Solving Mankind’s Problems
Humanity’s Lost Connection and Its Burden
Our struggle with sin and its heavy consequences began when Adam, the first man, lost his close bond with God through disobedience. Because of this, we now live with a broken connection to our Creator. The answer to our deep troubles lies in regaining what Adam lost—a perfect relationship as God’s children. We must find our way back to unity with the Creator who truly cares for us. God himself has already set the stage for us to return.
Understanding God’s Plan from His View
To see how God has acted, why he did so, and how his arrangement will rescue us from our flaws, we need to look through his eyes. The Bible shows us that God stands apart as righteous and completely pure. (Exodus 39:30; Psalm 89:14; Isaiah 6:3; John 17:11) Sinful and imperfect people cannot, by their own merit, restore a good standing with him. (Colossians 1:21) Only when sins are covered or paid for can we be accepted. Any solution for sin must fit perfectly with God’s goodness and fairness. God wants his intelligent creations to see justice in what he does. To grasp the full picture, we have to start at the very beginning.
Adam’s Choice and Its High Cost
From the Bible, we learn that when Adam and Eve broke God’s law, they did more than just make a mistake—they set themselves and their future children up as slaves to sin and death. (Romans 5:12-19; 7:14-25) Everyone born from Adam faces the same need for freedom. Real justice calls for a price to be paid.
Think about a father who wastes his wealth and racks up huge debt. Is it fair for the lenders to ignore what he owes just to spare his children? If the father dies, should the family keep running up debt with no sense of care? Wouldn’t this encourage others to misuse their own or others’ resources?
If the children pick up their father’s bad habits, how can the debt be cleared? How could they become strong enough to avoid the same mistakes?
Someone outside the family would need to step in and pay off what is owed. For children who truly want to change, this person might also help them as they work to break free from old habits.
God’s Answer Through a Willing Sacrifice
This picture helps us see what God planned in freeing us from sin and death’s grip. First, he made a way for the debt to be settled. What was the price? Adam wasted the greatest gift—a perfect human life—by turning against God. Because of that, he lost this same gift for all his children. To buy it back, the price had to match what was lost. This lines up with God’s own words to ancient Israel: “Soul will be for soul.” (Deuteronomy 19:21)
None of Adam’s children could pay that price, since no one held a perfect life to give. The Bible states, “Not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother, nor give to God a ransom for him (and the redemption price of their soul is so precious that it has ceased to time indefinite).” (Psalm 49:7, 8)
But God made the payment by giving his own Son. He moved his Son’s life from heaven into Mary’s womb. This meant that the child Mary gave birth to, Jesus, was a flawless human—God’s true son. (Luke 1:35; Philippians 2:5-7) Jesus, the man, could give up his perfect life for us. (Matthew 20:28)
The Way Back Is Open—But on God’s Terms
With his death, Jesus paid the full price required to buy back the human family. For people to have their “debts” wiped out—for their wrongs to be forgiven—they must accept what God offers on his terms. God has created a fair basis for forgiving sins and set clear steps for us to follow. This way, he stays true to his own standards when working with those who genuinely want to please him. He does not turn a blind eye to wrongdoing. (Matthew 6:12; Romans 3:25, 26; 1 John 1:9)
Waiting for Full Freedom
Nearly two thousand years have gone by since Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection brought hope of a new life. (Acts 13:34-37) Still, people keep dying. Why? Because the time for God to fully use Jesus’ sacrifice hasn’t yet come. (Revelation 22:1, 2) But this does not mean God has sat back and done nothing since then. He has already made the way for us to break free from sin’s grip, and his promises remain, showing us that full release is still ahead.
