Day 23 - FOUNDATION STONES IN A YEAR

Reading: Romans 6:15-23; James 1:12-18 

As we saw yesterday, this battle with sin began in the Garden of Eden. The woman desired the fruit, gave some to her husband, and they ate - in direct contradiction to God’s instruction to them. That’s how we became slaves to sin and ended up with a death penalty over our heads. 

God had told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the forbidden tree it would lead to death, but the serpent had refuted that. Too late they discovered that they had been deceived. Both spiritual and physical death ensued after their act of disobedience. The fear of death, that lies at the root of every other fear, entered the human experience. 

This grievous cycle needed to be broken. The only way that mankind could be relieved of the penalty of his sin, was for the wrath of God to be atoned. This atonement could only come if a sinless man was prepared to die of behalf of mankind, if a sinless human being would be willing to drink the full cup of the death penalty that God had pronounced in Eden, if a sinless man would be willing to die for the past, present, and future sins of all of mankind. 

Sadly, there was no human who could fulfil the righteous demands of God. And so a young teenage girl from Nazareth received a visit from the archangel Gabriel. He brought this message of hope; “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”

The next time you’re having a bad day, remember the Good News. 

Prayer

Dear God, help me to understand the depth of my freedom from the penalty of sin. 

For the family

Explain the study in an age-appropriate way