By Doug Redford
Occasionally we hear stories in the news of a person who has been in prison for a certain crime, perhaps for several years, and then someone with a legal background discovers an error or oversight that occurred in prosecuting the crime. So the individual decides to reopen the case, explains the oversight or mistake in court, and as a result the person who had been declared guilty is set free. The individual may have spent a good part of their adult life in prison, but their life behind bars is over. What a relief for that person, yet how regrettable that justice was not served in the first place!
The Bible records the story of humanity’s imprisonment in sin. It began with Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The amazing reversal of that condition, the good news of the gospel, is that we can be released from our prison of sin, not because someone discovered that we were falsely accused, but in spite of the fact that we were clearly, unmistakably guilty.
We did not need someone to “reopen our case” and try to discover where some error by the prosecution occurred. We have not been victims of some miscarriage of justice. Both Old and New Testaments paint a very unflattering, but accurate, picture of humanity. Ezra made the following “bad confession” to the Lord: “Our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6, New International Version). Many are familiar with Paul’s indictment found in Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
While the bad news of our condition is that “our guilt has reached to the heavens,” the good news is that is exactly where our deliverance has come from: the heavens. The Word who was with God and was God left the heavens, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1, 14). Jesus had no sin, no guilt whatsoever, but at the cross he took the punishment upon himself that should have been ours so that we might go free.
Some may respond, “That’s not justice; that isn’t fair at all!” No, it isn’t justice; it’s grace, which someone has defined, using the letters in the word, as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. As we observe Communion, let us consider the cross of Jesus where grace, not justice, was served to every person. And let us consider someone to whom we can serve that message this week.
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
Contact us at cs@christianstandardmedia.com
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