A gas pipe line near the Turnpike in Stuart exploded this morning and a car accident happened about the same time. Which came first? Initially, it was believed that the car ran into the pipe line (accident first, then explosion), but later it was determined that the pipe line must have exploded first, then flying debris caused the car accident.
An elderly lady fell recently while walking through a department store and her hip broke. Which came first? It was long believed, as I understand it, that a person’s fall came first and then the hip bone broke. But, it has been determined that in some cases the hip breaks first and then the person falls.
Of the Which came first? scenarios, few have been asked more than, Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Some try to argue that the full-grown chicken could not have come first, it must have been the egg and then the chicken. But from Scripture, only one conclusion is possible—the chicken (i.e., the mature, adult chicken) came first. Of course, wouldn’t it be interesting to ask those same folks, “What’s in the egg?” Isn’t it a chicken!
Now, here’s a question for you. Which came first, sin or salvation? The immediate response may be to say, “That’s obvious. Sin has to come first before salvation. You don’t clean something that isn’t dirty yet.” But, the salvation that comes from God is so comprehensive that it is not merely a reactive agent but is proactive as well.
Sin is the factor in this equation that we can pinpoint exactly—we can mark the very moment that sin entered the world (Gen. 3:6), and we can indentify the exact times in our personal lives when we choose to sin. So, placing that on a timeline, which came first—sin or salvation?
Salvation was purposed from the beginning, before sin was ever committed (Eph. 1:4; 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8).
Salvation was provided on the cross, before you ever committed sin (Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb. 9:11-28).
Salvation is procured only through our obedience and continued faithfulness to the will of God (Matt. 7:21; Mark 16:15-16; Heb. 5:9; 1 John 1:7-9; Rev. 1:5).
God loved us so much that He had our salvation in mind and on course first, before we ever sinned!