AWAKE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

God is holy, righteous, and perfect. Sin is antithetical to His Person, nature, and character. It is also opposed to and destructive of man's divine makeup and destiny. Sin was introduced by Satan, God's opposer and man's arch-enemy. It is the devil's trusted weapon of mass destruction that has cost man colossal damage and huge losses.

God made man the crowning glory of His creation. The Bible affirms that He created man fearfully and wonderfully. He made him in His image and likeness. He also gave man dominion over all the works of His hand and placed all things under man's feet. Man inherited the Garden of Eden and enjoyed regular fellowship with God. Moreover, man was a carrier of God's glory, which clothed him, and he was supposed to live forever like God. All these divine blessings and privileges that God bestowed on man must have attracted the envy and anger of the devil.

Sin was introduced by the devil to pervert and ruin the destiny of man. Sin marred the holy and glorious image of God that man carried. Sin separated man from God because God cannot behold or tolerate it. Sin made man fall from grace to grass and from the sublime to the ridiculous. Sin opened the door for all kinds of woes and miseries to befall man. It took away man's dominion, his beautiful habitation, the Garden of Eden, the glory of God that covered him, his communion or fellowship with God, and his precious gift of immortality. Sickness, pain, poverty, death, and so on became his lot as a result of sin. He also incurred God's curses as part of divine punishment for his disobedience. Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

The simple and accurate message from the incident in the Garden of Eden, as recorded in Genesis 3, is that though God loves man dearly, He hates sin with perfect hatred and will never condone or tolerate it. The only way man can remain in union and communion with our holy and righteous God is to detest sin, forsake it, and live in holiness consistently within and without, as well as in righteousness always. This is the only way man can please God and enjoy the numerous blessings that God has in store for him, including the recovery of all his lost privileges.

Through His peerless love, mercy, and grace, God initiated and executed man's redemption from the hands of Satan. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of mankind. The condition is that whoever believes in Jesus as the Son of God, accepts his atoning sacrifice, and accepts him as Savior and Lord will not die but have eternal life. Such a person will also become the son or daughter of God and be restored to the privileged status that Adam and Eve once enjoyed, all through faith in Jesus Christ's substitutionary work and grace.

However, it is unfortunate and disheartening that sin has become ingrained in man's fallen nature. Man's flesh or corrupt Adamic nature must be conquered and cast out before man can please God and meet His standard. Man was helpless in the face of sin, and God had to destroy all men and animals through a flood during Noah's time.

Man needs divine help to overcome sin. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save mankind from sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the earth and on the cross at Calvary. He is the Pascal Risen Lamb. He is the Lamb upon the throne. The blood He shed on the cross at Calvary forgave, atoned for, and remitted the sins of mankind. All who confess their sins, turn away from them, and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior will receive pardon and everlasting life.