The Cross: Grace Displayed

The Cross: Grace Displayed

Romans 3:21-27 (NASB)

21 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

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

24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.”

    At Calvary, the Lord displayed His grace for the entire world to see. The cross represents the intersection of His holiness and His love. From there, He poured out mercy on an undeserving population: all of humanity, including you and me.

    Our holy God is absolutely without fault. He’s so perfect that no earthly man or woman can look upon Him and live (Ex. 33:20). The problem has to do with our sinful nature—we all have an inborn desire to rebel against His authority (Rom. 3:10). Anyone who thinks otherwise is deceiving himself (1 John 1:8). It’s important to understand that God hates sin. He cannot let evil abide in His presence, so He pronounced a death sentence on sinners (Rom. 6:23).

    But Scripture also tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), and He created people with the intention of caring for them. In fact, the Lord desires that all people spend eternity with Him. Yet there remains the problem of our sin and the penalty that we owe.

    The Lord cannot violate His own nature. Though God loves mankind, His holiness would be compromised if He permitted the filth of sin into His presence. So, the Father made a way to cleanse dirty hearts and transform wayward natures: He put the sin of all mankind on Jesus Christ’s shoulders.

    The Father sent His holy Son to be a perfect sacrifice on our behalf. In other words, Jesus Christ took our sin upon Himself and died on the cross in our place. By trusting Him as our Savior, we receive His forgiveness and are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). From then on, our Father sees us as holy, perfect, and welcome in His presence.