READING • ISAIAH 53
God has provided a way out of sin and death
The Bible explains why the world is troubled, why every human being is affected by sin and death, and how God—in His love—has opened a way of salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is wrong with the world?
Crime, violence, war, disease, hunger, injustice and suffering are familiar features of human life. Because we hear of them so often, it is easy to accept them as normal. Yet the Bible asks us to look beneath the symptoms and understand the deeper problem: mankind has turned away from God.
When God made the world, He made it “very good”. The misery and uncertainty we see today are not presented in Scripture as the purpose for which mankind was created. The Bible traces the beginning of the problem back to human disobedience.
The beginning of the trouble
God created Adam and taught him His ways. He gave Adam freedom within a clear command. Like a loving father who expects obedience, God required Adam to respect the boundary He had set:
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Genesis 2:16–17 • King James Version
Adam disobeyed. His sin brought consequences exactly as God had warned. He became a dying creature, and every generation after him has shared that mortality and has also committed sin.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12)
It happens to us too
The problem is not only Adam’s. Isaiah describes the human condition in words that include every one of us:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
Jeremiah adds, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Paul likewise recognised the struggle within human nature: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18).
What is the remedy?
Before Adam sinned, he stood in fellowship with God. Disobedience broke that relationship. Since then all of Adam’s descendants—except the Lord Jesus Christ—have sinned, and all are mortal. We cannot reverse death by our own strength, nor can we erase our own sins.
The human problem
We are born mortal, and then we add our own sins. Left to ourselves, we cannot save ourselves from sin and death.
Saved by God’s grace
God did not abandon mankind. His answer begins with His own love and grace. The best-known statement of that love is in John 3:16:
“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 • King James Version
Salvation is not something we can earn. Paul writes, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). God has taken the initiative: He gave His Son and opened the way to forgiveness and life.
But grace calls for a response of faith. Biblical faith is not merely admitting that God exists; it is believing Him, trusting His Word, and allowing that belief to shape what we do.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Jesus and the sacrifice for sin
Jesus was different from every other descendant of Adam: he never sinned. Yet he willingly submitted to death in obedience to his Father. Isaiah 53, the reading for this lesson, points forward to the suffering of the one upon whom human iniquity would be laid.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6 • King James Version
Through the obedient life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has provided the basis on which sins may be forgiven and men and women may receive the hope of life. The love of God in giving His Son, and the willing obedience of Jesus, stand at the heart of the Gospel.
To which family do you belong?
Paul contrasts Adam and Christ in Romans 5. One helpful way of understanding his argument is to think in terms of two families. By natural birth we belong to the human family descended from Adam. Adam sinned, became mortal, and all his descendants share mortality and commit their own sins. Through Jesus Christ, however, God offers a new relationship and a new hope.
IN ADAM
IN CHRIST
We are born into Adam’s mortal family.
God invites us into a new relationship through Jesus Christ.
Adam sinned, and death entered human experience.
Jesus did no sin and was raised from the dead.
We add our own sins and cannot save ourselves.
God offers forgiveness by grace through faith.
If we remain only “in Adam”, death is our end.
By faith, baptism and obedience we may belong to Christ and share his hope of life.
Jesus could establish this new family because he did not submit to sin. God raised him from the dead, and he now lives for ever. Those who learn the Gospel, believe it, repent and are baptized identify themselves with Christ and with the hope made possible through him.
Baptism, which will be studied later in the course, is a symbolic burial and rising again. It marks a decisive change of allegiance: a person dies to the old way of life and begins a new life in Christ. Romans 5:12, 18–21 develops this contrast between Adam and Christ in detail.
Believing in him
John 3:16 says that whoever believes in Jesus should not perish but have everlasting life. That does not mean that saying the words “I believe in Jesus” is enough while our life remains unchanged. Genuine belief produces action.
Faith acts on what it believes
If a child were seriously ill and we genuinely believed a doctor could help, we would not merely say that we trusted the doctor—we would seek the doctor’s help and follow the treatment given. In the same way, faith in Christ means learning what he commands and responding to it.
The New Testament therefore joins faith with repentance, baptism and a life of obedience. We do not earn salvation by these things; salvation remains God’s gift. But real faith trusts God enough to respond to His command.
For a person who has learned and accepted the Gospel, that response begins with baptism by full immersion in water. The believer then seeks, with God’s help, to follow the Lord Jesus throughout life.
The gift of everlasting life
Everlasting life in God’s Kingdom is a gift. Those who believe God’s Word and seek to obey Him pray for the coming of His Kingdom and wait for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus returns, he will establish the Kingdom of God and reign from David’s throne in Jerusalem. Faithful men and women who are accepted by him will receive immortality and share in the work of his Kingdom. Revelation describes the hope of reigning on the earth:
“Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:9–10 • King James Version
The message of this lesson is therefore both serious and hopeful. Sin and death are real, and no human being can rescue himself. But God loved the world and gave His Son so that those who believe, respond and remain faithful may receive everlasting life.
SUMMARY
What this lesson has shown
1
Human trouble has a spiritual root.
The Bible traces sin and death back to Adam’s disobedience and shows that every one of us also sins.
2
Death is the consequence of sin.
Adam was sentenced to death, and all his descendants are mortal.
3
We cannot save ourselves.
Human effort cannot remove sin or overcome death.
4
Salvation begins with God’s grace.
God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son; salvation is His gift, not something we earn.
5
The way of salvation is through Jesus Christ.
His sinless life, obedient death and resurrection make forgiveness and hope possible.
6
Our response is faith.
Biblical faith means believing and trusting God and His Word.
7
True faith produces obedience.
Those who accept the Gospel repent, are baptized and seek to follow the Lord Jesus.
8
God promises everlasting life in His Kingdom.
When Jesus returns, the faithful will share in the life and work of the Kingdom on earth.
Chapter to read
Ephesians 2
LEARN BY HEART • JOHN 3:16
“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 • King James Version
Christadelphian Bible Mission
Box CBM, 404 Shaftmoor Lane, Birmingham B28 8SZ, England
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 5
CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE MISSION • 1