Doctrine Talk: Humanity Fall and Judgement (John 19:31-42)

Every year before Easter my girls and I create a little garden.

And in the middle of our garden we put up a little flower pot on it’s side and stick a big rock in front of it.

The purpose of this garden isn’t to make the tomb extra pretty…

We re-create the tomb in a garden…because the tomb was in a garden..

this is no accident…

If you remember- Jesus was arrested in a garden…

he was buried…in a garden…

and next week we will see that he is raised to life in a garden…

but that isn’t the first time we see a Garden in scripture…in Genesis- we are told that everything broke..in a garden..

we know that Adam and Eve lived in perfect relationship with God in a garden…

they sinned in a garden…

and because of their sin…they were sent out of the garden..

so God- purposely orchestrates that when Jesus came to save humanity from sin…there would be a garden…

God’s original perfect world was stained with sin in Genesis 3.

and God- OUT OF HIS LOVE FOR HUMANITY- rightly and justly….judges sin.

This is a good thing….we want a God who makes right the wrongs of this world…who does something about the sin we see around us…

judgement is God’s response to sin as a Holy and Loving God.

and Every human being is subject to God’s judgment…because every human, since the time of Adam and Eve, has a sin nature.

sin But God is more than just a just judge…he is a loving Father, desiring RELATIONSHIP with His people.

so..he sent his son to earth- and Jesus- the only perfect human to ever live, provides the only sufficient sacrifice to bear the judgment we all deserve.

In our place, Jesus bore the full weight of the world’s guilt and judgment so that through faith we may have a restored relationship with God. ——

When I do not believe in humanity’s fall and judgment, I convince myself that I am innocent and am the I am ultimate judge of myself and the world. I fail to recognize my depravity…and when I miss my sin… I miss the invitation of salvation that comes only through Jesus Christ.

But when I do rightly see my sin….I run to Jesus. I recognize my sin-soaked heart, seek the Lord’s forgiveness, repent, and receive the priceless gift of an eternal relationship with Him.

and then…I am reborn…into a new life with Him.

new life…just like you often find in the spring..in a garden..

as the flowers begin to bloom, the leaves bud and the grass turns into a deep green…

as you look at the new life springing up right now….remember the garden…

remember the new life you have, in Christ, because of his death, BURIAL and resurrection…

and worship him knowing that now, instead of God’s punitive judgment you have received eternal life in Jesus.

a new life that has already begun in you, and began the moment you said yes to Jesus.

This year I have had the privilege of watching you bloom.

I have seen you GROW in the Lord.

You have confessed sin, repented, turned to God, and walked in the power of His Spirit, His equipping…and each of you has been matured as you have magnified Him this year.

As you continue to walk with God and enjoy fellowship with Him today…

Remember the cross…remember the garden…remember the tomb…

He died for you…he was buried for you…he put new life in you…so worship Him today…

share a request with the person next to you and then we will pray and worship him together through prayer.