Romans 3:25-26 (NIV)
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
It is through Jesus that atonement, the restoration of relationship between mankind and God, was made possible. The relationship had been broken in the very first generation by the willful disobedience of the first man and woman. And that same willful disobedience had reared its head in very succeeding generation.
As Paul had been pointing out, even those whom God chose to be His own people had continually rebelled against His authority through idolatry and disobedience. God had given them rituals of sacrifice to facilitate restoration, but their sins quickly outstripped their ability to provide animals for the sacrifices, and their proud, rebellious hearts turned continually away from Him.
So, He sent Jesus. Jesus lived a sin-free life for thirty-three years, and then laid down His life on the cross to pay in full the death penalty that humanity had earned by the sins they had committed. This payment is applied to those who repent and believe in Jesus.
But at the same time, faith in Jesus enables real transformation and reorientation of the heart, a justification that not only restores the person to legally blameless before God, but which also instills in them real spiritual life and the presence of the Holy Spirit to enable them all to live a life pleasing to God.
Paul’s point that Jesus’ sacrificial death served to demonstrate God’s justice points out that, as much as He loves people, God cannot simply wave away our sins or say that they don’t matter. Sin at its heart is rebellion against the authority of the all-holy, all-powerful God, and the punishment for that rebellion must be death. But when Jesus laid down His life with no sins of His own to pay for, God accepted that death as satisfying the sin-debt of all who trust in Jesus. Thus, sin receives its rightful penalty, while at the same time God is able to save people from the eternal death that we have earned by our sins.
Father, thank You for creating a way for my sins to be paid for, and for me to be saved. I know that I really did deserve eternal death for my rebellion, but in Your love and grace, You devised an amazing plan to restore me to life and to relationship with You. You really did pull me out of the fire and set me in Your presence to be able to live with You forever, and I will always love You and serve You for it. Amen.