CROSS PURPOSES 3: Mercy and Justice
Crosses are everywhere: Hanging on chains around people’s necks. Tattooed on people’s bodies. Surrounded by artificial flowers along the side of the road, where an accidental death occurred. Lined up in cemeteries, or on grave markers. Towering over churches, sometimes hiding cell phone towers inside.
People love crosses, for sentimental reasons. Yet not everyone loves what the cross truly symbolizes: the shameful death of Christ Jesus, the Son of God, for the sins of the world.
The Apostle Paul spoke of “the offense of the cross.” What is offensive about the cross? As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “Christ died FOR OUR SINS.” The cross is offensive because it reminds us that we are sinners. Our sins caused the Son of God to suffer and die on the cross.
But why was the cross necessary, and what did it accomplish?
***Someone posted online about a man who refused to believe in God, because he couldn’t understand the purpose of the cross. He was asking his friend, “If God is all-powerful and all-forgiving, why must he send his son to die for sins? Couldn’t God just forgive the sins without sending his son down in human form to die? So what—so God dies for a few hours; how does that in any way forgive a sin?”***
The man asked good questions: Why was the cross necessary, and what did the cross accomplish?
The Apostle Paul gives an answer to those questions in Romans 3:21-26. (Preacher: Read text now.)
We have a problem: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That is not good for us, and that is not OK with God! He loves us too much to let us fall short of the glory he has for us. What is the solution?
WHAT COULD GOD DO ABOUT SIN?
-COULD GOD SIMPLY FORGIVE ALL SINS?
The man I talked about earlier asked, “If God is all-powerful and all-forgiving…Couldn’t God just forgive the sins…?” That is a variant of a common question: If God is all-powerful, is there anything he can’t do?
(Preacher: originally this was a children’s message before the sermon.) ***There are two kinds of “can’t”: I can’t dunk a basketball—at least, not on a ten foot basket. I lack the height and strength to do that. The other kind of “can’t” is different: If you ask me to beat up your brother, I will say, “I can’t do that.” I might be big enough and strong enough, but my character does not allow me to do that. Also, if I did, there would be unavoidable consequences that would not be good for anybody.***
In a similar way, even though the Bible tells us that God is all-powerful, the way in which he responds to sin has unavoidable consequences.
What if God were “all-forgiving,” as the man assumed God is? (The Bible never says God is all-forgiving!) What if God automatically forgave every sin ever committed?
***A missionary was talking with a young African man about his promiscuous lifestyle. The young man justified his actions, saying that where he came from, the husband has the right to sleep with many women, but an unfaithful wife must be killed. The missionary reminded the young man, who had been raised in a mission school, that the God of the Bible does not have double standards like that. The young man smiled brightly and said, “Ah, God is good. He is bound to forgive us; that’s his job.”**
Should a good God “just forgive” unfair or abusive behavior? Should God issue a blanket pardon, and “just forgive” murder, genocide, child abuse, or human trafficking? What about the victims of sin?
***Miraslav Volf is a Christian theologian, a native of Croatia. Dr. Volf lived through the horrors of the Balkan Wars, after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990’s. In his book, “Exclusion and Embrace,” he says, “My thesis is that the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance…[That is] unpopular…But imagine speaking to people (as I have) whose cities and villages have been first plundered, then burned, and leveled to the ground, whose daughters and sisters have been raped, whose fathers and brothers have had their throats slit…Your point to them—We should not retaliate? Why not? I say—The only means of prohibiting violence by us is to insist that violence is only legitimate when it comes from God…If God were not angry at injustice and deception and did not make a final end of violence, that God would not be worthy of our worship.”***
Justice is based on the character of God. If God did not uphold justice, the moral structure of life on earth would be up for grabs. We would have no basis for saying dirty politics is wrong, or people with power should not rig Wall Street. We would live by the rules of “Might makes right,” or “It’s not wrong if you don’t get caught.”
There would be cosmic implications as well. Justice would be undermined, in heaven and all possible worlds. There would be anarchy in heaven. The devil and his angels could claim amnesty, and run rampant. Multitudes of heavenly creatures would be lost to an eternity without justice. Love and harmony would be destroyed, to be replaced by fear and turmoil.
A mass pardon—an unconditional pardon for all sin—would be God abdicating his responsibility to uphold justice. It would be like a judge who never gives a guilty verdict, a battered woman who continues to accept excuses from a perpetrator, or a teacher who allows a bully to dominate the school.
God cannot give a blanket pardon for all sins, without destroying the foundations of justice.
-COULD GOD “JUST CHILL” A LITTLE?
Maybe God could tolerate sins that “aren’t too bad,” or “don’t hurt anyone.”
Maybe God could accept excuses, or give credit for good intentions.
Maybe God could “grade on a curve.” Then he could give most people a passing grade, and only fail the worst sinners.
Of course, we would all be on the upper end of the curve! ***There is a story of a man who was meeting a friend at a bar. As he walked in to meet his friend, he noticed two attractive women looking him over, and he was pleased to hear one of them whisper, “Nine.” Feeling good about himself, he joined his friend, and spilled the news that the women had rated his attractiveness as nine out of ten. His friend replied, “I don’t want to ruin it for you, but when I walked in, they were speaking German.” (In German, of course, “Nein” is “No.”)**
If God would “just chill,” would that solve the problem of sin?
Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” The word Paul uses for sin means “missing the mark,” or as he goes on to say, “falling short.” Any sin, no matter how small, can cause us to fall short of God’s best for us.
What are we aiming for? More importantly, what does God want for us? God will settle for nothing less for us than “the glory of God.” The glory of God is perfection—becoming all God created us to be. It is the perfection of life in the presence of God, where every person lives as God intends, in perfect love and harmony, and total joy and fulfillment. It is, of course, eternal life with God in heaven.
What sins would be OK in heaven? Would lying be OK, or would that destroy the perfection of heaven? Would it be OK to devalue a person, based on their appearance? Would it be OK to use people for one’s own desires? Would it be OK to envy, or be impatient? Would sins that “don’t hurt anyone” be OK? No--Those sins would make heaven less glorious, destroying our perfection, and tearing at the fabric of heaven.
***Groucho Marx, the crusty comedian of the last century, once sent a telegram to a club in Los Angeles, saying, “Please accept my resignation. I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member.” None of us are heaven-ready, unless God removes our imperfections from us.**
This is our problem: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Glossing over our faults would poison the glory of eternal life with God. God will not “just chill” about sin, because that would leave us short of the glory he has for us.
-COULD GOD ALLOW PEOPLE TO BALANCE OUT THEIR SINS BY DOING GOOD THINGS?
Some people think God judges people with a balance: The bad goes on one side, and the good goes on the other. If the good is more than the bad, they think God will be satisfied.
Some think that they can balance out their sins by going to church, doing good deeds, giving money to help others, or accomplishing great things for God.
Some think they can get credit for being really sorry for their sins.
Some try to balance out their sins by making amends. They give back what they have taken dishonestly, or they try to make it up to a person they have hurt. If they have offended God, they do an act of “penance”—maybe some prayers, or an act of self-denial, to balance God’s scale.
Some think that if they walk a straight and narrow path, God will be bound to forgive their stumbles along the way. In Romans, Paul was writing to Jews who had that idea about the law of God: If they did their best to keep the law, they thought God would consider that, and not bother with their sins. Paul was pretty harsh on them; God doesn’t show favoritism to self-righteous people. Read Romans 3:9-20.
These can all be good things, but do they solve our problem? They can help us manage sin, but not eliminate it. They can show our sincerity, but they come up empty as a solution to our brokenness.
We have a problem: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
There is no easy solution. A blanket pardon would undermine God’s justice. Tolerating sin would fall short of the glorious life God wants us to share. Human efforts at fixing the problem are doomed to failure.
WHAT IS GOD’S SOLUTION?
There seems to be only one solution: God must condemn sin, and condemn sinners. Justice demands it.
But that solution is unacceptable to God! God’s love demands mercy and grace for sinners.
How can love and justice coexist in God’s character?
The Old Testament has a description of God that brings together justice and grace. God is RIGHTEOUS.
Righteousness in the Old Testament is identified with justice: Psalm 50:6, “The heavens proclaim his righteousness [Hebrew tsedaqa], for he is a God of justice [mishpat].” Yet righteousness is also joined with God’s grace and mercy. Psalm 143:1 is an example: “LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for MERCY; in your faithfulness and RIGHTEOUSNESS come to my relief.”
God’s righteousness is like a coin with two sides: One side is judgment of sin, and the other side is finding a way to redeem sinners. Our text puts it this way: “Now a RIGHTEOUSNESS from God…has been made known…All are JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Paul wrote Romans in the Greek language, and Greek uses the same word for justice and righteousness. In today’s text, translators have to choose whether to translate the Greek words (dikaios/dikaiosyne/dikaioo) as just/justice/justify, or righteous/righteousness/make righteous. You can see what they did with our text: Romans 3:21-26 (NIV2011 [not NIV1984]), “But now apart from the law the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This RIGHTEOUSNESS is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are JUSTIFIED [made right?] freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his RIGHTEOUSNESS, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his RIGHTEOUSNESS [justice too?] at the present time, so as to be JUST and the one who JUSTIFIES those who have faith in Jesus.” The words in capitals are all the same Greek word group (dikaios/dikaiosyne/dikaioo), and the translators are trying to convey the two sides of God’s justice or righteousness.
The point is that God’s righteousness is not satisfied by condemnation of all who sin. Yet God’s righteousness is not satisfied by a cheap grace that is soft on sin. How can God bring together justice and grace?
God found a way! Paul says in verses 25-26, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement…to demonstrate his RIGHTEOUSNESS at the present time, so as to be JUST and the one who JUSTIFIES those who have faith in Jesus.”
-GOD’S RIGHTEOUS SOLUTION IS A “SACRIFICE OF ATONEMENT.”
What is atonement? In its simplest meaning, atonement fixes the problem of sin. The goal of atonement is to satisfy the justice of God, remove guilt from the sinner, and restore the broken relationship between God and people.
