Part Five of the Atonement
“For the wages of sin is death.” This is the first half of what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:23, and it emphasizes the reality that sin is serious and carries serious consequences. We don’t spend a lot of time in our modern society thinking about the consequences of sin, and our world’s ignorance to these realities often leads the church to underemphasize them as well.
Sin is treason against a perfectly righteous judge who by his very nature can not allow sin to go unpunished. Every act of sin is an act of rebellion against an infinite and holy creator, and the resulting punishment is always proportional to the greatness of the individual being sinned against. This is why Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death—not only in this life, but also in the life to come. This is exactly what God warned Adam and Eve about the forbidden fruit in Genesis 2:17. He said, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Though not all sins are equally offensive to God, the fact remains that all sin is equally worthy of punishment. This extends not only to sins of commission (doing something we ought not) but also sins of omission (not doing something we ought). The law tells us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength every moment of every day, perfectly and without fail, for the entirety of our lives. Anything less than that, in a very real sense, can be considered sinful. If that case, none of us could ever hope to escape the weight of consequences placed upon us because of our sin, and that is why the cross of Jesus is so utterly important.
We know that Jesus’ death on the cross brings the forgiveness of sins to all who believe, but have you ever stopped to consider why? Jesus didn’t die simply to show us how much God loves us and inspire us to live a good life. When he hung on that cross, he paid the penalty that all of our sins required. Each one of us have built up a debt far too great to bear, and Jesus took that weight upon himself and suffered the consequences in our place.
When Jesus was on the cross, God actively punished him for your sins—past, present, and future. Every single individual act of sin you have ever committed and ever will commit was really, truly, and fully paid for on the cross. The penalty has been paid, wrath and condemnation have been removed, and we can live confidently in the knowledge that we have received full forgiveness because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. This is the message that we proclaim, and it is the message we have the privilege to celebrate this Easter season. May we all be encouraged and strengthened as we reflect on these glorious truths this Easter!
All the best,
Luke
