In the last post Abel was identified as the very first prophet. He prophesied of a coming Messiah (Christ) that would die for sin and rise from the dead. The purpose was to fulfill God’s promise to Adam and Eve of a Deliverer who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3).
God immediately taught Adam and Eve that an innocent victim would have to die for the guilty. That was a consequence of disobedience, often referred to as sin. The result of Adam’s sin was death. Death in the Bible refers to separation. In Adam and Eve’s case, they immediately experienced relational death with God. Their disobedience resulted in fear, guilt, and shame causing them to hide from Him. They had lost their relationship with God. They were no longer righteous in their standing with Him.
But God in His infinite mercy and grace came looking for them. They had sewn fig leaves together to cover themselves. It was the works of their hands. But God offered to them skins of an animal, picturing a future substitutionary sacrificial Victim. The ultimate substitutionary Victim would be the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). It would be His work on their behalf because He is the only acceptable covering – His robe of righteousness (Is. 61:10).
Anyone from the beginning of time could be restored to fellowship with God by faith in His provision. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
In the third chapter of Assurance of Heaven, I demonstrate from Scripture how simple God made it to be restored to fellowship with Himself. Its people that make it complicated and convoluted by adding to the gospel. In following posts we’ll look at some wrong gospels that cause Christians to lack assurance.
Assurance of Heaven 