Harmony of Testaments

The continuity of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible is such that, as a whole, the Bible is symmetrical in its teachings about creation, the fall, sin, death, forgiveness, and salvation. That is to say that both the Old and New Testaments are in harmony, they agree with each other.

Both Testaments teach that God made humanity in His perfect image, and that the universe also was perfect when He created it. Both Testaments teach that humanity fell into sin, and became alienated from our holy God who is love. Both Testaments teach that God is both holy and loving; that He is about justice and mercy. Both Testaments teach that sin (disobedience toward God) is evil, and deserving of death (Genesis 1-3, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Psalm 97:10, Psalm 11:7 Psalm 103: 6-10, Micah 6:8, John 1:1-5, Romans 1:18-2:4, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23). 

Both Testaments teach that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone, but desires that sinners repent (turn away from sin and be reconciled to Him) so that they may live abundantly forever. Both Testaments teach that the unrepentant sinner will die (Ezekiel 18, with attention to verses 4, 20, 23,32; also read Matthew 3:1-2, Matthew 4:17, Matthew 11:20, and Luke 13:1-5). Sin deserves death; not only physical death, which is separation from the physical body, but spiritual death, which is separation from God who is the eternal First Source of all blessings, love, comfort and good things. If anyone rejects Christ, and dies both physically and spiritually, they can not blame God for that any more than they can blame food if they refuse to eat and consequently die of starvation. Both Testaments teach that everyone is a sinner, deserving of God's judgment (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalm 130:3-4, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23).

That is the whole entire reason that Jesus Christ died on the cross, and descended into the place of the dead (Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek) before He rose victoriously over death to provide everlasting life for all who trust in Him (Isaiah 53, Matthew 20:28, Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, 1 Peter 3:18-20). When we say that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin, we are in fact, implying that we really do deserve exactly what He got on the hill called Calvary. We are, in fact, implying that we personally deserve to be physically crucified, or executed in some dreadful manner, and go to Hell. 

Otherwise, why would Jesus Christ have to pay a penalty for our sin, which our sin does not actually merit? Why would Jesus die on the cross for our sin if our sin is not actually deserving of death by crucifixion? Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross for our sin is consistent with the Old Testament laws regarding sin and death. And all the animal sacrifices prescribed for sin in the Old Testament were foreshadows of the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross (read Hebrews 9).

On the cross, Jesus Christ received the wages of our sin. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). He got exactly what we deserve, so that in turn we may get what He deserves. He offers to take away our sin and condemnation, so that He may share with us His righteousness and good standing with Him and the Father through the Holy Spirit. For "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:23b).

Dissenters may criticize the way that God dealt with certain people in the Old Testament. I myself, a believer, also used to have trouble grappling with such things. But both Testaments teach that every one of us is deserving of physical and spiritual death because of our sin. And God is the Creator and Owner of all life anyway (Ezekiel 18:4). So when He takes a life, He only takes what rightfully belongs to Him in the first place. But through His Son, Jesus Christ, the heavenly Father has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him and receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Paradise with Him (read 1 Corinthians 15).

Garden Paths

The Beautiful Garden Path to Destruction

I'm a little puzzled because I could almost swear that in my first reading of the Old Testament Prophets, in 1999, I read a verse in which God described His wayward people as following "beautiful garden paths to destruction". Those precise words are etched in my memory. In  2005, I even wrote a song lyric based on those words.

The Song of the Serpent imagines the devil saying "And I disguise the road to Hell with pretty pink roses and daffodils". But presently when I search the online Bible, even using the translation that I was using at that time, I can not find any verse in the O.T. Prophets or any other part of the Bible that uses the exact words "beautiful garden paths to destruction".

But there are a few verses that, when put together, match the idea. 

"You will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of oaks. You will blush because you worshiped in gardens dedicated to idols" (Isaiah 1:29; New Living Translation).

"For the leaders of the people have misled them. They have led them down the path of destruction" (Isaiah 9:16).

"All day long I open my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes. All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens. They burn incense on pagan alters. At night they go out among the graves, worshiping the dead" (Isaiah 65:2-4; NLT).

