Since the day Adam and Eve, under the influence of Satan himself, fell from their holy and happy state, mankind has been looking for someone or something to blame. For Eve, it was Satan. For Adam, it was Eve, and for Satan, there was no one else to blame. The consequences of the fall were devastating. As a result, all of mankind was hopelessly lost, and death was pronounced on humanity. One does not need to have a degree in theology to see these results in our world today. Sin, misery, death, dysfunction, and self-destruction have become part of the human experience brought on by the fall. Broken lives, violence, hatred, greed, corruption, and the list goes on. Whose fault is it?
The short answer is all of us. But just as the first man and woman looked for a scapegoat, so do we today. Despite all the trouble brought on by the fall, Praise God, there is a scapegoat, and His name is Jesus. Jesus Christ knew it wasn’t His fault, precisely whose fault it was, and knew something had to be done to “fix” the fall. He didn’t point fingers, but His atonement points humanity to the cross. Though He was not to blame, he took our shame and nailed it at Calvary. The religious leaders of that day needed someone to condemn, and in denouncing Christ, they secured our justification, though it is and was our fault; Romans 4:25; ” Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Let this statement sink in. As Barabbas in Scripture, we were justly under condemnation for our sins, and God has made Jesus the propitiation for not His faults but ours. The innocent and spotless Lamb of God made reconciliation for humanity’s guiltiness. Jesus dying in our place was just part of the restoration project. Jesus arose from the dead! Showing himself alive by “many infallible proofs,” He became the author of eternal salvation. His disciples saw Him ascend back to Heaven and, 10 days later, received the Holy Ghost, indicating the last days were upon us.
The final chapter in humanity’s history is being written now. The Gospel has reached the ends of the earth, and there are anit-Christian coalitions worldwide. Tribulation is not a future event but a present reality suffered by the Church’s faithful. The consummation of all things is upon us. Death will be swallowed up in victory at the resurrection of the dead, the souls of saints united with a glorified body like unto the Son Of God, and a complete restoration of all of creation will then consummate the eternal state. It is then that it will not matter whose fault it was; all that will matter is who gets the glory for the restoration. Even if it wasn’t His fault!
Roger L. Porter
