There was Adam and then there was Eve.  Created in the moral image of God.  Righteous. Pure.  Consciences clean and clear.  So totally innocent they did not even notice their physical and spiritual nakedness.  In this pristine state, they were possessed of the ultimate humility: utter unselfconsciousness.

They could not be described as blameless, as no wrong had been done to which blame might attach.  To call them sinless would be inaccurate, as sin had not entered their minds.  Their character was uncorrupted, but it had never been put to the test.  They had not yet been tempted.  A grasp of this point is essential.  Only good could spring from within these beings, as there was nothing but goodness inside them.  To change this picture, an independent outside agent was necessary.  For evil to take root in the human heart, it had to first to be implanted.

Enter the Adversary, a fourth actor on the stage of the real-life melodrama (God, the Creator, having been previously mentioned).  The Devil’s pitch was that God, in selfishness, was holding out on the happy couple.  According to him, God did not want any rivals, which Adam and Eve would surely become if only they had the vision and courage to disobey Him.  This, said Satan, was the “real” reason God had forbidden the pair to eat the fruit of the one tree in the garden that He had declared off limits: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

But Adam and his wife already knew good, had always known good, knew NOTHING BUT good.  They had obtained this knowledge from God and experienced it with God.  The only thing the Devil offered was the knowledge of evil.

Soon, the parents of the human race would practice evil and learn its effects.  They would quickly discover to their shame and horror, that they had traded their innocence for a pack of lies and a blighted future of suffering, misery, and death.  They had not become gods and instead, would be slaves of sin that would forever separate them from the Holy One who had created them for blessing and fellowship with Him.  In the end, they and their descendants would become personally acquainted with the righteous indignation and fearsome justice of Almighty God.

Before the bar of His justice, they would not be found innocent, for they had already transgressed the commandment.  The verdict could only be guilty…convicted…condemned.

Now what?  Send them to hell?  Throw those ungrateful, disobedient, rebellious wretches into the lake of fire to be tormented for all eternity?   What about the rest of humanity, the generations since?

I inherited my sinful nature from the union of sinful human beings.  Surprise!  I was born with a sinful nature and quickly became a sinner in my own right.  That’s what sinners do—they sin.  It’s not guilt by association, by imitation or imputation.  It’s my own lawlessness.  I haven’t loved God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and I haven’t loved my neighbor as myself.  [Whether you realize and admit it or not, neither have you.  We are all under the same condemnation and all deserve to pay the price.  That price is the death penalty.]

If God is who the world thinks He is, He is even now scowling in disapproval, hand on the lever of the trap door beneath our feet.  But here is where our story takes a sudden and amazing plot twist.  While God has the right to give us the wages of sin, He chooses not to treat us as we deserve.  He loves us and wants to forgive us.  But His holiness and justice must be satisfied.  An honest judge would never bend justice or sweep wrongdoing under the rug, even to save those he loves.  The price must be paid or the judgment against us will stand.  The problem is, we can’t pay.

Enter Jesus Christ, only begotten Son of the living God.  He steps into the dock and offers Himself to the court as a substitute, even though our crime is a capital offense.  He is not guilty of sin.  He is wholly innocent.  Yet, He is willing to pay our debt to set us free and satisfy the law’s demands.  The trade is made and those who agree to accept the switch are pronounced free to go, all charges dropped, records expunged.  Complete acquittal, no double jeopardy.

Inexplicably, there are those (a majority in fact!) who refuse to accept the pardon Jesus purchased with His own precious blood.  Call it pride or stubbornness or false bravado, they are too far gone and unwilling to give up their sin.  For them there is no remedy.  God does not have and does not need a plan ‘B’.

But the details of Plan ‘A’ are truly shocking.  Bear in mind that God’s Son was as innocent as Adam and Eve before their catastrophic fall into sin.  Even moreso, because Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days as Jesus fasted in the wilderness (Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2).  In fact, Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Think of it—Jesus, the embodiment of innocence, sullied and burdened with the sin of the world, became the embodiment of sin for us on the cross.  “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

As the personification of sin, when Jesus was nailed to the cross, our sin was nailed to the cross, with powerful effects: 

”And you, being dead in your sins…hath he quickened together with [Jesus], having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:13-15).

Have you lost your innocence or had it stolen from you?  Are you ready and willing to let Jesus into your heart, to heal, restore and transform it from the inside out?  Will you give Him your pain, your guilt, your fear, and your shame?  He bore it all and paid your debt in full, nailing YOUR sins to the cross on which He willingly died for you.  He triumphed and through faith in Him, so can you.  The victory is in Him and in His resurrection.  If you haven’t already done so, why not turn to Him now and become innocent, in the eyes of God?  Here’s how.

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)