“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” The gospel is the good news proclaiming that the reign of God’s kingdom has come into this world.
Human Free Will Incapacitated
Human free will exists in sinners, but that it is compromised by sin.
Must I keep asking God for forgiveness?
This remission of all sins is not limited to past sins only, but to all sins—past, present, and future. If it were not so, then justification would have to be repeated over and over again, and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ would be lowered to the level of the animal sacrifices of the old covenant. Therefore it has to be offered over and over again for the continued presence of sin.
Spiritual Debts Written-Off…
The burnt offering uses a personal picture: of man the guilty sinner who deserves to die for his sin and of the animal dying in his place. God accepts the animal as a ransom for man. The sin offering uses a medical model: sin makes the world so dirty that God can no longer dwell there. The blood of the animal disinfects the sanctuary in order that God may continue to be present with his people. The reparation offering presents a commercial picture of sin. Sin is a debt which man incurs against God. The debt is paid through the offered animal.
Adam’s children are delinquents – [Children of Hell]
This has been the curse of Adam’s sons— in every generation and in all parts of the earth. The calamity of evil which then descended upon the world continues to this day. Despite how sophisticated mankind believes to have arrived, the age-old curse of slavery to sin and their judgement to death can never be wiped clean on their own merits. Thus Adam and Eve’s children are equally involved in the sentence of the pain of childbirth, the curse on the ground, the obligation to live by toil and sweat, the decay and death of the body.