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In “the gospel of the grace of God” we find a striking paradox: God Himself condemning the righteous and justifying the wicked; forsaking the perfect and helping evildoers.
Behold the spotless Lamb on Calvary as He cries, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Judas kisses Him in base betrayal; wicked men spit in His face, mock Him, smite Him, scourge Him, crown Him with thorns and nail Him to a tree! And God, the Judge of all, does nothing to stop them!
And this is not all, for on the other hand God saves Saul of Tarsus, Christ’s bitterest enemy, “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious,” his hands dripping, as it were, with the blood of martyrs. To him God shows “grace…exceeding abundant” and “all longsuffering” (I Tim. 1:13-16). Indeed, He sends him forth to proclaim openly to all men that:
“To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).
How can all this be right? The answer is that the One who died in agony and disgrace at Calvary was God Himself, manifested in the flesh. There, at Calvary, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (II Cor. 5:19). It was the Judge Himself, stepping down from the throne to the cross to represent the sinner and pay for him the full penalty of his sins.
And who will say this is injustice? Injustice? It is perfect justice and more. It is grace!
Under the terms of the Law we find God “showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:6). But grace is infinitely more: it is the riches of God’s mercy and love to “the children of disobedience…the children of wrath” (Eph. 2:2-7), paying the penalty for their sins Himself in strictest accord with perfect and infinite righteousness! source
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