked world, He cannot sin neither be tempted by it. Any of you who have read this part of Westminster Larger Catechism have seen these biblical reminders about an occasion known as The Fall…. Adam and Eve could and did fail, this came through Satan tempting them (not instructing them, that’s my add-on) and they destroyed themselves in the process.
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the LORD of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’” — Malachi 3:6-7
The funny thing about this moment in history is the development of the fine art of blame shifting and the first to experience this was God, Himself. “Then the man said, “The woman whom YOU gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Yeah, right. Scripture doesn’t leave out the fact that YOU ate, so spare us that now. Here’s the bottom-line truth compliments of Tabletalk magazine: “The Adam of the first covenant brought sin and evil to all those in him—the entire human race apart from Jesus; the “Adam” of the second covenant brought righteousness and life to all those in Him—all those who trust in Him alone for salvation. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).
We are approaching the biggest day of the year (if you say Easter, I’m throwing chocolate eggs at you. I’m joking…sorta)) and we really need to see what was accomplished for us by the same God that had been blamed for what Adam chose to deny for himself. What was that? That he and Eve were left to their own freewill and followed it instead of God’s will. That they decided to trust themselves instead of God. That by doing the first two they destroyed the innocence they were provided and couldn’t cover up the disobedience they engaged in. In short, the world today is such a wicked place. There just ain’t any other way to say it, but wait,
“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” — Romans 8:3
So, we have misery through Adam…if you wanna stay there and do your part in keeping this world a wicked place OR you can have life through Christ…which only serves to add to the Kingdom which is a better that any Shangri-La my imagination comes up with. Ultimately, the choice is gonna be yours and yours alone, as for me, it’s a privilege to be one of the elected…so choose wisely. (Sorry Dave, had to swipe that line) Amen!?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a husband, a father, has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can e-mail him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This: “The covenant being made with Adam as a public person, not for himself only, but for all his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in that first transgression.” — Westminster Larger Catechism 22
The Daily Bible Reading: Judges 18-19; Luke 10:25-42| You can download our 2022 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
