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. Romans 3:26
The scriptures declares that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God's glory is His manifested presence; it is all that God is and has. These were all lost when Adam sinned against God. To be clear, there was nothing that man could do to restore to him this lost glory. Man was not only lost in sin, he also was disqualified from the benevolence of God.
But in God's eternal plan for the recovery of lost humanity, He sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross as the propitiation for our sin. Now, God can again receive man to Himself as He did before the fall. This, however, is only true for those who will humbly accept that the atonement was satisfactory to God for the forgiveness of their sin. In judging the sin of the world in His Son, God showed His total abhorrence of sin. Now, when He justifies the sinner, He is just because a substitute has been fully punished for the sins of the sinner.
Calling the forgiven sinner into union with Himself does not in any way imply that He harbours sin, for He fully expressed his disgust for his sin in the death of His Son on the cross. And He was completely satisfied with the atonement for sin by Jesus. On the cross, God showed His total hatred for sin when He poured out His wrath upon His only begotten Son who had no sin. In this, God has shown Himself to be just in justifying the sinner and bringing him into fellowship with Himself again.
Toni
