Our sin produces inside us an expectation of an encounter with God’s judgment. The Bible tells us that…
...the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT)
Our sin “earns” death; so, anything less than that is an encounter with God’s kindness.
Every time we come face to face with God’s kindness instead of his judgment, it reminds us that Jesus absorbed God’s wrath for our sake to make this possible.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, Romans 3:23-25 (NLT)
Since God is not bound by time but exists outside of it, he sees the entire panorama of history – past present, and future – all at once. It is all the same to him.
What Christ accomplished on the cross happened at a certain point in history but its effect is eternal.
The benefits go backward in time to cover those who lived and trusted God before Christ and forward to cover all those who would be born and believe the gospel after him. His sacrifice was accomplished once for all time.
And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT)
This means that even though we deserve to face an awful encounter with God’s wrath, we now can expect a meeting with the kindest Person we will ever know who delights to show us mercy.
Here are a few biblical examples of those who encountered God’s kindness instead of his wrath.
- Adam and Eve betrayed their Creator in spite of being warned that their disobedience would result in death. In the midst of being judged for their sin, God made Eve a most wonderful promise that one of her descendants would defeat Satan, which was fulfilled by Jesus on the cross. (Genesis 3:15)
- Jacob deceived his father Isaac and brother Esau to obtain the blessing normally intended for the elder son. Afterward Esau determined to kill Jacob, prompting him to flee to Haran where he married his cousins Leah and Rachel with whom he had twelve sons. Eventually God told Jacob to return to Canaan, the land of blessing, which required him to finally face up to Esau. After wrestling with his fears, he met his long estranged brother who had come with 400 armed men to do who knew what. Instead of encountering his brother’s anger, he was warmly embraced. Jacob said: “…what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!” (Genesis 33:10 (NLT))
- Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons, which made them jealous and full of hatred. They eventually sold him into slavery into Egypt. Later, after Joseph had been elevated to the second most powerful position in that land, Joseph’s brothers came to him to buy food. In dramatic fashion he revealed to them his true identity, which caused them to fear for their lives. Those brothers expected to encounter judgment but instead came face to face with forgiveness. The kindness Joseph extended was so unbelievable to them that after Jacob died they begged him not to punish them for their past behavior, prompting this response from Joseph. ” …Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children…” Genesis 50:19-21 (NLT)
- David committed adultery with his good friend Uriah’s wife and had Uriah killed in battle after she became pregnant, both offenses being punishable by death. When Nathan the prophet confronted him about these sins, David repented, not knowing what might lie ahead in terms of judgment. Nathan announced that David would reap many negative consequences for his sin but that God chose to show mercy, saying: “…the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin.” 2 Samuel 12:13 (NLT)
- In John chapter 8, the woman caught in the act of adultery was hauled before our Lord expecting to be stoned to death as required in the Law of Moses. Drawing an advance upon what he would soon accomplish on the cross, he extended mercy to this woman and set her free. When all her accusers had departed, Jesus’ words have gone down in history. “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 (NLT) This woman expected to encounter God’s wrath at the hands of men but met face to face with his kindness and mercy.
Every single one of us is just like that woman. We have all sinned and deserve to experience God’s wrath. No one is righteous before God. (Romans 3:10) We all have a “fearful expectation of judgment.” (Hebrews 10:27)
Instead God sent his Son to encounter that wrath on our behalf so that we might come face to face with God’s smile.
The only way for us to avoid our appointment with judgment and death is to accept God’s generous offer to be reconciled to him through faith in Christ and what he did on our behalf. It seems like a “no brainer” to me.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe, I stand before you now well aware that I deserve to encounter your judgment and wrath against my sin. Thank you for sending your Son to die in my place so that I might be forgiven and reconciled to you. I receive that amazing gift right now and give my heart and life to you. Holy Spirit transform me on the inside and help me to live the rest of my life for Jesus. Thank you for being so kind. Amen.
