Math and the Gospel

Below is a short extract from Revealing Arithmetic–please feel free to share with others! There’s a PDF Version available if you’d like to print it.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20 (KJV)

Within math, we see a glimpse of God’s eternal power and Godhead. His power keeps one plus one consistently equalling two. His infinity makes infinite numbers possible.

Although we might try our hardest, we cannot change math. We can change the symbols or names, but no matter how we refer to or write it, one of something plus one of something else will consistently equal two. Math is not relative. Why? Because God is God and we are not. He, not us, decides how things will be. He set and keeps certain principles in place, and if we want a math that will actually work, we have to conform to those principles.

We tend to change God and His truths to fit our understanding or thinking. We think, “Surely there must be some good in me. God must want me to fix myself up and be a good person. And He would not send me to hell when I tried so hard.” But we need to heed what God says in His Word. Just as we cannot change math principles, we cannot change truth. God decides truth, not us.

So what does God say? The Bible teaches that God created a perfect universe, one that was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). There was originally no suffering, sickness, or death. But man rebelled (Genesis 3). This rebellion is sin, and the penalty for sin is death.

The moment the first man, Adam, sinned, death came into the world. Man’s relationship to God was no longer perfect. His body began to die. Creation, too, suffered the effects of sin—sickness, suffering, and death had entered the world. One day, Adam would die completely. Unless someone saved him from sin, he would spend eternity separated from his Creator in Hell, a place of perpetual torment.

God, in His loving kindness, already had a plan in place even before He laid the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). Right there in the Garden of Eden, God clothed the first man and woman with garments of skin (Genesis 3:21), foreshadowing the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ, whom He would send into the world to take the penalty for our sin upon Himself.

We see God’s plan of redemption woven throughout the Bible. Over and over again, God showed mankind his need for a savior—and promised to send one. He gave the Law to show mankind how incapable we are of being holy. Just look at the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20)—by their standard, each one of us falls short. As descendents of Adam, we are born in sin, incapable of doing anything good at all. Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Jeremiah 13:23 adds, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” Even the good things we do are as “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). God wants us to realize how much we need Him to save us. We simply cannot save ourselves!

Yet God can save us. The Bible tells us Jesus, God the Son, took on the form of a man (John 1:1-5). Since He was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:23), He was not born with Adam’s sinful nature. He was the second perfect man—the second Adam. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Jesus lived on earth as fully God and fully man, living a perfect life. He then allowed His own creation to beat, mock, and nail him to a tree. Jesus—the very One who upholds all things so consistently that one plus one consistently equals two—humbled himself to die and bear the wrath for all the evil mankind has ever and will ever do (John 19). It is as if He said, “I did that” to every sin ever committed. Can you imagine a king willingly giving his life for one who tried to take his throne? Yet what Jesus did is far greater than even that. The Giver of life and Creator of all died for the very ones who nailed Him to the tree!

Just before He gave up His spirit, Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He had completed all that was necessary for our salvation. He had paid our penalty.

But the glorious gospel message does not end there. Three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead. In so doing, He conquered death forever (1 Corinthians 15). He now sits at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). And one day soon, He is coming back again (Revelation 22:20).

God’s way of salvation is clear: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). God offers us Jesus’ righteousness and eternal life in exchange for our sin. What an exchange!

If you have not yet handed your life to God and asked Him to credit Jesus’ righteousness to you in exchange for your sin, do not delay! Go to Him in prayer right now. What God says, He means and is able to perform, as math’s very consistency so clearly reminds us. God’s Word tells us both of His wonderful salvation and eternal life for those who trust Him, and of a coming judgment for those who do not.
If you have already trusted in Jesus as your savior, ask yourself, “Am I living in the truth of the gospel?” The Bible tells us we are to live the same way we are saved—admitting our own inability and trusting and clinging to Jesus and His righteousness.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Colossians 2:6 (KJV)

Note: If your heart has been touched by this explanation of the gospel or if you have any questions regarding it, please contact me. I, or one my family members, would be delighted to share more with you on this topic.