“... that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Romans 3:26

 

IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, we have considered two of the glorious attributes of God–His holiness and His love–and how each is seen in the gospel of salvation in Christ. This week, we turn to the justice of God.

God is just in that every sin is punished, and righteousness is always rewarded. We understand a judge in our earthly courts to be fair and just, only if he punishes crime and wrongdoing. Likewise, God, because He is perfectly just, must punish sin, and that is a problem for each one of us because we are all sinners. But God is also merciful, so the question becomes, “How can God act mercifully towards sinners like us, while remaining absolutely just?”

The answer is, He does so in Christ. In the cross of Christ, God is just, because the sins of the believer are punished as his sin is placed on Christ. And God’s just wrath against the believer’s sin was poured out on Christ. Justice is served. But because that just wrath came upon Christ, God is then able to act mercifully towards the believer. The believer is then “justified” (declared righteous by God). The believer is justified, receives mercy and salvation, while God remains just. God is then simultaneously “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”. What a glorious salvation it is that God has provided for everyone who believes.

 

Pastor Craig publishes  "A Word from God's Word" weekly in the "Kootenay News Advertiser".

About the Author

Pastor Craig has served as Senior Pastor of Cranbrook Fellowship Baptist Church since 2018. His passion is for preaching and teaching God's Word, as it is through the proclamation of the gospel that God does His work in people's lives.