Jesus stands ready to lift us out of our sin and into salvation

Published 9:13 am Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Dear Rev. Graham: The Bible records the great plagues that God brought upon Egypt as punishment for their treatment of Israel, but didn’t Israel suffer too? And why must people today have to pay for the sins of Adam and Eve? — P.P.

Dear P.P.: The age-old question of original sin bringing judgment upon all men never ceases to bring fear because people don’t want to believe that “all have sinned.” No sin is isolated in the life of a sinner — any sinner. It spreads like poison gas into every available crevice. What may have been the rebellion against God in the beginning has resulted in the most insidious plague the world has known. Greater than any disease, crisis, or epidemic is the influence of sin that touches the innocent as well as the guilty.

Think of the drunk driver who loses control of his vehicle and strikes and kills a child on a sidewalk, of the deceiver who spikes a soda with drugs causing a teenager to overdose, or a violent adult who wounds the heart of an elderly parent through careless and hateful words.

The story of the woman caught in adultery is a familiar one. The accusing crowd brought her before Jesus demanding she be stoned. The hostility grew as people picked up stones making ready for execution.

Jesus stooped down and wrote something in the sand. While Scripture doesn’t reveal the message, He stood and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). Imagine the accusers as they shifted one foot to another, their eyes on the ground, not daring to look at one another. As they had dragged the woman to judgment, so they found themselves in the presence of the Judge.

We all need forgiveness and Jesus stands ready to lift us out of our sin and into salvation.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)