Contributed by Norman S. Lao
There are two kinds of religions in the world with regards the number of gods/goddesses as the object of worship: Polytheism, which is the worship of many gods/goddesses, and Monotheism, the worship of one and only one God. Of these two types, it is generally held that monotheism is the more feasible religious understanding.
There are three major monotheistic religions in the world: Judaism (the oldest), Christianity (an offshoot of Judaism), and Islam (an interpretation of Judaism and Christianity). Among the three ONLY Christianity provides a SAVIOR. Judaism rejected her Savior when they Crucified Jesus almost 2000 years ago. Islam provides no Savior, only a set of rules to follow to be acceptable to Allah.
To understand the role of a Savior one must begin at the beginning.
God created man with the capacity of choice, that is, man has the freedom to choose to obey or disobey God. Clearly, this freedom of choice is important if man will have a living and loving relationship with God. Animals do not have this capacity that’s why we cannot have a real relationship with them.
God took a risk when he created man this way. (Every time a couple gives birth to a child they are taking risks – they will never know how their child will turn out.) But love takes risks. Without this freedom man is simply reduced to an unfeeling robot that will perfectly obey God, but will never be motivated by love. God cannot have a real relationship with that kind of man. Thus, God created us with free wills. Free will is the freedom to choose – a freedom that even God respects.
God placed the Man and the Woman in the Garden located in the middle of four mighty rivers: Tigris, Euphrates, Gihon and Pishon (Genesis 2:11-14) to cultivate it. God tested the man and the woman, telling them that they can eat from any tree in the Garden EXCEPT from one of the trees in the middle of the Garden called the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL (it was not an apple tree, by the way). There were actually two trees in the middle of the Garden. The other one was the Tree of Life and this was not prohibited.
At the instigation and temptation of the Devil the Woman ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree. The Man, being so in love with the Woman, sided with her and ate of the forbidden fruit knowingly and deliberately. Thus, man rebelled against God. Both sinned against God and both died (separated from God spiritually) that day. Thus, Man became a sinner, that is, he acquired a sinful nature. Everyone born through Adam, like Adam, is a sinner. Every child born on this planet has a sinful nature -- the tendency to sin.
God cannot just intervene since Man lost his standing to Satan (the serpent) legally. Satan did not force Man to rebel against God nor did he threaten him. Man willingly obeyed the voice of the serpent even though he clearly knew God's command concerning the forbidden tree.
God could not simply "erase" man whom He created in His own image and likeness and whom He loved. So God put into motion a plan to Salvage Man. Sin was at the heart of the issue. One Man lost man's original state with God, so One Man must redeem it. But how? No one was capable of regaining it because everyone born to Adam is a sinner -- without exception (Romans 3:23). Thus, sin disqualifies everyone.
Here's where a lot of people miss the point. The payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but a lot of people insist in paying for their sins through good works, church attendance, giving of alms, etc.
Sin requires an offering of blood to be atoned for (Hebrews 9:22). But whose blood? Everybody is a sinner, therefore, all human blood is tainted with sin and is an unacceptable offering for sins. The Blood that can erase sin must be totally pure and totally human.
This is precisely the reason why God had to become a man! Jesus Christ is the incarnate God (reincarnation is different). Jesus is called Immanuel which means "God with us." (Matthew 1:23) Listen to what the Gospel of John has to say about this:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (John 1:1-2, 14a)
Only Jesus Christ is qualified to Redeem us back to our original state with God. Because Jesus was virgin-born He did not inherit Adam's sinful nature -- His blood is not stained with sin -- and because he was born of a woman he was a real man. Jesus qualifies to be the Savior of Mankind.
His sacrifice on the Cross was not random, a coincidence or an accident -- it was the fulfillment of God's plan of Salvation for us which He put in motion back in the Garden of Eden. The history of the Jews as recorded in the Old Testament attests to this. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. He shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Now, all that God requires is that we believe this and accept Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Do you have Jesus in your life today? You should! Jesus Christ is God's provision for your salvation. There is no other Savior apart from Christ -- no one, no matter how good, is qualified! (see Acts 4:12) Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY back to God. (John 14:6) Believe Him. Accept Him. Love Him. Obey Him. Live Him.
God bless you.
