Dig a Little Deeper: God's Righteousness and Justice

 

God's standard is perfection. This is known as righteousness. It's simply who he is. As 1 John 1:5 tells us, there is no darkness in him. He is wholly and completely righteous, and any rebellion against him is a rebellion against what is good. Any resistance or failure to meet this standard opposes what is good and must ultimately be removed from his presence.

The Universal Problem of Sin

We fall short of those standards, and, as beings who have rebelled against him, must be cast from his presence. Everyone, without exception, has sinned and fallen short of God's righteous standard. God's justice, therefore, demands that our sins be punished.

God's Righteousness Revealed

Although the law showed us we could not live up to God's perfect standards, Romans 3 tells us that a way to be righteous before him has been revealed apart from the law. By putting our faith in Jesus Christ, God redeems us and gives us Christ's righteousness.

Although man fell short, Jesus succeeded in fulfilling God's righteousness. And, as our substitute, Jesus gives us his righteousness while he takes on our sin at the cross. God placed our sins on Jesus and poured out his wrath against sin on Christ. His broken, bloody body endured the pain of the cross until this task (of satisfying God's wrath) was accomplished. 

As a result, all those who put their faith in Jesus have their sins put on Jesus and receive Jesus' righteousness. 

God's Justice Satisfied

The Old Testament sacrificial system did not remove sins. It served as an illustration of what Christ would accomplish, and "kicked the can down the road" until Christ accomplished his work. 

Because of Christ's work, all sin is completely punished. For the believer, sin is punished on the cross. For the unbeliever who dies in his rebellion, it is punished in hell. God's justice system is perfect, and God is satisfied. No one will ever get away with anything. Any and all sin is punished. But the believer is cleansed of his sin through the cross--his sin placed upon Jesus. There is hope today in Jesus Christ.

Justified

To be justified means that God has legally declared us innocent. This has nothing to do with inner transformation (although inner transformation does happen--it's just not "justification"). This is simply a declaration: the one before the court is not guilty. 

We are able to come to before God on that last day with nothing to fear because Christ's righteousness was imputed to us. It is the free gift offered through faith in Jesus.

We cannot work to earn it, and we have done nothing to deserve it. It is simply given to us freely. All that is necessary is faith in Jesus Christ.

So put your faith in Jesus, and receive the gift he purchased through his blood.