Romans 3:23-27 …even
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who
believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that
He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where
then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a
law of faith.
Psalm 98:2 The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Romans 2:4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Romans 3:26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
The cross of Jesus Christ presents us with a dilemma. If the
heavenly Father is good and loving, why would He let His Son endure the agony
of crucifixion? From our human perspective, there’s nothing loving in this
scene. But by looking beyond the obvious, we’ll see an awesome demonstration of
love.
To grasp what took place at the cross, we first need to
understand that the Lord is absolutely righteous and just. He always does
what’s right and never acts contrary to His nature or His Word. On the other
hand, mankind is sinful and deserving of eternal punishment. God couldn’t
simply decide to forgive us, because He would then cease to be just—justice
requires that a penalty be paid for sin. Either the Lord had to condemn us all
to suffer His wrath, or He needed to devise a plan that would satisfy His
justice yet allow Him to show mercy.
Before the foundation of the world, God already had a plan
in place for His sinless Son to come to earth in human flesh to bear our sins (Revelation
13:8). The Father placed upon Him all our guilt and punishment. Because the
Savior’s payment fully satisfied divine justice, sinful man could now be
declared righteous. Justice punished sin, and mercy rescued sinners.
No matter who you are or what you’ve done, if you accept
Christ’s payment on your behalf, you will be saved. God’s goodness and love are
proved by the very act that looked cruel and hateful. This was the sole plan
that could save us, and God’s perfect Son was the only one qualified to give
His life in our place. What’s more, Jesus did it willingly.
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