God's justice demanded that the soul that sins shall die, and on no
account should the guilty go unpunished. Divine justice demanded death
for sin. Either the death of the sinner or a sinless substitute in his
stead. The idea of a substitute immediately implies a sacrifice. God
would be unjust to give forgiveness on any other basis than the life of a
perfectly righteous person in the stead of the sinner.
But God wanted not only to satisfy the requirement of justice, He also wanted to show mercy to a fallen race. To accomplish this, which some call the divine dilemma, God provided the substitute in the person of His only begotten Son who came into this world, lived a perfectly holy and sinless life, and qualified to be the sacrifice that will bring the sinner into favour with God. In thus showing mercy, He provided the sacrifice which His justice demanded.
Redemption must be thus understood to be properly appreciated. And when not understood, we little estimate what God has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross in order to save us. When you behold the cross, it is God vindicating His law that requires that sin must be punished. On the cross, God made a statement that sin must be punished, and that we cannot sin with impunity and go unpunished, and that sin can be forgiven only by the atonement.
Toni
But God wanted not only to satisfy the requirement of justice, He also wanted to show mercy to a fallen race. To accomplish this, which some call the divine dilemma, God provided the substitute in the person of His only begotten Son who came into this world, lived a perfectly holy and sinless life, and qualified to be the sacrifice that will bring the sinner into favour with God. In thus showing mercy, He provided the sacrifice which His justice demanded.
Redemption must be thus understood to be properly appreciated. And when not understood, we little estimate what God has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross in order to save us. When you behold the cross, it is God vindicating His law that requires that sin must be punished. On the cross, God made a statement that sin must be punished, and that we cannot sin with impunity and go unpunished, and that sin can be forgiven only by the atonement.
Toni
