Understanding the Justice of God

Why the cross? Why didn’t God simply say, “Look, everyone, I know you have sinned against Me, but I am going to pardon you right now. It’s okay. I forgive all of you!”

God didn’t do that because it doesn’t work with His nature and character. The justice of God requires obedience and sacrifice. He could not accept us into fellowship with Himself unless we paid the penalty—or someone paid it on our behalf.

Romans 3:25 tells us, “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past” (NLT).

The cross demonstrates the justice of God. At the cross of Calvary, the love and justice of God met. Yes, God had to satisfy His justice. The Scriptures say, “The person who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:20 NLT), “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 NLT), and “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22 NLT).

God was saying, “My righteous requirements must be met. But I love humanity, and there is no way they can do it on their own. So, I must help them.” Therefore, He sent Jesus to bridge the gap.

This is why Jesus Christ is the only way to God. People like to say that all roads lead to God. It really concerns me when I hear Christians parrot statements to that effect. There is only one path. There is only one way. If that were not true, then why did Jesus have to die? If all roads lead to God, then why did Jesus go through the anguish, torture, and pain of the cross?

The primary reason Jesus came to this earth was to die for our sins.