The Offense of the Cross

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.‘” Matthew 1:20-21 ESV

God’s great plan that had been in motion from the foundation of the world provided for us the only way for redemption.

We must never forget that without Jesus, we are lost. Every human born into this world is born with a debt that must be paid. That sin that has come down from every human father to child in every generation since Adam. We are, by default, debtors. If you doubt that, take an honest look and you will see evidence of sin–pain, fear, doubt, hurt, shame, self-centeredness, pride. This sin debt must be paid. We must pay it ourselves or have an innocent man pay it for us. The only innocent man untouched by Adam’s sin is Jesus–God in the flesh. He had was born without sin and lived a sinless life. Without His own sin debt, He chose to pay for ours. (“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Had Jesus not come to earth, we would all be doomed to pay for our own sin. We would all be destined to hell. (Romans 6:23)

His coming to earth and paying for our sin debt is our only hope.

Our only hope was born in Bethlehem that day.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV