One of the most significant biblical principals that we find in God’s word is the idea of spiritual reconciliation. Reconciliation is the process by which something or some relationship is restored. In the accounting world, check registers, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets all require reconciliation. In the eternal spiritual world, because all [men and women] have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, “all” require reconciliation or the restoration of our relationship with God.
Reconciliation became necessary in the garden. Once sin entered the world and the lives of men, God’s relationship with His creation became severely damaged. The damage caused by sin is so great that it results in death (Romans 6:23). When Adam sinned, not only was his relationship with God harmed, for the first time in his life, he looked forward to the unavoidable consequence of death.
Reconciliation became possible through Christ. In Romans 5:10-11, we read that we are reconciled, and our relationship with God is restored, “through the death of His Son” and “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Reconciliation becomes effective through our obedience. Because we sinned, because Christ died for our sins, because we obey God’s word and are baptized into Christ’s death, we are reconciled through our obedience to God (Romans 6:2)
Without the reconciliation that God provides, we would all look forward to the unavoidable consequence of sin, which is death. Thankfully, God’s desire to restore His relationship with each of us is so great that He sent His Son to die in our place.
Matt Langfield