When it comes to my sin and your sin, God is in a bit of a quandary. We are without a doubt sinners, and our sin rightly deserves the wrath of God in hell forever. And because God is holy and just judge, that sin cannot go unpunished. If God just overlooked our sins, He would be a sinner.

But God also greatly loves the world and desires not to give us what we deserve. He longs to be gracious to us and merciful to us instead of being just toward us, giving us what we deserve.

So, on the one hand, sin must be punished, but on the other hand, He longs for sinners not to experience that punishment. Do you see God’s quandary? How in the world could God solve this?

Here’s how He solved it. The Father sent His only-begotten Son Jesus, who was God in the flesh, to earth to take the punishment for all, all of us who will come to Jesus. Our sin was credited to Jesus, and Jesus was punished for our sins instead of us. And on top of that, Jesus’ righteousness was credited to us, all of us who will come to Jesus. He took our sins and gave us His righteousness. We get the benefit of all the good that Jesus earned in His life.

Problem solved! The quandary is overcome. As Apostle Paul says in Romans 3, that’s how God demonstrated that He is both just and the justifier of all who believe on Jesus. Through the life and death of Jesus, sin is punished, and sinners are made righteous. May you run to Jesus in repentance, faith, and love and be forgiven and justified and saved!

Change begins in you!