Romans 5:18 (NIV84)
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
“I only did it once!” We try to downplay our failures, don’t we? It only happened one time. Don’t get so bent out of shape over it! But once is enough, isn’t it?! The angry person who pulls a gun and shoots may only fire one shot one time, but the person who dies is no less dead. The spouse who only cheats once still destroys the trust in the marriage. The first man who lived only needed to sin once in the Garden of Eden to make this world a world of sin. And because of that one sin, that one failure, we are all failures!
It affects every part of our life from the moment we are conceived. Complications during pregnancy, miscarriages, stillbirths, tense moments during delivery – all are a result of Eden’s tragedy. The sinful traits we see in our children are like looking in a mirror. The guilt we have over the sins we commit is an admission and agreement: God was correct when he called these things sinful. And all it took was one trespass, one step over the line of what God said: “don’t eat from the tree in the middle of the garden.” Ever since that moment, everything in this world – people, animals, the world itself – is condemned. As the apostle Paul says a few chapters after these words, “What a wretched man I am! Who will save me from this body of death?” One act condemned the entire world - guilty as charged!
Just as … so also. One act made us failures. One act removes our failures. One was a trespass, a step in the wrong direction. The other was a righteous act, the one right action that undid everything sinful mankind has committed and ever will commit. Adam messed up the world. Jesus saved the world. Because of the one act of salvation the Son of God accomplished, all offenses and failures of every human being are paid in full. God’s declaration of ‘NOT GUILTY’ is recorded and signed in Jesus’ blood. Adam brought death; Jesus brings life, or as he says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
That means that for every single one of my failures, Jesus paid the price. He removed the guilt and set me free from the death-grip sin wants to have on us. All are condemned by their failures; all have the guilt of their failures paid by Jesus. That’s a message that brings life. That’s a message that brings joy. That’s a message all need to hear.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank you for your one righteous act that brings life to the world, and to me. Help me to live a joy-filled life in you and reflect that love to others. Amen.