While Christ as a Prophet foretold many things before His Incarnation, it was not until after His Incarnation that He entered fully on His Prophetic Office. He was the Prophet foretold by Moses. "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken." Deut. 18:15.
And Peter in his sermon in the Temple declared that Christ was that Prophet. Acts 3:19-26. As a Prophet Christ foretold His death and Resurrection. His Parabolic teaching was full of Prophetic statements, and in His "Olivet Discourse" (Matt. 24:1, 25:46) He outlined events that should come to pass from the time of His Ascension until His Return. But the main purpose of His Incarnation was to make an Atonement for the sin of the human race. This He only could do by becoming a MAN. For only as the "SINLESS MAN" could He atone for the sin of sinful men. This He did by His death on the Cross. To understand the need of the Atonement we must understand what sin is, Sin is -
" THE WORLD'S BLOOD POISON. "
It takes no Bible, or standard of morals, to make a man realize that when he would do good, evil is present with him. And all recognize that there is a conflict between our conscience and our conduct, between our better judgment and our carnal appetites.
Men may call this "Moral Inharmony" or what they will, the Bible calls it SIN. And the sins we commit only reveal the "PRINCIPLE OF SIN" that is written us, as the boils, carbuncles, etc., reveal the bad state of the blood in a human body. This "Principle of Sin" we inherit. King David said - "Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psa. 51:5. He did not mean by that, that he was born out of wedlock, or was the son of an adulteress, he meant that he was born with a sinful nature. By "Original Sin" or "Natural Depravity" is not meant that there is nothing good in man, but that the natural tendency of the human heart is toward evil. Sin is not the result of environment or temptation, but is the outcome of a SINFUL INCLINATION. James 1:13-14. Christ pictures the human heart as the source of all kinds of specific sins. Mark 7:20-23. We must distinguish between "SIN" and "SINS." "SIN" is the natural disposition that we inherit from Adam, "SINS" are the specific acts of sin that we commit because of the disposition to sin in us. Sin is to the natural man what the tendency to rot is to the apple.
Adam was born innocent, there was but a step between his innocence and righteousness, and but a step between his innocence and sin. He chose to take the latter step and became a sinner. If he had taken the former step he would have become righteous and would have been permitted to eat of the "Tree of Life" and live forever in a state of holiness. Adam and Eve had no children before the Fall. If they had had they would have been born innocent. The children Adam begat after the Fall were born sinners, so the human race became sinners by inheritance. "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that ALL HAVE SINNED." Rom. 5:12. The fact that all men die is therefore proof that all men are sinners. Now the penalty of Adam's sin was both spiritual and physical death, and the only way the human race can be saved from spiritual and physical death is by some one paying that penalty for them.
This Christ came into the world to do. To this end it was necessary that He should become a MAN. This required that He should be born of a woman. But He must be a SINLESS MAN, that is He must have no inherited taint of SIN in His nature, therefore He could not have a human Father. Wherefore the "HOLY THING" that was born of Mary (Luke 1:35) was generated in her womb by the Holy Ghost, and was sinless because Mary only imparted to Him His physical body. Being sinless Jesus was qualified to make an Atonement for sin. Now it is a "Principle of Law" THAT THE PENALTY OF A BROKEN LAW MUST FALL ON THE BREAKER OF THE LAW, OR ON A SUBSTITUTE, OTHERWISE THE LAW IS OF NO EFFECT.
An "ATONEMENT" then is any "Provision" that may be introduced into the Administration of a Government, whereby that Government may on JUST, SAFE, and HONORABLE GROUNDS grant a PARDON to the Offender. This Jesus done on the Cross for you and me, taking away all our sins, ONCE FOR ALL, because it was by the shedding of blood that the law must be satisfied and that by the shedding of the blood of Jesus did satisfy the broken law of God, and now, "There is therefore now no condemnation [Judgment] to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1,2.
Are you saved?
If you are not saved, take the time now and turn to Romans 10:9, 10 and read it, then decide if you are willing to believe that Jesus paid the price for you through His death and is now alive and waiting for you to accept it, pray and ask His to forgive you of your sins and tell Him that you now turn your life over to Him, to be Lord in your life, it is that easy, just ask Him into your heart and live; If you are already saved we praise God for you continue to walk by faith and believe that Jesus paid it all, stay in the light, for without are thieve that want to change your mind, make you believe that it isn't so, but Jesus is Lord and He is coming back......
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