Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 20. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?
A. God, having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.

I thought I would do a followup post from yesterday on the special grace of God extended to humanity through the plan of salvation. After the first Adam fell, plunging all of mankind into an estate of sin and misery, only the Divine could rescue them from that estate whereinto they fell. Jesus Christ is called the “Second Adam” because he reversed the effects of the “First Adam” by doing what the first Adam failed to do, namely, keeping the law of God perfectly and without error. Yet, keeping the law of God was not the only requirement. A mere angel could not atone for sin because as the Scriptures say, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). Only God has the power to impute righteousness in place of sin.

This is that plan of salvation spoken of in the WSC question above, that God came down and dwelt with man and gave His life a ransom for many. The true atonement came at Christ’s time on the cross, for there He suffered the eternal wrath of the Father, to the point of crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46. It is no wonder that there was darkness over the course of that time, for the Eternal Word, Who upheld (and is upholding) the universal in His hands every moment was at that moment suffering damnation in our place. Yet, it was only for a time.

How do we know that the sacrifice amounted to anything? How do we know that the Father thought it to be enough? How do we know that the sacrifice was accepted? He is risen! The Father rose His Son from the dead, and as such, Jesus Christ has become the firstfruits of our own resurrection to come. May we take hope and comfort in that, which leads us into eternal glory. As 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Joshua Reynolds on Conservative Cornerstones – Author of Children’s Books / Family Stories – Finding Conservative Thought in Olde Books. Check out my Authoring Conservatism Post. Look up my two books, The Williams House and Treasure on the Southern Moor in my bookstore!