Devotion:
Read Romans 5:12-17.
Adam had it all -– created in God’s image, enjoying life in the lush Garden of Eden, and even ruling over all of God’s creation. Given free will, Adam could make his own choices, and it appears that at first he lived in the image in which he was created. Then his human nature to rebel against authority and to push back on boundaries got the best of him, and he disobeyed God. We refer to this sinful nature as “original sin,” and we human beings all have that nature and that tendency to sin. Adam did not cause our sinful nature, but rather he was simply the first to act on it. We need to be saved from our nature, and we cannot be good enough to save ourselves.
In this passage, Paul is comparing the separation from God that started with Adam and the forgiveness and reconciliation with God that comes through the life and death of Jesus Christ. Our righteousness is “imputed,” meaning that we have done nothing to earn or deserve being counted as righteous, but Christ paid our debt and then credited his righteousness to us. When we accept this gift of God’s grace through Christ, God pardons us; and this imputed righteousness is available to all humanity.
Personal Worship Option:
In your prayer time today, reflect on a time when your human nature got the best of you, and you made a sinful mistake or failed to do the right thing. Lift that to God and ask for forgiveness. Give thanks to God for the gift of grace through Christ that saves each of us through faith.
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