For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Romans 5:19
If you do any amount of writing on the computer, I am sure you will agree with me that it has many advantages over the old typewriters we used to have in the old days. About the only thing you could change on the typewriter was whether to write in lowercase or capitals. But on the computer, most word processing programs allow us to write in dozens of different fonts, sizes, and styles. And when we find a setting that works well for us, we can set that as our default. In fact, that’s a wonderful thing about computers, the ability to set, and to change, the default settings for many different things. Just as with writing, there is a default setting for people, too, and as our text declares, there is a way to change the default.
God originally set the default for the human race at innocence. That default provided mankind with a perfect living environment, with regular fellowship with the Lord God, and with life. We are not sure how long that default lasted, but it was not God who changed the default. The sorry story of our first parents’ fall includes the resetting of humanity’s default from innocence to sinners. The perfect living conditions were destroyed, and so was the fellowship with God. The new default also brought in judgment and death for all. Sadly, for most of humanity, the default remains in effect. However, God’s great plan of salvation provides a means whereby individuals can opt out of the default of sinner, and opt into God’s special new default setting of righteousness. The new default setting comes at a huge cost, the death of an innocent victim to provide the payment demanded unto the sinners default.
God wasted no time in providing for the new default setting that restores fellowship with Himself and offers deliverance from judgment and death. As Adam and Eve exited Eden, God clothed them in skins of animals that died to provide them with a covering. Adam’s descendents, beginning with Abel, could opt into righteousness by offering a sacrifice that was acceptable to God. However, in the Old Testament, the sacrifices were merely proxies for the one great Sacrifice for sins forever. So, in the New Testament, we read of One Who never fell into the default of sinner. Because He was holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners, He was acceptable as the One Who could make the full payment required for the default of righteousness. On Calvary’s cross, we see the payment made. In His glorious resurrection, we see the payment accepted. And at Pentecost, we see the new default of righteousness made available to all who will accept it.
Unlike the sinner default, the righteousness default can never be changed or deleted, because it is not our righteousness but His. -Jim MacIntosh