"Who will render to every man according to his deeds." Romans 2:6
Man is sinful, but God is holy and gracious. His holiness requires that sin be judged, but His grace requires that sin be forgiven. On the cross, both the holiness and graciousness of God were perfectly satisfied. Sin was punished, not in the sinner, but in a substitute making pardon possible for the sinner who believes. But when a sinner denies his sinfulness, and rejects the grace of God revealed on the cross, he will have to meet God for what He is: a holy God who must punish sin wherever it is found.
When the reality of what I am meets with the reality of what God is, the result is salvation or judgment. The reality of what I am is that I am a sinner and lost, and the reality of what God is is that He is holy and gracious. There is a point where God and man must meet, whether in grace or judgement, and that point is where both are revealed as they are: man as a sinner needing forgiveness, and God as gracious, wanting to forgive. On the other hand, judgment results when God is not received as gracious; in this case, the sinfulness of man is met with the holiness of God, and the end of it is eternal damnation.
Toni
