God feels the sting of our sin. Imagine every sin committed every moment around the globe every day for the last 5,000+ years. God feels every single one. Whether we are proud, selfish, greedy, hateful, lustful, or enraged, each and every sin we commit is AGAINST GOD. And every single one is like a slap to the head, a punch in the gut, a kick in the shins, a curse in His ears, spit in His face. We are sinful by nature, and WE DO THAT TO GOD from the moment of our birth.... "You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth (Matthew 5:38)." We deserve EXACTLY what our sin does to God; slap for slap, curse for curse.
But instead, God came to earth in the form of Jesus to endure even MORE of our sin. And after His arrest in the garden, He endured it not only spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, but physically as well. He allowed us to do to Him even more of the same, all while bearing the past, present and future sins of the entire world upon His shoulders. The wrath we deserve for reviling such a pure, holy, and awesome God was poured out upon Him. For our sakes? No, for His glory. "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins any more (Isaiah 43:25)." God IS justice, He IS mercy, He IS grace and forgiveness. For the sake of all that He is, He saves us.
When the angels rejoice at the repentance of a sinner (Luke 15:10), they do NOT celebrate that sinner. We are helpless and apart from God's calling, we cannot recognize our own sin, what criminals we are against Him, and we will not seek His forgiveness (Psalm 14:2-3, 1 Corinthians 12:3). All of heaven rejoices and praises God, whose grace and mercy are so great that He would provide the sacrifice, and shed His own blood, suffering His own holy wrath, for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28). And for THAT, "to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17)."
But instead, God came to earth in the form of Jesus to endure even MORE of our sin. And after His arrest in the garden, He endured it not only spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, but physically as well. He allowed us to do to Him even more of the same, all while bearing the past, present and future sins of the entire world upon His shoulders. The wrath we deserve for reviling such a pure, holy, and awesome God was poured out upon Him. For our sakes? No, for His glory. "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins any more (Isaiah 43:25)." God IS justice, He IS mercy, He IS grace and forgiveness. For the sake of all that He is, He saves us.
When the angels rejoice at the repentance of a sinner (Luke 15:10), they do NOT celebrate that sinner. We are helpless and apart from God's calling, we cannot recognize our own sin, what criminals we are against Him, and we will not seek His forgiveness (Psalm 14:2-3, 1 Corinthians 12:3). All of heaven rejoices and praises God, whose grace and mercy are so great that He would provide the sacrifice, and shed His own blood, suffering His own holy wrath, for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28). And for THAT, "to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17)."
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