We all want to see the guilty punished and the innocent vindicated. We want people to be treated fair. We live in a world where there is little compassion for those who have done wrong. We cry out for justice to be served and when it is, we are happy “they got what they deserved.” I am so thankful that God’s attitude was not of this caliber. Our sin separated us from God and we are all guilty before Him. If we got what we deserved, we would get punishment in Hell forever.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
On our own, we could never meet the requirement for Heaven. That requirement is to be sinless. Romans 6:23 makes us realize that need is universal. We need a relationship with a holy God to be able to spend eternity with Him. The only way we can do this is to be declared justified. Justified is a legal term where a judge, in this case, God declares us, the guilty sinner, to be in right standing with Him. The only way God could do this is for our sin debt to be paid. That is why He sent Jesus. He is the only one qualified to pay the debt because He alone was perfect and sinless. He paid our penalty and acquitted us. He offered us redemption. He bought us back by paying the ransom price of His own life.
Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
God set Jesus forth to be the propitiation, the sacrifice of atonement. This atonement makes us at one with God. Jesus absorbed the wrath of God for us. He took what we deserved. Justice was demonstrated on the cross when Jesus paid the sin debt for all who would believe. It is through our faith in the finished work of the cross that we can be right with God. Our faith links us to the work Jesus did on the cross which is the foundation for a right relationship with God.
Romans 3:25 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
God would not be a just God is He did not provide for the judgment of those who reject His love and mercy. He loves us with an infinite love, a love that caused Him to execute a plan to redeem us so that we wouldn’t have to suffer His wrath for our sin. However, we must choose to accept or reject His provision for our redemption. We can choose to accept the justice provided by Jesus death, or we can pay the penalty ourselves. But, make no mistake justice will be served, you will either pay it or accept His payment.
