Why did Jesus come? Was it to "try" to save humanity? Was it to see "how many would save themselves?" We'd like to suggest that there is more noble, more divine answer to this question.If it is true that Jesus came to save the world (John 12:47), we need to ask: has He has failed in his mission? If so many, many people today still don't "know Him," what's happened here? Was the sacrifice of the Son of God "of none effect?" We want to present another view of what the importance of Jesus is for the whole world, and we can do that rather quickly, by focusing on a few simple scripture verses in Romans 5:
"...For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
You can see from the verses above that the obedience of Christ had
a wider, more powerful, all-encompassing effect than the fall of Adam
did. Christ is the New Adam, and we are all in Him now. We continue
to hear time and again how Adam's sin sent us all into condemnation.
But we mustn't stop there, because God is not "unfair" or
"unjust" with mankind. And He is doesn't gamble with His
creatures.
So if God condemned all mankind due to one sin
(Adam's), it was only in order for Him to save mankind through the
goodness of another Man (Jesus Christ).
And this is what Jesus
came to do: cancel the condemnation brought to all mankind through
Adam. -And He succeeded in His mission!
All have been put in sin
in order for God to put us all into righteousness.
Now some people may say, "well, if everybody is already saved,
then we can live how we like, it doesn't make any difference!"
To
this I can only say, read Romans 6. If you have tasted something of
the goodness of the Lord, would you honestly want to go back?? What's
more, we cannot always live "as we like," because we share
this world with other people, and we are often limited in what we can
or cannot do by law or through the need to respect our fellow
beings.
Isn't it better to live loving God and man, being thankful
that He truly loves and cares for us?