"Those who 'consecrate' and 'purify' themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center - feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats - will come to a terrible end" (Isaiah 66:17; NLT).

So I guess the words that I remember are actually a paraphrase of my own, made by combining various verses when I was reading the book of Isaiah for the first time. Nevertheless, I vividly remember the exact words "beautiful garden paths to destruction". 

And sin is like that, you know. It's like a beautiful garden path to destruction. Lust, greed, godlessness, idolatry, wickedness of every kind can look very attractive. But these things lead to the destruction of the soul.

It's a path that began in the Garden of Eden, where humanity fell into sin. And death came by sin. From that day, history has been a litany of human beings setting up Sin as an idol in their hearts. The idolatrous gardens that Isaiah railed against, though literal, can represent human sin in general. 

Nevertheless God has been working all along to reconcile sinners to Himself.

The Garden Path to Redemption

In the Garden Eden, humanity fell into sin. But the Son of God took a garden path of His own. Though He had no sin of His own He bore our sin upon Himself. He could do this because while He is the sinless Son of God, He also became the Son of Man when He was incarnated and born as the human son of the virgin Mary (John 1:1-14). 

Far down the line from Eden, Jesus came to another garden. Just outside Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, was the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus was greatly troubled because of what lay in store. Death was coming for Him. He prayed to the Father that if possible, the "cup of sorrow" would pass Him by. But He ended His prayer by saying "nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done". And in His distress He began to sweat blood (Matthew 26:36-39; Luke 22:44). The full weight of all human sin was upon Him. 

The next day, Jesus was crucified. Then He was taken down from the cross, and placed in a garden tomb (John 19:41). Jesus remained in the garden tomb that Friday night, through Saturday and into the "wee early hours" of Sunday morning. Then, angels came from the Father into the garden and rolled the stone away from the tomb. And the Son of God rose up to life. 

He conquered death. And because He conquered death, whoever trusts in Him, "though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25; King James Version).

Conclusion

In the Garden of Eden the first man sinned, leading to death (Romans 5:12). In The Garden of Gethsemane, the Son of God and Man took our sin upon Himself and trembled at the approach of death. And out from the garden tomb, He step forth victorious over death, having paid the price for sins not His own (Romans 6:23; Isaiah 53).

Do Christians Peddle Sin?

Sometimes Christians are accused of "peddling sin" because we believe that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). However, calling a thing what it is is not the same as making a thing what it is. Christians do not peddle sin. We do not make people into sinners. Sin is simply the reality of fallen human nature. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

When Adam and Eve committed that first simple act of disobedience, it resulted in the corruption of human nature. Sin became the human condition. It is a regressive condition, and the cause of death - both spiritual and physical (Genesis 2:16-17, Romans 5:12). It may seem a small matter. Especially when one considers a relatively "good" person. But it is not a small matter. Our nature now tends toward disobedience against our Creator; crimes against Divinity. People often try to defend their particular sin by saying they where just born that way. What they do not realize is that we are all "born this way" (i.e. as sinners).

This is why humans deny their Creator. This is why even the best societies tend to regress and fall apart over time. This is why every attempt to forge a Utopian society fails, which is one thing about which Nathaniel Hawthorne and others of his philosophy were right. Spiritual and moral regression is in our nature. And a man is never more wicked than when he thinks he can be good without God. As long as humanity is not at peace with God, humanity is not at peace. Every individual is called by the gospel of Christ to be reconciled to God. Only when we turn to God and receive the forgiveness that He offers through Christ can we be saved. (Romans 7:13-25, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 John 1:9) "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:5).

So Christians actually do quite the opposite of peddling sin. We proclaim reconciliation with God. "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). This reconciliation, then, can only be accomplished by admitting that reconciliation is needed. As long as we deny that there is a problem, we remain in sin and are calling God a liar. (1 John 1:10). Through His Son Jesus, God is standing in the doorway of every human life saying "Let's talk about our relationship. If you are willing, I can make you clean so that I don't have to condemn you for your sin." (Isaiah 1:18 paraphrase).