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Society is troubled when crime goes unpunished. For the murder of a
child, we want the guilty to pay. For a terrorist bombing, Middle
Eastern custom demands that someone settle the score. The demand for
justice is deeply rooted. The God of the Old Testament established
the principle of eye-for-eye, life-for-life justice in a setting of
legal witnesses and due process (Dt. 19:21).
How then can this same God pardon a sinner?
How can justice be satisfied except by punishment of the guilty
party? Who else can be held responsible for our sin? There is only
one other possibility. Other than ourselves, the only one who can be
held responsible is the One who gave us the freedom to sin. Like a
parent who gives use of the family car to a 16-year-old child, God
gave us the freedom, the time, and the capacity to sin. Is it
possible for Him to offer to pay for our damages?
According to Scripture, that's exactly what
God did. At great cost to Himself, He paid the price for our sin. In
retrospect, we can see how much God was planning to pay when He said,
"The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to
you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls" (Lev.
17:11).
Was this a veiled admission of divine guilt?
Was God allowing for the possibility He had been wrong to give us
moral capacity and freedom of choice? Is this why He put in motion a
ritual system of sacrifice that would end up costing Him
inexpressible pain? No. The last book of the Bible shows that for all
eternity, the choirs of heaven will declare God holy in all He is and
does (Rev. 4:8). Throughout all eternity, heaven will show that God
was right in giving us freedom to sin. Eternity will show His wisdom
in letting us discover the wages of sin and the terrible consequences
of our willful disobedience.
Throughout all eternity, heaven will also
honor the justice and mercy of the Creator who lovingly chose to bear
the burden of our rebellion.
The payment for our sin came at heaven's
expense. In an act of unparalleled self-sacrifice, God built a
two-lane bridge of mercy and justice over the chasm of sin separating
us from Him. On earth, Roman executioners drove nails into the hands
and feet of God's only Son. In heaven, a Father suffered as no human
father has ever suffered. When it was finished, God accepted the
sacrifice as sufficient payment for our sin.
Justice was satisfied. In the eternal moments
and infinite agony of the Son who cried, "My God, My God, why
have You forsaken Me?" (Mt. 27:46), the Creator Himself became
sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).
Three days later, Christ rose bodily from the
dead. By the miracle of resurrection He showed heaven's acceptance of
His sacrifice. An endless river of mercies began flowing from the
cross on which He died. A legal foundation had been laid for the
doctrine of justification by faith. According to the apostle Paul,
God is just (righteous) to justify (declare righteous) all who come
to Christ in faith. In the third chapter of Romans, he wrote:
By the deeds of the law no flesh will be
justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But
now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For
there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a
propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the
sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present
time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus (vv.20-26).
Would God Forgive Me?
The following anonymous story is a personal
testimony from a believer who struggled with not feeling forgiven by
God. I am sure that many of us can tell a similar story.
"I had been a Christian for several
years, but during that time I had occasional distressing bouts with
anxiety. I just could not believe that God had actually forgiven me.
Sometimes I even doubted that He was capable of forgiving a woman
whose sins were as bad as mine.
I remember vividly an evening when I was
looking through my photo album. As I walked back over the years, the
pictures seemed to condemn me anew. They brought back to my mind the
kind of life I had lived before I had confessed my faith in Christ.
As I turned the pages, photo after photo leaped into focus and
pointed a finger of accusation directly at me.
It all came back in huge, overwhelming waves
of condemnation. The drinking (I used to brag about being able to
drink anyone under the table); the smoking; the friends who swapped
wives among themselves; the angry chip on my shoulder about not
knowing the man who caused my birth. Then came a messy divorce,
followed by a physical involvement with a man I knew I didn't love.
I closed my eyes to escape the pictures. But
all I could see were nails being driven into the hands of Christ. I
agonized. The photo album brought all my sins back. All my Christian
joy was gone. I could see only my unworthiness, the blackness of my
sin, and my terrible guilt. Shame engulfed me. I felt totally
worthless and condemned.
I pleaded with the Father to help me. The
Bible had become a staff of life to me, so I turned to it in
desperation. Was I truly forgiven of all my sins? God led me to these
verses:
Do not remember the former things, nor
consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it
shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in
the wilderness and rivers in the desert. I, even I, am He who blots
out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your
sins (Isa. 43:18-19,25). My heart welled up with joy. My smile
returned, for I knew I was forgiven and that I didn't have to
remember who I used to be. I realized that I am the Lord's--for His
glory and praise.
I know now that Satan, the accuser of the
brethren, used those memories to oppress me. He wanted to cripple me,
to make me ineffective in the service of God. But the truth of the
Bible had once again triumphed.
When I look at my picture album now, I see the
"new me"--not the one captured by past sins. I am covered
forever with the robe of the righteousness of Christ!" -
anonymous by request
What a testimony!
Curtis
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