September 1

Arrows of the Almighty

Both Just And Justifier

“God presented him [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:25-26)

God hates sin and will not allow any sinner to ever be in His presence yet He loves us and longs for us to be in His presence.  That is where the cross comes it.  He was demonstrating His justice.  The scriptural word “atonement” literally means a covering.  Christ on the cross accomplished something for us that could not be done any other way.  Sin was covered by replacing it with the sacrificial offering of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Our “faith in the blood of Jesus” allows us to be placed under the atoning covering of His blood.  He died in our place.  The judgment that should have fallen on you and me fell on Him and it killed Him.

Paul emphasized that the atonement covers every man’s sin from Adam to the last man who believes just as He returns.  He did this to show His justice in judgment upon all, past, present and future. There is no conflict in the longings of God here.  His justice demanded our punishment while his goodness longed to rescue us.  He satisfied all of this in the same moment by placing Himself on the cross.  There through the cross, God’s desires, the qualities of His feelings converged.  He is supremely just in passing the sentence of death upon every soul that sins while at the same time shows extreme mercy in being the justifier who covers those who believe in Him.

There is mystery here that only God Himself can understand and know, yet you and I can understand what happened when Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken?”  The Father’s just wrath was poured out on the Son, enabling Him to bear our sin through the punishment and sentence of death on all sin.  Every soul that sins will die – when?  On the cross!  God became incarnate for the express purpose of putting away sin; not for some kind of self-realization.  The cross is the center to time and eternity; the answer to every man’s quest and the reason for the trials of life.

When you get to the cross you do not go through it and get it behind it; no, you live there; abiding in the life to which it is the door.  There God becomes both just and the justifier of every believer.

“Oh, thank You, Jesus!  Amen."