The Ransom Magnifies God’s Righteousness

AFTER the rebellion of Adam and Eve, Jehovah stated his purpose to raise up a Seed who would be bruised in the heel. (Genesis 3:15) This was fulfilled when God’s enemies caused Jesus Christ’s death on a torture stake. (Galatians 3:13, 16) Jesus was without sin, being miraculously conceived in the womb of a virgin by the power of holy spirit. Therefore, his shed blood could be used as the ransom price to free humans, who inherited sin and death from Adam.​—Romans 5:12, 19.

Nothing can stop the almighty God, Jehovah, from fulfilling what he purposes. Thus, after man’s fall into sin, the ransom price was as good as paid from Jehovah’s viewpoint and he could have dealings with those who exercised faith in the fulfillment of his promises. This enabled sinful descendants of Adam, such as Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, to walk with and even be befriended by God without tarnishing his holiness.​—Genesis 5:24; 6:9; James 2:23.

Some individuals who had faith in Jehovah committed serious sins. King David is one example. ‘How,’ you may ask, ‘could Jehovah continue to bless King David after David committed adultery with Bath-sheba and then caused the death of her husband, Uriah?’ An important factor was David’s genuine repentance and faith. (2 Samuel 11:1-17; 12:1-14) Based on the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God could pardon the sins of the repentant David and yet maintain His own justice and righteousness. (Psalm 32:1, 2) In proof of this, the Bible explains what the most wonderful accomplishment of Jesus’ ransom is, namely “to exhibit [God’s] own righteousness, because he was forgiving the sins that occurred in the past” and “in this present season.”​—Romans 3:25, 26.

Yes, great benefits flow to mankind because of the value of Jesus’ blood. On the basis of the ransom, repentant human sinners can enjoy a close relationship with God. In addition, the ransom opens the way for a resurrection of the dead into God’s new world. That will include faithful servants of God who died before Jesus paid the ransom and even many who died in ignorance and did not worship Him. The Bible says: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) At that time, based on the ransom, Jehovah will grant all obedient humans everlasting life. (John 3:36) Jesus himself explained: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) All these benefits will flow to mankind because of God’s provision of the ransom sacrifice.

The outstanding thing about the ransom, however, is not the benefits that we receive from it. Of greater importance is what Christ’s ransom does for Jehovah’s name. It proves that Jehovah is a God of perfect justice who can deal with sinful humans and still remain pure and holy. If God had not purposed to provide the ransom, no descendant of Adam, not even Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, could have walked with Jehovah or been his friend. The psalmist realized this and wrote: “If errors were what you watch, O Jah, O Jehovah, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3) How thankful we should be both to Jehovah for sending his beloved Son to earth and to Jesus for willingly giving his life as a ransom for us!​—Mark 10:45.

Good Conduct Bears Fruit

ON A small island off the coast of southern Japan, a mother and her three young children began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Seeing this, the neighbors in that isolated and very conservative area began to ignore the mother whenever they saw her. “What hurt more than their ignoring me was that they gave my husband and children the cold shoulder,” she relates. Nevertheless, she told her children: “We must continue to greet our neighbors for Jehovah’s sake.”​—Matthew 5:47, 48.

At home, she taught her children to be polite despite rejection. On the way to their regular visits to the local hot springs, the children practiced their greetings in the car. Upon entering the building, the children always called out cheerily, “Konnichiwa!”​—“Good day!” The family patiently continued to greet all whom they met, even though the neighbors’ response remained chilly. Still, people could not help but notice the children’s good manners.

Finally, one neighbor and then another responded with “Konnichiwa.” At the end of two years, almost everyone in town was returning the family’s greetings. They had also begun greeting one another and had become friendlier. The deputy mayor wanted to honor the children for their role in this change. But their mother assured him that they were only doing what Christians should do. Later, in an island-wide speech contest, one son related how his mother had trained the family to greet others politely regardless of the reaction. His talk won first prize and was printed in the town newspaper. Today, the family is very happy that following Christian principles produced such good results. Sharing the good news with others is much easier when people are friendly.