Articles
What It Takes to Be Saved (7): God's Part - A Savior Who Died
What It Takes to Be Saved (7): God's Part
A Savior Who Died
Mike Willis
Paul argues that the death of Jesus, the Lord’s Messiah (Christ), was not just an unfortunate occurrence but a divine necessity. He wrote, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22). This is a statement that conflicts with the prevailing secular world view.
In the secular view, the events of creation did not occur; rather, there was a big bang in which non-living molecules exploded and over billions of years evolved into a single living cell, from which all living things evolved. The Bible says that all things came into being through a single act of God’s creation (Gen. 1:1). Of all of God’s creation, only mankind was made in His image (Gen. 1:26). That man was placed in the Garden of Eden. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Gen. 2:16-17). Unfortunately, the newly created couple, Adam and Eve, violated God’s word and, as a result, were sentence to physical death.
God spoke to Adam saying, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17-19). Since that time, death entered the world and all men must face physical death.
The author of Hebrews wrote that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Here is where the secular view of man is worthless. It has nothing to offer that provides comfort to the one who is dying or to the relatives and friends he leaves behind. The secular view believes about man what is true of animal life: man is just like the dog Rover, when he is dead, he is dead all over.
But, Christianity has a savior who died for mankind and the sentence of physical death is removed by His resurrection from the dead. The resurrection from death is promised for both wicked and righteous people. John quoted the words of Jesus as follows: “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when ALL WHO ARE IN THE TOMBS WILL HEAR HIS VOICE AND COME OUT, those who have done good to the RESURRECTION OF LIFE, and those who have done evil to the RESURRECTION OF JUDGMENT” (John 5:25-29).
Every person who has ever lived will be raised from the dead! Jesus’ death and resurrection makes that possible. The choice of whether one will be raised up to enjoy eternal life or to face the judgment of eternal death depends upon what is our response to the Lord Jesus Christ. He offers salvation to all of us conditionally. His last words to the disciples in Mark’s gospel read as follows: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). What awaits you at the hour of your death depends upon your life choices. We have the choice of eternal life because the Son of God left heaven to become a man and to give His life to atone for mankind’s sins. Thanks be to God for having done His part for man’s salvation.
