Study 6
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous”
(Romans 5:19)
Introduction
The Lord Jesus Christ had to satisfy all the requirements of the law by perfectly obeying the will of God. Any deviation, no matter how insignificant, would have disqualified Him from being the Messiah.
It must be understood that that this work of Christ was towards God before its effects could be applied to the sinner. Though we rightly highlight the atoning power of His perfect sacrifice on the cross, we would have only a stunted knowledge of this part of the divine plan if we failed to acknowledge Christ’s perfect obedience too.
Forgiveness
What if the sinner was merely forgiven rather than being cleansed through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, would that be salvation? Without the shedding of His blood the forgiven sinner would still be lost … “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Every person born into this world is given the choice to either go God’s way or their own way (actually Satan’s way). Adam and Eve were in a state of moral and spiritual perfection in the Garden, but would they obey or disobey when the choice presented itself? (Genesis 3). Even faithfulness has to be tested otherwise true fellowship with God cannot exist. God forgave the pair, but that special fellowship was broken (Genesis 3:8, 22). Forgiveness is not enough.
Righteousness
The missing element, after Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden, was righteousness. They may have been forgiven when God killed animals to provide a covering (atonement) for them (Genesis 3:21), but they were not righteous in the eyes of the Lord. This righteousness could only be received once man had been reconciled to God.
Christ’s perfect obedience during His earthly life earned that righteousness for us. It took one man to bring sin into the world, so it only needed one man to perfectly obey God to bring in righteousness (Romans 5:19). Human righteousness can never reach the high standards of God (Philippians 3:9). Morality (often, though wrongly, considered to be righteousness) cannot merit right standing with the Lord, because sin is a spiritual as well as a moral problem. Morality does not deal with the sin nature. This is why the sinner needs Christ, for only He has the power to truly redeem. Paul rightly describes Him as the sinner’s righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Obedience
To the smallest point the Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to God and the law. Some have taught that He only needed to die for us to merit salvation, but this ignores the significance of His life. If Herod had managed to kill Jesus at birth would we be saved? Surely His obedience, leading up to His sacrificial death, was vital. We see something of this when He was baptised to “fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).
Christ lived a perfectly moral and spiritual life for our sake. His life of obedience is what made His sacrifice perfect. Did He need to be reconciled to the Father for His own sake or ours? As our representative Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law, for without this His sacrifice would not have atoned for our sin. This may sound strange, but if His blood was all that was required to satisfy the law, then His death in infancy, or when the Jews sought to cast Him over a cliff would have been enough (Matthew 2:13; Luke 4:29). Christ is the perfect sinless Saviour who lived a perfectly sinless life to be our perfect atonement.
Conclusion
Can we ever be good enough to win God’s approval? Has anyone lived a perfectly sinless and obedient life toward God? The vast majority think that their own righteousness impresses God and thus merits eternal life, yet can any say they have never sinned in thought, word or deed? All are sinners and merit only judgement (Romans 3:23; 5:12). It is far wiser to trust in the one who lived a perfect life of obedience and holiness. Religionists seek after the ‘merits’ of so-called holy men, but always reject the precious gift of Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death. The sinner’s eternal destiny is determined by whose life he chooses.
Page created 14 October 2005