Hosea 13:14: "I will RANSOM them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction!"

"The RANSOM is the means by which God could justly release Adam (and all mankind) from the death sentence of Eden. The word RANSOM is translated from the Greek word Antilutron, meaning ’an equivalent, corresponding price.’ This concept of the corresponding price is a fixed law of God’s universe. It is expressed in Israel’s Law Covenant: ’Thou shalt give LIFE for LIFE, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Exodus 21:23-24

It permits Adam and all mankind to be brought back to life! 'For since by a man (Adam) came death, by a man (Jesus) came also the resurrection of the dead.’ 1 Corinthians 15:21 (NAS)"  From The Man Christ Jesus: A Ransom for All

Read online newsletter: The Man Christ Jesus: A Ransom for All

Read online excerpt (Chapter 9) from The Divine Plan of the Ages: "Ransom & Restitution"

Read online excerpt (Chapter 15) from The Atonement Between God and Man: "A Ransom For All"

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Bible Question: What is the Bible reference where it says God cannot look upon sin? My question pertains to Christ’s remarks on the Cross when He asked his Father "why have you forsaken me?"

 
ANSWER
You are correct in linking the fact that God can not look upon sin with Jesus’ words. In Jesus’ question, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34) he could feel that Jehovah’s communication to him was not there. Jehovah deals only with perfect things, and at that moment, Jesus had become "sin." 2Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." The word "sin" in this verse is "sin offering" in the original Greek, as Jesus took the place of sinful man at that moment. Another scripture also states "Made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13)--cut off from life, treated as the sinner, as our substitute. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so was it that the man Christ Jesus would be lifted up upon the cross as our sin-offering.
PLAN OF GOD
Deuteronomy 32:4 - He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. As God created man, he was good-- "very good" --perfect. (Genesis 1:31 – “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good….”) God being perfect, could give only a perfect law for the government of his creatures. That perfect law, in brief, was obedience to his will. God made one penalty for violators of his just law: It was that such being should be deprived of existence-- "Dying thou shalt die"--"dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 2:17; and 3:19.) This was not unjust on God’s part. We may see, as God does, that anything short of perfect obedience to his perfect will and law, would create trouble and general discord not only to the sinner, but to all associated with him; therefore, it is a merciful provision for the good of all God’s creatures, that "the wages of sin is death…." (Romans 6:23)
Adam violated God’s law and thus came under the penalty. The scriptures tell us “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12). In Psalms 89:14 we read, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” (NIV) The penalty could not be remitted, because it was just, and to remit it would be for God to act unjustly. It was not too severe a penalty, for God is too wise to err. But what about love and faithfulness? The quality of love in God’s character is exemplified in His plan of redemption which centers upon Jesus. It is expressed in the familiar scripture John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Both Old and New Testament scriptures assure us that God is faithful - “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) and “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)
This plan of redemption is also encapsulated in 1 Timothy 2:3-6, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” It is God’s plan to have ALL men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. It was His son, Jesus, who paid the ransom for ALL, which will be testified to in due time. That is evidence will be given, clearly proving (see Strong’s concordance and Webster’s dictionary) that Jesus was the means by which salvation will come to all. We read in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” The word “ransom” can be defined as “…price paid for the redemption of a prisoner or slave,…or… the price paid for a forfeited life…” Jesus willingly laid down his life, he paid the price for Adam’s disobedience – a human life. The Apostle Paul elaborates upon this point in numerous places – the following are but two:
- 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22 - “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
- Romans 5:17, 18 – “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”
Jesus shared his Father’s plan to “…ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death:…” (Hosea 13:14) Jesus was faithful in his covenant (or promise) unto death and was rewarded by his Father – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2), “…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) That faithfulness included experiencing the feeling of alienation from God – as Adam was banished from the Garden of Eden, and no longer enjoyed the fellowship with the Father. God can not look upon sin as we read in Habakkuk 1:13 - “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:…”

Bible Question: WHY DID BLOOD HAVE TO BE SHED TO APPEASE GOD?

We would prefer to say that blood is necessary to satisfy justice, not to "appease" God. It is not a matter in which God’s character has to be appeased in any way, it is simply a matter of "a life for a life" to balance the scales of justice.

Lev 17:11 tells us that life is in the blood, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

The Scriptural principle regarding the need for blood to be shed is found in Hebrews 9:22 - "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

Because Father Adam was a perfect man and then he sinned, his penalty was death: Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Since the penalty of sin is death, only by a sacrificial death of another perfect man could sinners (Adam and all his children) be released from the death penalty. A perfect man (Jesus) had to take the place of the perfect man (Adam) who sinned.

God is perfect, and His standard is righteousness and absolute justice. In order to deal with us, He provided his only-begotten Son, Jesus, to come to earth as a perfect man to pay the corresponding price to ransom Adam who fell -- a perfect life for a perfect life. Once Jesus’ ransom merit is paid to the Father on behalf of the world, they will have the opportunity to come back into harmony with God in his kingdom.

We are told in Acts 4:10-12, "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...whom God raised from the dead...there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." All people are born sinners (passed on to them from their father Adam). The only possible way to come out from the condemnation of death is through Jesus Christ -- a perfect man who gave his life for the perfect man Adam. Romans 5:15: "For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."

It is because Jesus paid the ransom [corresponding price] for Adam and his whole race that all mankind will, in Christ’s kingdom on earth, be brought to a full knowledge of God and given a full opportunity of recovery from sin and death. 1 Timothy 2:4-6, "Who will have all men to be saved [out of condemnation], and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

So all mankind have a wonderful hope, because of Jesus Christ, of being raised to life and have the opportunity to live forever in a perfect earth.

But many times it is overlooked that the Scriptures teach two different kinds of salvation. In the familiar "Lord’s prayer" in Matthew 6:10, Jesus prayed, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. "There will, therefore, be a kingdom on earth as well as one in heaven.

Christians who have fully consecrated their lives to God, willing to sacrifice their present lives to do the will of God, are promised a heavenly salvation if they are faithful, and they will be Christ’s church. The rest of the world will be raised to life in the kingdom on earth. The kingdom on earth will be restored to perfection, being ruled by Christ and his church.

1 John 2:2 says, "And he [Jesus] is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins [the church’s]: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Romans 8:19 is another scripture which tells us there will be two salvations. "For the earnest expectation of the creation [the whole world] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God [the church to be completed]." Once all the church are completed and resurrected in heaven, then the kingdom on earth can begin when the whole world will be blessed.