For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (ESV)Without a doubt, the gospel is a testimony of God's immeasurable love for us. However, our understanding of the gospel is incomplete if we stop here. Is God's love such that, through Jesus, He takes away our guilt by sweeping our sins under the rug and remembering them no more? Is this the kind of love that lets bygones be bygones? Surely God knows that we're not perfect. If He truly loved us, He must forgive us and accept us for who we are. After all, wasn't it Jesus who said to forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22)?
Most people prefer to believe God in this way, but we know that something isn't right with this argument. God is love (1 John 4:8) but it does not mean that in His loving, He waves away the sins that men have committed. Genocide, racism, rape, murder, sexual immorality, child abuse, covetousness, and deceit cannot just be simply swept under the rug. It would be unfair and unjust, most especially if these sins were committed against us or against people that we love. I will never simply forgive a man who would molest my children. Instead, I would pursue justice and life imprisonment for that criminal. I'd cry out to God that I have been offended and pray that God would punish that man.
In the shocking scandal with Bathsheba, King David committed adultery and murder. He used his authority to conceal his affair by having Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, set up to be killed in battle. He got outed by the prophet Nathan. David repented and his confession to God is recorded in Psalm 51.For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
- Psalm 51:3-4 (ESV)
When we sin, it is God that is offended ultimately. Now, not only is God the offended party, He is also the judge. David correctly confesses that God is right to mete out justice, declare a guilty verdict, and sentence us according to what we deserve.
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. - Romans 3: 22b-26 (ESV)First of all, this passage clearly declares that all of us are guilty because of our sins. None of us can justify ourselves before God. We can argue our case before the Judge by listing out all the good works that we have done in this life for surely they must be worth rewarding and they must certainly outweigh all our bad deeds. The verdict is still guilty (James 2:10). Christianity is realistic in describing the human nature. All men are sinners.
But remember that the gospel is good news! It addresses this problem. In this same verse, we see that God, in His grace, makes us right with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. The shedding of His blood is the sacrifice that atones our guilt and redeems us from slavery to sin. Propitiation is the act that renders God propitious or favorable to us. It the act that appeases God's wrath that is directed at us because we are sinners. We cannot turn away God's wrath through our good works. There is nothing in us that we can offer as a propitiation. Only God can. This is all God's doing. The righteous and holy Judge sent His Son to be the propitiation for sinners. Through the cross, our sins are cancelled and the wrath of God is turned aside at the same time.
Why would God do this? The latter part of this verse reveals the answer. God has been patient by holding back judgment on the sins of men who had lived before He set in motion the events of Jesus birth, death on the cross, and resurrection. By holding back the punishment that their sins so deserved, it does not mean that He overlooked them nor that He swept them under the rug. He held them accountable to their sins just as we are held accountable today. The blood that Jesus shed also paid for their sins. Through the cross, God showed that He is just and is the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus Christ. This is how a just God loves! In his loving, he demonstrates that He is just. Likewise, His perfect righteousness demonstrates that He is love.
In conclusion, when we mash up John 3:16 and Romans 3:22-26, we see that God is both just and loving at the same time. It is demonstrated in the gospel. Thank you God, for loving us by giving your Son Jesus Christ. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross is the perfect sacrifice which turns away Your wrath from us. Through the cross, we are made righteous in Your eyes. God is just. Through the cross, You demonstrate Your love. God is love.
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