Who Made The Payment For My Sin?

Not long after God created Adam and Eve, they sinned. We all sin. Sin is anything we think, say or do that disobeys God. Even though we are made in God’s image, sin separates us from Him. Before Adam and Eve sinned, no one had ever died! Sadly, sin changed everything; and we know that at some point, all people die. The payment for sinning is death.

But God is gracious. He loved the people He created, even though they sinned. Because God loves you and me so much, He made a way to redeem His people, a way to pay the price of our sin and end the separation between us and God.

Right after Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the serpent for convincing Adam and Eve to disobey God. While He was talking to the serpent, God gave a clue about how He would save people from their sin. Let’s read about it in Genesis. Can you help me find chapter 3, verses 14-15? 

The serpent would bruise the heel of one of Eve’s offspring, but Eve’s offspring would bruise the serpent’s head! A bruise on someone’s heel isn’t a bad injury, but a bruise to the serpent’s head could hurt him forever. This was God’s way of saying someone was coming who would be bigger than sin. A redeemer was coming.

Throughout the Old Testament, God reminded His people a redeemer was coming. Sometimes He reminded people with words and promises. Other times He showed His people what a redeemer would do. When Adam and Eve sinned, the first animal was sacrificed for their sin. Later, when people worshiped at the tabernacle and temple, they saw redemption take place every time the priests sacrificed an animal for their sins. An animal died as a penalty for the peoples’ sin. But the sacrifices had to be made day after day and year after year. God was still pointing His people toward the perfect Redeemer – someone qualified to make the complete payment for all sin for all time. Someone who would make one sacrifice and forever end the separation between us and God.

God sent Jesus to be our perfect Redeemer. While Jesus lived on Earth, He showed people what His Father in heaven was like. He loved people who were sick, dirty and poor. Jesus taught people God’s Word and spent time with them. He was the only person who obeyed God perfectly and never sinned. And then, Jesus made the complete payment for our sins when He died on the cross.  Let’s read about it in the book of Romans. Can you help me find Romans chapter 5, verse 8? Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament and was written by the apostle Paul. 

Wow! Even though we are sinners, Jesus Christ is our perfect Redeemer. Because of His deep love for us, He gave His life and took the penalty for our sin. Obeying rules doesn’t pay for our sin. Giving to the poor doesn’t pay for our sin. Even going to church doesn’t pay for our sin. Only Jesus, the perfect Redeemer, could pay for our sin.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death and sin once and for all. Our sin is forgiven and paid for by Jesus; and when we accept this payment by faith, God forgives us, and the separation between us and God is removed.

Followers of Jesus know they are forgiven because Jesus paid the penalty for their sin. Because Jesus is our Redeemer, God’s Big Story doesn’t end but goes on for all eternity!