Human nature says, "Give something to a good cause, and you can help make amends for your offenses." Human nature thinks you can purchase pardon by some extra piece of religion - this is a hellish delusion. The LORD notes every one of your sins, He grows angry with your sin and is provoked, and the Holy Spirit is grieved and vexed by your rebellion. It is cruel to provoke a person for five minutes, and to go on provoking him for an hour is abominable; but to provoke God for months and years, as sinners do, is a tremendous crime. The Son of God bled and died that He might be the Victim of divine justice, the Substitute for guilty men. The offering of Himself satisfied divine justice forever. *I John 4:10*
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among sinful men on Earth for 33 years, and then He took upon Himself the whole weight of human sin, and bore it in His own body on the tree. He was arrested by the Hand of divine justice, and treated by justice as if He was the sinner, though He never sinned. He was numbered among the transgressors, given over to wicked men who scourged Him, spit upon Him, crowned Him with thorns, and falsely condemned Him to a criminal's death. He died, not for any sins of His own, by for my sins. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, He was made a Curse for us, He was made to be Sin for us, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him. He died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.
God our Creator revealed Himself in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and displayed the love and justice of God at Calvary. Redemption through Substitution. Jesus vindicated eternal Justice and rendered to the divine Law a full recompense. God's own Son stepped in and bore for the sinner all that was due to the divine justice of God. The Substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ in our place is the central truth of the Gospel. Jesus stood in our place, He vindicated God's justice, by suffering the penalty due to our sins. Sin must be punished, and it has been fully punished in the Person of the Substitute of Calvary.
Only a man could vindicate the Law that man had violated; therefore, the Son of God became a Jewish man. It is Christ that died. This is the wonderful story of God's Bleeding Love; the old, old story of Jesus and His love to guilty sinners. God so loved me that He willed to forgive me, but He could not forgive me without an Atonement for my sins. What had to be done? God's own Son came, stood in my place, and took my sins upon Himself. *Isaiah 53:6* My sins deserved divine justice and eternal death, so Jesus willingly died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring me to God. The death of Christ was the vindication of divine justice, and now God for Christ's sake can forgive me. Christ's bloody death perfectly satisfied divine justice and conscience. Divine justice was terribly displayed at Calvary.
In every one of us there is a hatred of God and His goodness - this is called Sin. There is nothing in this world worse than being all alone, without God, and having no hope. The gift of Christ, the needful Propitiation for human sin is what your soul needs. Justice demanded the Propitiation, but divine Love provided it with Jesus' atoning blood. The chief medicine for broken hearts is Atonement by Substitution. Christ suffering in my place. The condemnation due to me was laid upon Christ. Nothing excites God's wrath more than continued unbelief, willful Christ rejection, deceit, falsehood, and uncleanness. God-provoking sins call for God's avenging visitation. Jesus' blood satisfied the claims of divine justice. I am free because of my Substitute's death, for He has discharged every liability, and has given to God the full Satisfaction that divine justice required.
Sin is that thing which makes man obnoxious to God. Man as a creature, God loves; but man as a sinner, God hates. Sin is loathsome to God. God is so pure that He cannot bear impurity, His is so Just that the thought of injustice is abhorrent to Him. God cannot look upon iniquity without hating it, for it is contrary to His divine nature. Divine justice bears heavy upon the sinner's conscience. Then steps in Christ crucified with full Atonement.
Simple faith, free forgiveness, everlasting consolation to the believing sinner. God must punish sin, it is not optional with Him, it is an inevitable law of the universe. If you transgress the Law at all, punishment must follow. God must punish sin, and He has punished sin on Christ. God took the great mass of human sin, and piled it up on Christ. When Christ hung upon the Cross as our Substitute, even His Father hid His face from Jesus. Jesus, the Prince of glory, died the disgraceful death of the Cross in the place of the guilty men. Sin has been punished, for Christ has died. Sin crucified Christ, our dearest Friend and Helper. Will you willfully reject or cheerfully accept Christ as your Sin-Bearer?
Simple faith, free forgiveness, everlasting consolation to the believing sinner. God must punish sin, it is not optional with Him, it is an inevitable law of the universe. If you transgress the Law at all, punishment must follow. God must punish sin, and He has punished sin on Christ. God took the great mass of human sin, and piled it up on Christ. When Christ hung upon the Cross as our Substitute, even His Father hid His face from Jesus. Jesus, the Prince of glory, died the disgraceful death of the Cross in the place of the guilty men. Sin has been punished, for Christ has died. Sin crucified Christ, our dearest Friend and Helper. Will you willfully reject or cheerfully accept Christ as your Sin-Bearer?
