Clothesline 265 "Forgiveness & Justice"

Last Wednesday—September 10th to be exact—you read my message about discipleship…that becoming a disciple means decision and sometimes division. And perhaps about the time you were reading it, one particular disciple of Christ was assassinated. Politics notwithstanding—much like it was in the days of the apostles—a true believer always knows that presenting the Gospel to an unforgiving world always has a cost, sometimes even death.

And interestingly enough, last Sunday centered around the greatest anchor of that discipleship: the message of the cross. No one needs to be reminded of the gruesome details of Jesus’ crucifixion, but at one time or another, you may have asked yourself: why? Why did Jesus have to be crucified? Was it really necessary? Well, in case you’re never delved into the answer, here it is…from the beginning.

God created a perfect world. Everything…from plants to animals to mankind, was perfect…until the power of suggestion and temptation became sin. The serpent told the man and woman that disobeying God would mean they would become like God, knowing good and evil, but the man and the woman didn’t know that they didn’t need to know evil. The man and the woman didn’t know there would be consequences if they knew evil. The man and woman made a decision…and they learned to know evil. God’s perfect creations strayed from their perfect path; nevertheless, God wanted to get his creation back. So, what could he do?

To answer that question, we must start with the premise that God is all perfect and can be nothing else. So, it would be impossible and out of character for a perfect God not to forgive, because a lack of forgiveness implies the presence of a weakness. But, it would be equally impossible and out of character for God not to require justice, because a lack of justice would be a moral flaw which a perfect God could not possess. God had to forgive his children, but God had to require justice. And the only justice that can come to a perfect God is perfect justice. And how could that be accomplished? Through the sacrifice of God Himself—Jesus—God as man. Perfect justice offered to a perfect God.

We live in a world that has fallen away from God. We even fall away from time to time, but there is always redemption. Our perfect God sacrificed himself on the cross that we might live with him forever in heaven. So, if you ever think you have fallen too far away to be forgiven, God himself paid the price for your redemption. That’s how important you are to a perfect God!