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Plan of Redemption Is Unveiled
37
The Terrible Fruits of Sin
Sin brought separation between God and the human family, and
the atonement of Christ alone could span the abyss. God would
communicate with people through Christ and angels.
Adam was shown that while the sacrifice of Christ would be
sufficient to save the whole world, many would choose a life of
sin rather than of repentance and obedience. Crime would increase
through later generations. The curse of sin would rest more and
more heavily on the human race and the earth. The days of men and
women would be shortened by their own course of sin; they would
deteriorate in physical, moral, and intellectual power until the world
would be filled with misery. Through the indulgence of appetite and
passion, people would become incapable of appreciating the great
truths of the plan of redemption. Yet Christ would supply the needs
of all who would come to Him in faith, and there would always be a
few who would preserve the knowledge of God and remain pure.
The sacrificial offerings were given to show repentance for sin
and to be a confession of faith in the promised Redeemer. The first
sacrifice was painful for Adam. His hand must be lifted to take life,
which only God could give. It was the first time he had witnessed
death. He knew that if he had been obedient to God there would have
been no death. He trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the
blood of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God. This gave him a vivid
sense of the greatness of his transgression, for which nothing but the
death of God’s dear Son could atone. A star of hope illumined the
dark future.
The Wider Purpose of Redemption
But the plan of redemption had a yet broader and deeper purpose
than the salvation of the human race. It was not merely that the
inhabitants of this little world might respect the law of God as it
should be respected, but it was to vindicate the character of God
[25]
before the universe. The Savior looked forward to this when, just
before His crucifixion, He said: “Now is the judgment of this world;
now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (
John 12:31, 32
).