"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression ...?
You will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19)."
A mother and her adult daughter were sitting on a bench outside of the courthouse waiting for their court appearance before one of the Tulsa County judges today. Mom was guilty and she admitted it. She simply had to plead (admit it to the judge), accept her sentence (the punishment due under the law to fulfill justice), and pay her court-imposed fine (assuming she had the money and could afford it). If she couldn't afford it, she'd have to perform community service until her debt to society is paid in full. She understood that the mere fact she had been "good" most of the time -- hadn't violated this particular law as much as she had obeyed it -- would be irrelevant to the judge. She was guilty. How often she had obeyed the law had no bearing on her guilt. No matter how sorry she may be that she got caught and no matter how much she may ask the judge to forgive her, the judge would still have a legal duty to impose the punishment required by law. Otherwise, the judge would be evil and corrupt, not good and just and law-abiding. An act of the judge's goodness would be to impose the punishment required by the law.
Similar, both the mother and daughter admitted that when they stand before the Judge of the Universe in Judgment, they would be found guilty for violating God's moral code, the 10 Commandments. They admitted they had lied, stolen, looked with lust, and harbored anger and hatred at times past. They were guilty. They knew it. They understood they deserved the punishment due from a just and holy God. "For the wages of sin is death .... (Rom. 6:23)." They hoped their eternal destiny would be heaven, but they didn't know for sure and started to realize that if they were to die today, they would likely end up in hell, the just punishment for their countless sins against God. They began to see that God's perfect goodness demanded that sin, evil, and wickedness must be punished and not ignored; otherwise, that would itself be evil and corrupt--the antithesis of goodness and holiness. They did not realize that Jesus had to suffer and die in our place to fulfill God's divine justice, which He poured out on His Son that He might be free to pardon the guilty and show His mercy. When I explained that it was tantamount to Jesus walking into the courtroom today and paying their fine for them so they could go free without having to pay the debt themselves and without having to perform community service, they began to understand the necessity of Jesus' substitutionary death. He paid their debt in His blood so they wouldn't have to suffer God's punishment for their own sins. God could freely pardon their iniquity, passover their transgressions, and cast ALL of their sins into the sea of His forgiveness, because justice had been satisfied in and through Jesus Christ! And that's eternal security. That's how they could know for sure that they would be declared innocent on the Day of Judgment, because He doesn't just forgive past sins. He doesn't just forgive today's sins. He forgives ALL our sins! Praise God! ALL my sins are forgiven because I believe Jesus is God's Son who died in my place and rose again to prove His deity and righteousness. I have repented of my sins, crying out for mercy and turning to follow Him daily, looking to Him alone for salvation. Mom and daughter learned today they can know for sure ALL of their sins are forgiven and they will be declared innocent on the Day of Judgment, not because they are innocent, but because Jesus paid their debt for them so they don't have to pay it! If only they will repent and believe (Mk. 1:15)! I urged them to do it today before it's too late!
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