When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in the Garden of Eden. It was situated between two rivers and abundant in both plant and animal life. Adam and Eve were given authority over the garden and provided with everything that they needed. They worked together and God walked with them in the garden. Many of us are familiar with the Sunday school coloring sheets of Adam and Eve grinning those perfect grins as they stand so conviniently behind trees and bushes while Eve’s hair is always in front of both shoulders, but when you really stop to think about it, that doesn’t really paint an accurate picture. There was a purpose for their existance, they had everything they could ever need, they had each other, and they had a relationship with God. There was no pain, no suffering, no shame. The coloring sheets are careful to cover up their nakedness for the little eyes in our churches today, but Adam and Eve didn’t have to worry about it. It was how God created them. It was God’s original intent.
But God didn’t want slaves or robots. He didn’t want pets that only stayed because they had no where else to go. No, God wanted a deeper relationship than that. So, He introduced this little thing called free will. He placed a tree in the Garden of Eden and told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat of it. Well, we all know how well that went over. Adam and Eve disobeyed this one rule that they were given, and thus God allowed His original intent to die. Sin and pain and death came onto the scene. God had to clothe Adam and Eve because now there was shame. He sent them out of the garden, and out of His presence. The relationship was broken.
God doesn’t give up that easily, though. He still wanted a relationship with us. He still wants it today. But there is a dilemma. God is a perfect God, and sin is a serious thing. The Bible tells us that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). We all know that nobody is perfect, so there is no way that we can earn our way back to the glory of God on our own. The Bible also tells us this: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23).
As that verse eludes to, God had a solution to this dilemma. In the Old Testament, people paid for their own sins through sacrifices. Blood had to be shed to pay for all of the ways that they fell short. To restore the relationship, God provided The Ultimate Sacrifice that would cover everyone’s sins for all time: His Son, Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin, therefore pure from sin, lead a perfect life as an example, made no mistakes, committed no crimes, was hated, mocked, spat upon, and executed on a cross as a criminal. Jesus suffered through God’s judgement and death in our place. Then to prove His divinity, power, and authority, He didn’t stay in the tomb. He rose again three days later, because He was greater than death itself!
And so we have an answer to the dilemma of sin’s separation between us and God. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). I grew up in the church, was saved at the age of 8, have heard about sin and our need to be saved from it at least ten different ways, and have heard/presented the "process" of "getting saved" at least five different ways. But the whole thing is quite simple and easily summed up in one verse: "If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9). There are lots of prayers and processes and tools out there that are all powerful things, but that verse sums it all up. If you openly name Jesus as the Lord of your life and believe what the Bible says about our need for a savior and how God provided one in Christ, then that’s it. Your sins are paid for, you are forgiven, you have that relationship with Christ, and you are saved!
To become a citizen of the United States, one must go through a naturalization process before being identified as an American. The identities that I’m going to delve into through the rest of this blog are similar. This is about identity in Christ. If you are not saved, then you do not have this identity any more than a Mexican isn’t an American (sorry, couldn’t help it!). If you want to know more, feel free to shoot me an e-mail, or talk with a friend who you know is saved, or read the Bible to find more for yourself.
If you are already saved, then from here on out, this blog is all about who you are!
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