Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

  Ecclesiastes 7:20

Restoration is such a beautiful word. Restoration is the process of renewal and healing, bringing something back to its original design and purpose. Taking a rusted out, old automobile from yesteryear and bringing it back to its original condition…that’s restoration. Buying a house, that most would want to see condemned, and making it livable again…that’s restoration. And it’s the same for people too. Seeing people beaten down by life and watching God breathe new life back into them, renewing their desire to live, giving them a purpose, and reestablishing the relationship with Him that has been marred by a life of sin, doubt, despair, hurt, and spiritual blindness…that’s restoration. This restorative process is what God will do in the life of anyone willing to lay it all down at the feet of Jesus and surrender their lives over to Him. And the truth is, there is not a single one of us, in the human race, that isn’t in need of such restoration. The passage in Ecclesiastes is a great reminder of that…”Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.” That’s the truth. That is what God sees as He looks over the earth…the whole of mankind in desperate need of restoration. 

There are two important truths for us to consider when analyzing our need for restoration. The first is the cause for our need. Sin is the root cause of our need for a Restorer, a Redeemer, and a Savior. And it’s not just the individual, ungodly decisions that we all make that create this need. Actually, it’s the sin nature that all of mankind has inherited through the first man, Adam. Consider Paul’s explanation below:

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men (mankind), even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men (mankind). 

        Romans 5:18

Notice in the first half of the verse, we have the reason for the need of restoration. The “one transgression” being presented is not the individual sin that any of us commit. Our sinful decision-making, the constant desire to meet our own needs, unbelief, and a general rebellion toward the One who created us is a mere byproduct of the real reason…the sin nature that we all inherited from Adam. We can think of this as a tree with a root system, a trunk, and fruit being produced through the branches. If the root is bitter, sinful, and rebellious, then the fruit that the tree produces will follow suit. But if our tree is rooted in the love of Christ, redemption, and a vibrant relationship with God, then the fruit will be beneficial and useful to others. Jesus spoke this way and it’s a great way of understanding from where our real problem stems (Matthew 7:15-20, John 15:5). Our problem came to us the day we were born. Paul reminds us that this one transgression of Adam “resulted in condemnation.” And on whom was this condemnation pronounced? Paul reminds us that condemnation for our sin comes to all of mankind…literally “all humans.” So the Ecclesiastes passage reminds us that there is no one who can claim that they always make the right decisions and never sin. (A little aside…this is why Jesus could have an earthly father but had to, Himself, be conceived by the Holy Spirit. This would keep Jesus from being tainted by the sin nature that comes to all people). And if we look around our world today, anyone who is in their right mind would readily admit that they are not perfect. We all have an innate sense that this is true. 

But as we read Paul’s explanation of our root problem, we also see the second truth to consider when discussing our need for restoration, the solution to our problem. Consider the last half of this verse:

…even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men (mankind). 

    Romans 5:18b

Even though we all inherit a sin nature from Adam, the “one act of righteousness” provides the solution…and it’s the only solution that there is. This one act of righteousness is what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sin against us. This is amazing news! There simply isn’t anything on earth better than the gospel of Jesus Christ. This one act of righteousness, that Christ accomplished on the cross, “resulted in justification of life.” And to whom is this “justification” or restoration process offered? The answer: “to all mankind”…literally “all humans.” This is firmly established in the following words from scripture, also from Paul:

(God) desires all men (mankind) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

        1 Timothy 2:4 

This one act of righteousness brings about justification of life, meaning that God will restore us, if we are willing to lay it all down at the feet of Jesus and to surrender our lives to Him.

So with all of this good news and with our spiritual problem solved by God through Christ, why doesn’t everyone run to the cross and live a life of restoration? Well, we’re not left to wonder. Jesus tells us why:

This is the verdict, that the Light has come into the world but men loved darkness rather than the Light for their deeds were evil. 

John 3:19

People don’t run to the cross because they don’t want what God has to offer. People want to live life on their own terms and not answer to anyone (even though they will, Philippians 2:9-11). People want to live in spiritual darkness, living lives in open rebellion against God. In some cases, people are following after false religions, promising them everything and delivering none of it. For others, the enemy has blinded their eyes so that they do not see the gospel, believe, and be saved (Luke 8:12, 2 Corinthians 4:4). But whatever the reason, people choose darkness over Light. They prefer a life of sin, futility, and destruction over the restoration that God offers us through Christ. In the Romans passage, Paul reminds us that the problem, the one transgression of Adam affects all of mankind while the one act of righteousness of Jesus on the cross provides salvation for all of mankind. Scripture tells us that this is God’s desire for us. But the offer of salvation is not the same as receiving it. God desiring us to be saved is not the same as our desiring Him. God does not force Himself on anyone and He allows us to live in unrepentant sin if that is what our heart truly desires. It is tragic that people live for what is surely to fail while completely ignoring a life of restoration and completeness but that is what our depravity leads us to do. 

So that leaves us with a choice. We can choose to live in a cycle of defeat, frustration, and repetitive sin or we can break that cycle by running to the cross and receiving the restoration that God intends for us to enjoy. Are you ready for a change? Run to Christ…He’s waiting for you to come!

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart, why don’t you let Him come in. There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart, what is your answer to Him?

Time after time He has waited before and now He is waiting again, to see if you’re willing to open the door, oh how He wants to come in.

        The Savior Is Waiting

      Ralph Carmichael, 1958