Westminster Project 8.5
The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he offered up to God once, through the eternal Spirit, has fully satisfied the justice of his Father and has purchased not only reconciliation but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven for all those whom the Father has given to him.
(WCF 8.5)
Statistically, things are grim: one in every one of us will die. Much of Western thought assumes that, like anything that dies, we simply cease to exist. However, this is not true according to the reality revealed by our Creator. We are beings created with a plan and a purpose (Gen 1:26-28; Ps 8:4-6). Every man, woman, and child will have to give an account to God—whose image we bear—regarding how we lived in His world (Ezek 18:4; Rom 14:8; 1 Cor 6:19; cf. Rev 20:11-13).
This is where things become grim. Humans were created to love and serve our Creator in perfect relationship, which we once had (Gen 1:28a, 31). Yet the root of all humanity, our representative Adam, rejected God’s instruction and brought the curse of sin into the world. With sin came spiritual death for us all (Gen 3:6-19; Rom 5:12-21; cf. Rom 6:23a). Every person descending from Adam is utterly corrupted by sin in every part of our being (Ps 51:5; 109:14). Sin is not just something we occasionally do or think about—it leads and guides us from the very core of our being (Jer 14:12; Matt 15:19-20; Jas 3:6). As a result, every person is under the death penalty and will face eternal consequences (Heb 2:2; 10:29; Rev 20:13; 21:8).
If that were the entire story, it would indeed be terrible news. It would mean that we were created, our first parent failed, and like sheep gone astray, we have nothing to look forward to but the eternal consequences of our rebellion. But here is the wonderfully hopeful good news: if sin’s penalty is death, what if there was someone like Adam, but who did not come by natural means? What if this second Adam perfectly obeyed everything our Creator commanded, and credited His perfect standing to us? This is exactly what the good news of Jesus Christ is all about.
Because of Adam, no amount of good works, religious jargon, or righteous living can wash away the stain of sin (Isa 1:10-15; 64:6). There is nothing we can do to make ourselves guiltless before God. Enter Jesus Christ. As the confession sums up in chapter 8: all human beings are under a curse and deserve death and hell, yet because of God’s mercy and grace, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus. As the second Adam, Jesus lived a perfect life on behalf of His people. When He was crucified, God accepted His life as an atoning sacrifice (Jn 3:16; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13).
Simply put, Jesus acted as a substitute for you and me—He played the role we never could (sinless perfection). When He went to the cross, His life was presented before the judge of the living and the dead, so the curse of death could not be lawfully executed. That’s why death could not hold Jesus in the grave—because He never sinned (Rom 3:23-26; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10; cf. Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22).
Now this is where things get AWESOME. The Bible clearly says that if anyone calls upon the name of the Lord, they will be saved (Rom 10:13). How does this happen?
Just as Adam’s sin was credited to us, by the gift of faith, Jesus’ perfect righteousness is credited to us. Thus, the stain of sin is completely washed away, and we are eternally clothed in the righteousness of Jesus (Rom 5:12-21). Yes, all of us have gone astray like sheep, but it pleased our Creator to lay on His Son the iniquity of us all. Because of His substitutionary atonement, we are reconciled to our Creator—our Father in Heaven—and will never be snatched away again (Isa 53:6; Rom 8:15, 35-39). May we live in the light and hope of the gospel.