“There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them a free will to make choices on their own. God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them to take care of the place and that they could eat of every tree in the Garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Satan came along and told them they could become like God if they ate of this tree. Adam and Eve sinned against God in their following Satan’s advice and died spiritually. Every human, with the exception of Jesus Christ, is born spiritually dead and therefore naturally sinful.
It doesn’t take rocket science intelligence to see that humans are a sinful bunch. But sinning does not make us sinners; we sin because we are all natural born sinners. We can see this by watching a child demand their own way, fighting with other children, throwing a fit just because they want to. A child does not necessarily know that these are sinful actions because it is in their nature to do these things. A child that is not mature enough to recognize that this type of action is wrong will not be held accountable to God for this sinful behavior. But when the child reaches the age of accountability they will be held responsible to God for their actions. I don’t think that anyone can pinpoint a specific age when a person reaches the age of accountability; it is different for every person. A person that is born mentally handicapped may never reach the age of accountability and in my opinion they will go to heaven.
Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). We all know that no one is perfect and that sinful humanity is the reason for all the world’s problems. The Law of Moses is not the answer, the Law is prefect but our sinful flesh keeps us from fulfilling the Law completely (Romans 8:3). The Law was never meant to solve the human sin problem, it was given to show us how sinful we really are (Romans 3:28). Human laws have not solved the sin problem and in some ways human laws have only made matters worse. The religious organizations of the world have come up with all kinds of rules, regulations and gimmicks; they tell us to come to their church, join their religious organization, give our money to their church or denomination, but none of their rules and regulations has solved the sin problem with humanity—human methods can never solve a spiritual problem!
God must come up with something that will solve the sin problem with humanity or no one will get to heaven. The angelic realm knew that when Satan sinned against God one-third of the angels followed Satan in his rebellion (Revelation 12:4) and that God cast some of these rebellious angels into chains in hell (2 Peter 2:4). Angels were there when Adam and Eve sinned against God and I’m sure the angels of God were wondering how God was going to solve the human sin problem. The salvation of sinful humans was the most profound problem that had ever risen in the whole universe. Now we can see why the prophets of the Old Testament and the angels wanted to look into this (1Peter 1:12), but God hid it from them until it was revealed to the New Testament apostles and to the church (Ephesians 3:18).
Most people never realize the magnitude of the human sin problem, because God is love, holy, just and righteous. If God is to forgive sin He must do so in a manner that not only demonstrates His love, but equally shows His justice, His righteousness, His holiness, His truth, His eternal glory and His unchangeableness. How can God’s grace and mercy be made compatible with His justice? God’s answer to this problem shows God’s wisdom and the eternal glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We rob God of this glory if we think that we can do anything to save ourselves—that is why legalism is so hated by God.
To solve the human sin problem God sent His Son into this world of sinfulness to live in a human body and He was tempted just like we are—yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He lived a perfect life to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17) and took the sins of humanity upon himself (John 1:29, 1 John 4:10). This Son was not born in a king’s palace, but in a lowly stable where donkeys lived and ate, in this way he could identify with even the poorest of humanity. Jesus was a carpenter and worked with his hands. He understood hard work and callused hands; Jesus knew what it was to be a common person. Jesus announced He was the Messiah while riding on a donkey, not while riding in a royal chariot.
It was God who put Jesus Christ on the Cross to be crucified and taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9). “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus fulfilled the Law with all its regulations and nailed it to the Cross and put to open shame all the demonic powers of Satan (Colossians 2:14-15). The evil forces of this world thought they had won when Jesus died on the Cross, but God used their own worldly and demonic wisdom to accomplish His glorious purpose of salvation for humanity. God put our sins upon Jesus Christ and dealt with them; in this way God remains just and righteous because the sin is punished and the Law is fulfilled. Jesus said all judgment has been given to Him (John 5:22). We have a choice, either be judged for our sins by Jesus Christ, or be saved from our sins by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Jesus will be your Savior, or your judge. It’s your choice!