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“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Sin is sickness of the soul. It made it corrupt and unfit to live before God so it became bound for death. It is written that the soul that sins shall die (Ez 18:20).
Accordingly, the soul of every person was going to die. For all have sinned and come short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) and needed to suffer the penalty of death (Rom 6:23).
God sent His Son to become a substitute for all people. He was to give up His soul as an offering for sin in their place (Isa 53:10) so as to bear the penalty for sin for all of them, and free them from death.
Therefore, the shedding of the blood of Jesus at the cross for the cleansing of sin, was in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. Yes, the penalty for sin was so expensive that only God could pay for it, and He did so through the unlimited riches of His grace provided through His Son.
The blood of animals, in which is their life, could not atone for sin, for animal life was inferior to human life, and the blood of man could not atone for sin as it was defiled so unacceptable to God. It had to take the blood of the Man from heaven; the life of Jesus, God’s Son and also God, to atone for human sin.
Accordingly, without pleading the blood of Jesus, every person stands condemned as a sinner, who must pay for the penalty for their sin by dying and “..suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thess 1:9).
What you and I could not afford, God has freely given it to us in Christ. This is grace, and it is available to all who repent of their sin and receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord.
Receive Him now and be connected to eternal life, that takes sin out of the soul and enables it to live forever before God.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness that make a sinner reign in life through Jesus Christ. May sinners, bound for death, receive the gift of life from Christ and cross over from death to life. Amen.
By Robert K. Asante
