The Bible teaches us we have all sinned – not according to us or the standards of the world – but by God’s standards of perfection. 

In short, we have all sinned and done wrong at some point in our lives… some of us a lot more than others – like me.

We are not good. Nobody is good – except God alone.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible tells us in Genesis that sin originated from the very first two people He created in the Garden of Eden: Adam and Eve. 

You might have heard this story: God gave them free will and the ability to choose between right and wrong. They were eventually deceived by Satan, the eternal being and fallen angel, who is still alive today and only seeks to oppress, steal, kill and destroy all of mankind. Being deceived, they willfully chose to disobey God, therefore bringing mankind into this fallen state which carries with it all the sin, death and destruction that has come upon us all.

All wrong doing is sin.

Sin deserves justice.

Justice equals payment.

Payment of sin = death.

We all deserve death. God is Holy, perfect and can’t be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He couldn’t have a relationship with us without sin first being paid for and taken out of the way. 

For that to happen, there had to be payment for our sin. Because of His love for us, God sent His own son, Jesus, to accomplish something we were incapable of doing on our own – He lived a perfect life in our place. Then, God punished and placed our sin and judgment upon Jesus as He was crucified upon a cross. 

God accepted Jesus’ willful sacrifice for us as a substitute and final payment for a lifetime of our own accumulated sins.

He became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so that we ourselves would not have to suffer the wrath of God. He saved us from having to pay the ultimate price – the due penalty for our own sins – alone in Hell for eternity. 

God punished Jesus – Because of us – Instead of us – To rescue us.

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:21
so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

-lhm