Saved From What?

What does it mean to be saved? And what do we need to be saved from? Today I read Romans, chapter 5. This chapter gives a very unique comparison between Adam and Jesus. And to answer our questions today, we need to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

When God created the world, he created everything to be perfect. Everything was perfect. God made a perfect environment for his perfect man and perfect woman to spend time with him. Adam and Eve and God would walk through the garden together and talk and spend time together. It was a perfect world. One of the things that God gave to Adam, Eve, and all of man, was the free spirit. That free spirit meant that Adam and Eve could make their own choices about what they wanted to do, as long as it pleased God. And there is the catch. A free will to do what pleases God. And in order to please God, Adam and Eve simply had to obey him. They needed to show him that they acknowledged him as Lord over their lives. They had only one rule- and Satan moved quickly to exploit that one rule. He used Eve to tempt Adam, and they both broke God's rule. They broke the only rule God had made for them, and proved that they could not have the perfect relationship with God. God is perfect, and he could no longer fellowship with un-perfect man and woman. Adam's sin affected the entire human race. A divide sprang up between man and God. Ever since Adam sin, we all have been born with a sinful bias. It is human nature to sin.

Thankfully, Jesus Christ changed all that for us. Romans 5:15-17 says this:
"15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ."

Because Jesus is the perfect Son of God, he was able to take our punishment for sinning and pay the penalty himself. He took our punishment so that we would be able to have a personal relationship with God once again. Salvation is the bridge between our sinful nature and our Holy God. Jesus died so that we who are dead in sin can be alive again! God wants to give us this salvation, he wants us to accept the bridge that Christ has provided for us and take those steps towards him. Our life of sin can be forgiven and we can be new again, if we are willing to accept it. Would you accept the salvation that God wants to give you? Up next, how to accept the free gift of salvation.