Finally, Good News!

It was gone, and there was nothing either of them could do to reclaim what was once theirs. It was a gift given to them, but they relinquished the gift to an evil and ruthless master. They had been given freedom and dominion over God’s creation and they had been given an intimate relationship with God their creator. But they had been deceived into selling that freedom and dominion to another master, an evil master. And, because they sold their freedom and dominion, they also lost that intimate relationship with God. Instead of having dominion, they were dominated, they were enslaved to the one to whom they sold their freedom. They were now slaves to Satan, and it was Satan who caused their degradation and ultimate death. And, because they sold themselves to Satan, all their offspring were born into that same slavery that always ultimately resulted in death. Adam and Eve, our distant ancestors, were once free, but Satan tricked them into distrusting God. Using the freedom God gave them when they were created, they purchased something they thought better than God’s freedom. They thought they would gain knowledge to be equal to God. Pride and distrust were planted in their minds by Satan. By yielding to that pride and distrust they sold themselves and their progeny into slavery to all kinds of depravity, pain, and ultimate death. Although Adam and Eve saw the devastation they caused, they could not turn back the clock and reverse their decision, reclaiming what they had so easily squandered. But God made a commitment to Adam and Eve. God promised that He would remedy the situation. God’s remedy would rescue Adam and Eve and all their descendants, including us, from the slavery resulting from Adam and Eve’s sin. God would rescue us even from the ultimate consequence of death. This promise of rescue was for all people, all races, all nationalities. It was incumbent on Adam and all his progeny to trust and wait for God’s perfect timing to effect the rescue.

And so, Adam and Eve waited and expectantly trusted God’s promise. Adam and Eve went to their graves waiting and trusting. A sample list of saints who lived and died waiting and expecting the fulfillment of God’s promise is shown in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. This is sometimes referred to as the “Heroes of faith” chapter in the Bible. The chapter references Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and the prophets. The chapter tells that “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. …  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Heb 11:13-16. These “heroes” through faith, “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. … They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted” Heb 11:33-37. But the writer to the Hebrews had this final word about these saints, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Heb 11:39-40.

All of those listed in Hebrews chapter 11 waited for and trusted to the ultimate fulfillment of the promise God made to Adam. They all died expecting the remedy but never saw the actual fulfillment. They trusted it, they expected it, and they died in faith waiting for God’s time. What does it mean that “God having provided some better thing for us,” and “they without us should not be made perfect [complete]”? It means that God purposed and completed a remedy for mankind: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to do the will of The Father by offering His body as the complete sacrifice for sin forever. And His resurrection from the grave demonstrated that His sacrifice was accepted and complete. The believers in the early church including the author of Hebrews, the Jewish believers, the Gentile believers, and all believers from that time forward including us can look back at the completed event knowing that our sins are forgiven because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This knowledge is what makes it “better” for us. That is the reason the Old Testament saints could not be complete without what we now know. Peter explained the fulfillment of the promise and the fact that the Old Testament saints did not have a complete understanding of the promise when he stated the following, “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” I Peter 1:8-12.   

It was imperative for God’s remedy to include the death of an innocent and willing sacrifice. The perfect justice of a perfect God required a perfect attitude and perfect obedience from His creation. Perfect justice required transgressions to be punished by death. The consequence of Adam’s transgression was death. God explained that consequence in declaring, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen 2:17.Justice required the sentence of corruption and decay, resulting ultimately in death. God’s remedy, however, was that a totally innocent and perfect man would willingly die to satisfy the justice requirement and thereby bring forgiveness to the transgressors. God’s perfect remedy entailed giving Himself as the innocent and perfect man, the One to die to satisfy the justice requirement and bring forgiveness to all transgressors who entrust themselves to God’s remedy. This remedy was pictured immediately after Adam’s transgression. God dressed Adam and Eve in the skins of an animal God had killed for that purpose. Later their son Abel offered a lamb to God. The concept of an innocent being sacrificed to cover the transgressions of the guilty was introduced early, from the first transgression, and continued throughout the Old Testament. Under the Mosaic Law the animals that were sacrificed had to be perfect, without any blemish or physical impairment. That requirement was a picture of the ultimate sacrifice, the perfect and innocent man necessary to cover the sins of a guilty world. The animal sacrifices were only “placeholders,” only pictures or demonstrations of the one sacrifice that would completely satisfy God’s perfect justice.

The writer of Hebrews explains it as follows, “For the law [Mosaic Law] having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Heb 10:1-4.These verses explain that the animal sacrifices could never remove sin, they could not provide the remedy. They only showed the remedy in a picture, an object lesson. “Wherefore when He [Jesus Christ] cometh into the world, He saith, ‘Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared me … Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God’ … By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man [Jesus Christ] after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; … For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Heb 10:5-14. The object lesson shown by the animal sacrifices could not be the ultimate remedy, but it demonstrated the ultimate remedy provided by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.   

Paul also explained our forgiveness and righteousness before God in his letter to the Romans. The forgiveness and righteousness are based entirely on the work that Jesus Christ accomplished for us (the remedy). “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: … Therefore as by the offence of one [Adam] judgement came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus Christ] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience [Adam] many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Jesus Christ] shall many be made righteous.”  Rom 5:12-19. “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom 6:22-23. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Rom 8:1-2.

God’s perfect justice was satisfied. When Jesus spoke His final words, “It is finished!” from the cross, He knew the work was complete; the remedy promised to Adam and Eve and all their descendants was delivered. All the Apostles’ messages recorded in Acts have the same major focus and theme: forgiveness and reconciliation because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul could give the assurance for himself and all those trusting in the completed work of Jesus Christ, that God would not condemn us. Jesus is the only One with the authority to judge and condemn, but He is the One Who gave Himself for us. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Rom 8:32-34.

That is the fulfillment of the promise. That is the Good News!