(Note to preacher: The NIV translates the Greek word “hilasterion” as atonement. Other translators have used “propitiation,” satisfying the judgment of God, or “expiation,” removing the sin from the sinner. As our study of this text illustrates, atonement does both.)
God gave his people a picture of atonement in the Old Testament. Leviticus 1:3-9 says, “You are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to MAKE ATONEMENT for you. You are to slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting…”
The sin offering was a reminder that God does not “just chill.” In God’s justice, sin cannot be ignored, and forgiveness comes at a cost. There were no shortcuts; the animal must be a prime specimen, without defect. The blood of the animal was a graphic symbol for the punishment that was deserved.
At the same time, the offering made things right between the man and God. The offering was accepted, as sufficient for atonement. Part of the offering was burned, resulting in “an aroma pleasing to the Lord.” The man went home, free from guilt and shame.
Of course, sacrificing an animal did not fix the problem of sin. Could a poor animal, who had no choice in the matter, pay for a man’s sin? What if it was a big sin, like murder? Should the man bring two animals, or as some of the pagan people did, their own child to be sacrificed? And then, what if the man sins the next day, or the next hour? Could he offer one sacrifice for the sins of an entire year?
Hebrews 10:1-10 points out the limitations of Old Testament sacrifices: “The law [which included sacrifices] is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship…It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross. Jesus was not like a lamb from the flock, which could be replaced; he was “the one and only Son” of God, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
1 John 2:1-2 sums it up: “…Jesus Christ, the Righteous One is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Yet how does the death of one man, dying long ago and far away, atone for thousands of years of sin, committed by billions of people?
The death of Jesus on the cross was a cosmic event. By cosmic, I mean it was not limited to the earth, or even the universe. It was not limited by universe-dependent space and time. All creatures, in all times and places (angels, cherubim, seraphim, and probably many not revealed to us!), watched in amazement as God himself made the sacrifice of atonement, for the sins of humanity.
The sacrifice is sufficient for all sins, of all people, in all times and places, as the life of the Son of God is of infinite value. The life of the Son is more valuable than 10 human lives, or a thousand, or a billion, or a trillion! As 1 John 2:1-2 says, “…Jesus Christ, the Righteous One is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
The cross revealed the depth of God’s righteousness—his justice and his mercy. If anyone in the cosmos might dare to question the justice of God, or dare to say that God is soft on sin, the cross echoes across eternity: What greater penalty could be paid for sin? If anyone might dare to question the mercy of God, the cross echoes across all of eternity: What greater mercy could be shown, than to go even to the cross to forgive?
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement...He did this to demonstrate his righteousness…so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
-GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS MAKES US RIGHT, THROUGH FAITH
How do people become righteous? Some try to justify themselves; they are self-righteous, and they often try to build themselves up by putting others down. Some try to live up to a high standard of morality, perhaps the law of God, or a personal moral code. Some are careful to meet the expectations of other people, or the community in which they live.
If we depend on any of those things, we will come up short. We will never be good enough to keep a moral code perfectly, or to meet even our own expectations of ourselves. When we fail, we will be overcome by guilt and shame, without a way to forgiveness and a life-giving relationship with God.
In God’s righteousness, there is a way to forgiveness and life: FAITH in the atonement of Jesus Christ. We read Romans 3:21-26 again, “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given THROUGH FAITH in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—TO BE RECEIVED BY FAITH. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH IN JESUS.
Righteousness is a gift: “…all are justified [or made right] freely by God’s grace [=gift], through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” It is a costly gift—costly to God—but it is freely available to us. All we have to do is accept the gift. How do we accept the gift? Faith.
What is faith? In Romans, it is accepting God’s righteousness—the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ—as our way to righteousness.
“Unfaith” is to deny that Christ’s sacrifice of atonement was necessary, because we think we are good enough. “Unfaith” is to refuse the gift of atonement, either from pride, or because we don’t really want to become righteous. If we do that, we are serious danger, and we are without hope of being justified or made right by God.
Hebrews 10:29 says, “How…severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” Unfaith says to God, “Nice idea, but all that suffering wasn’t really necessary. I’m good enough without your help.”
Faith is trusting that what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross is sufficient to forgive our sins, remove our guilt and shame, restore us to a relationship with God, set us on the path of righteousness. By faith, we are made righteous. We are right with God: forgiven, unashamed, and responsive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are on the path of righteousness, getting more and more things right, until everything is finally made right in heaven.
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What are you trusting to get your life right? Is it your own goodness? Is it meeting your own expectations, or measuring up to the expectations of others? Is it keeping some rules, or living a moral life? Is it a vague hope that, in the end, God will forget about your mistakes, and call it good?
There is a better way! Romans 1:17 summarizes it: In the gospel (the good news of Christ and the cross) the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” If we accept what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, and trust in his atoning sacrifice, we are justified and made right.
Faith is trust and acceptance. It is trusting God’s righteous justice and grace, and accepting God’s gift of a righteousness life. Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the way to forgiveness of sins, getting right with God, and getting on the right path. In this life, it opens the way to becoming more righteous and reflecting God’s glory. At end of this life, it opens a door to life that is totally right, just as it should be.
All we have to do is choose God’s way of righteousness, rather than some other way.
