The Beginning

The story of redemption begins with the story of creation. In it, we read that God created a perfect place in which he set two people. Those two people had the best of everything, but succumbed to temptation and sinned against God. When they did, they plunged themselves and all the rest of creation into the chaos and corruption of sin, and that sin had a lasting impact on all of humanity.  It led to a murder, a flood, and a scattering of people because of pride.  Yet through it all, God demonstrates that He is a God of grace and mercy.  In Genesis 1-11, we are reminded that:

1. God is the creator of all things (Genesis 1-2)
2. The fall of mankind brings sin and corruption (Genesis 3)
3. Sin has a lasting impact (Genesis 4-11)

In the New Testament, Paul tells us that the sin and corruption caused by the fall has a remedy.  He writes:

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. ¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For 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. (Romans 5:12-19, ESV)

We can be thankful that God is a God of grace and mercy.  He has kept His promise (Genesis 3:15) and provided One who has destroyed the evil one (Hebrews 2:14), and delivered us from sin.

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