As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Adam, the first man, was made in the image of God. The Lord gave Adam a role unique in all creation, yet he failed to fulfill it and was sent out of Eden. God then made a new start with the Israelites; they were called to be His people. They displayed His character as and when they obeyed His law. Like Adam, though, the Israelites failed in their role and were sent into exile.
Gloriously, when we come to the New Testament, we discover that where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Jesus is what the people of God were meant to be: the new and better Adam, the true Israel. He is descended from Adam, and He identifies with Adam’s race. He identifies with us completely, yet unlike Adam, Jesus was tempted and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).
What we have in the Lord Jesus is the only human being who ever obeyed God perfectly, the only one with whom God is always pleased. He kept every letter of the law. Therefore, Jesus is the one person to have lived who doesn’t deserve to be banished from God’s presence. But He was banished. On the cross, He willingly faced the punishment that sinners deserve—sinners who are bound up in Adam’s sin.
All of humanity finds its heritage in Adam, both by nature and by descent. We are born in sin and united with Adam in our rebellion against God. There is no exception. The only answer to humanity’s predicament is for men and women to be introduced to the one person who kept the law perfectly and who did not deserve to be banished from God, but who then was obedient to the point of death on the cross so that sinners may, by grace through faith, receive all that He deserves instead of bearing all that Adam deserved.
This truth is at the heart of everything. For believers, all that was formerly true of us found its root in that one act of Adam, while all that is true of us now is a result of the obedience of Christ.
If you lack assurance, perhaps you’re guilty of trying to examine your own spiritual life to see if you’re doing enough. But you are not saved by anything done by you. As the hymn writer reminds us, we are saved by a work done for us:
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.[1]
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Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotional by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, The Good Book Company.
