Contrast
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:17-19 (NLT)
I inherited many characteristics from my parents because I have their DNA. DNA is the material that carries all the information about how a living thing will look and function. Since I inherited my parents’ DNA, I have blue eyes like they did. Some characteristics may show immediately, and some may take a while to be displayed. My Dad enjoyed running for exercise, and eventually, I also took up running. When we have a characteristic like our parents or behave in a way that’s like our parents, people often say we come by that honestly. In other words, we inherited that trait from our parents.
However, I received some things from my wife’s parents simply because I entered a marriage relationship with my wife. I could go to my in-laws’ house and watch their big-screen TV, eat food from their refrigerator, and use their tools as if they were my own. I didn’t inherit these things by birth, but I received them because I had a relationship with their daughter.
We all have inherited the sin gene from the first man, Adam. We were born with the tendency to sin, and we’ve all acted on that tendency by sinning. As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 5, even having a sinful thought can be a sin. The Bible explains in Romans 6:23 that the result of our sin is death. As we’ve seen throughout history, all people die, and the Bible tells us that this sentence of death is a result of our sin. We die because of our own sin, but we’re also acting out of what we’ve inherited from the first man, Adam. You could say that we come by it honestly.
Though we’ve all inherited sin and death through Adam, we all have the opportunity to receive eternal life through a relationship with the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Adam sinned, but Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and was worthy to sacrifice His own life to take the punishment for our sins. Because of Jesus’ obedience to God and His death for us, we can receive His righteousness as a gift and thus can receive eternal life.
Application: Name something you’ve received because of Jesus and thank God for it.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending your Son Jesus to die for me so I may enjoy eternal life.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?