“Forgiveness,” as a word, has become accepted into the culture, so that it simply means to “forget it and move past the wrong-doing.” But if God’s wrath against our sin is removed from the picture, forgiveness—the power of the Gospel—is lost.
Sin is not automatically forgiven, as if God was Santa Claus doling out Christmas gifts of sin-erasers. No, sin was paid for and required blood. Christ was our substitute and sacrificial lamb. Salvation is not an idea–it is a divine power rooted in Christ’s death under the Father’s wrath, and presented in the Gospel for us to receive. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22). This righteousness comes to us and clothes us with the very righteousness of Christ—given the verdict of God, the very Gospel of Christ.
While offensive to modern man, God’s wrath, the curse of the law, and His unchanging moral justice are integral to Christianity. Without them, the Gospel is inevitable deformed and simply becomes another philosophy. –ed.
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