The
principal way by which Christians receive the hope of salvation is the sacrifice
Jesus made on the cross for our sins. But have you ever asked why of all the
thousand and one ways God could have found to redeem us of our brokenness, He
chose the penal substitution of Jesus for us?
The
conversation starts by asking "could God have found another way to save us?" The
answer is yes. In God's infinite wisdom and intelligence, it's not only possible
but even likely that God could have had other plans to redeem us from eternal
separation from Him.
But
of all the thousands of ideas God could have had, he chose the sacrifice of
Christ. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the
tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have
been healed." Why did God choose this way? Why not just forgive without payment?
Here are three reasons why penal substitution was the way God chose.
God's
justice
Could
God have just given mankind a free pass by pardoning us all of the trillions of
sins we commit? Maybe He could, but it would be against His just nature. Yes,
God is loving but He is also just and fair. Justice demands that sin be paid
with death (Romans 6:23).
But
because God was loving as He is just, He found a way to fulfil both sides of His
character through the penal substitution. Through that act of kindness we can
now freely receive and freely give forgiveness.
To show how valuable
we are to God
God
could have paid any price, but He paid the ultimate price - His own Son. There
is no value higher than Jesus alone yet God chose to give Christ in exchange for
valueless sinners such as us. This imputes upon us Christ's value, proving once
and for all the ultimate love God has for us all.
Because
God did not hold back even His only Son, we are assured of just how much He
values us all and how He will not give up anything for us to be with Him - not
even His very own life.
To allow us to live
in excessive grace
Just
how much grace does God want us to live in? As much as He could give! And for
that He paid the highest price there is so that there would be a surplus of
grace and that we could receive through Christ life and life to the full forever
(John 10:10).
God's
lavish love for us opens up the greatest excess of heaven because God wants our
cups to overflow (Psalm 23:5). And because of that we now know there is no
scarcity of mercy, blessings and grace for us all. That was made available only
through the penal sacrifice of Christ. Christian
Today.
