Ungracious Cows

From Charles Spurgeon:

 

"I will judge between cattle and cattle." (Ezekiel 34:22) 

 

Some are fat and flourishing, and therefore they are unkind to the feeble. This is a grievous sin and causes much sorrow. Those thrustings with side and with shoulder, those pushings of the diseased with the horn, are a sad means of offense in the assemblies of professing believers. The Lord takes note of these proud and unkind deeds, and He is greatly angered by them, for He loves the weak. 

 

Is the reader one of the despised? Is he a mourner in Zion and a marked man because of his tender conscience? Do his brethren judge him harshly? Let him not resent their conduct; above all let him not push and thrust in return. Let him leave the matter in the Lord's hands. He is the Judge. Why should we wish to intrude upon His office? He will decide much more righteously than we can. His time for judgment is the best, and we need not be in a hurry to hasten it on. Let the hard-hearted oppressor tremble. Even though he may ride roughshod over others with impunity for the present, all his proud speeches are noted, and for every one of them account must be given before the bar of the great Judge. 

 

Patience, my soul! Patience! The Lord knoweth thy grief. Thy Jesus hath pity upon thee!

  

(Charles Spurgeon, Faith's Checkbook - "He of Tender Conscience")
 
Here's an audio version for your listening pleasure: 
 

The Legitimacy of Paradox as a Theological Model - Part 7

Pastor Richard Ostella of Westminster Reformed Church in Plymouth, Michigan has graciously granted permission to re-publish his March 2009 ETS paper on theological paradox here at THEOparadox. To understand these thoughts in context, please begin with part 1.

2) Free will doctrine misrepresents human nature 

 Fallen man does not have free will because he cannot decide, choose, or act outside of his evil nature. Like a diseased tree, he cannot bear good fruit16 (Mat. 7.18) and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil (Mat. 12.35). Free will doctrine teaches that the evil person out of his evil heart brings forth some good (at least when he chooses to submit to God in faith), but this idea misrepresents the teaching of Jesus that character determines conduct. To make the point by inversion, consider that fact that a loving mother cannot intentionally harm her child; she cannot act outside of her character as a loving mother. Nor can unloving evil people bear good fruit.17 Also, note both strands of this paradox: 

a) moral inability is here: the evil heart cannot bear good fruit (Mat. 7.18) and the evil person (Mat. 12.34, you are evil) cannot speak good things (12.34, You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?). 

b) Full responsibility is here: on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak (Mat. 12.36).18

 Therefore, free will teaching misrepresents human nature by affirming that fallen man can act contrary to his evil nature. 

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Pastor Ostella's Footnotes 

16 The Christian is a good tree and his inability to bring forth bad fruit is eschatological. For the non-Christian, the inability to do anything good is part and parcel of the present evil age.  

17 However, if character determines conduct, what then do we say about character determining choices such as the choice to study the Scriptures regularly to be shaped by them in submission to Christ for the glory of God? That character determining choice arises from Christian character already, from the renewal of the heart by the Holy Spirit that gives “newness of life” (Rom. 6.4). Otherwise, the natural man cannot submit to the law of God (Rom. 8.7). He must be set free from his slavery in order to be free for righteousness (Rom. 6.18).  

18 Jesus teaches that there is moral inability (because you are evil, you cannot speak good words) and the fact of full responsibility (you will give account for every careless word, which is a fortiori for absolutely every word). Before the Genesis flood, every inclination of man’s heart was only evil continually, Gen. 6.5. Being so gripped by their rebellion and sinfulness, they could not do anything good, but they were fully accountable as the judgment of the flood showed. That judgment is an anticipation of the final judgment. As an accountable and inexcusable lawbreaker (Rom. 1-3), the natural man cannot submit to God or His law (Rom. 8.7, For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot). Noting that submission to God is a quality of faith’s submissive obedience, it is clear that the natural man cannot come to Christ in faith and coming to Christ is surely something good.  


PART 8 - Click Here

Isaiah 53:1 - The Arm of the Lord

. . . and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

The "arm of the Lord" indicates God's decisive and powerful action, effecting the salvation of His people or bringing judgment upon His enemies. It is decidedly God's own action, accomplished entirely by Himself and not through a creature as His instrument. Consider these examples from the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 30:30 And the LORD will cause His voice of authority to be heard, and the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, and in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones.

Isaiah 40:10-11 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

Isaiah 48:14 Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

Isaiah 51:5 My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.

Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?

Isaiah 52:10 The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.

Isaiah 59:16 And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him.

Isaiah 63:5 I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; so My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My wrath upheld Me.

 
The question, "to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" would seem to have two possible meanings: either a saving work, or a work of judgment. Since the cross is both, it is difficult to ascertain which meaning is most intended by the prophet. Adding to this complication is the fact that "to whom" could properly be translated "upon whom." Further, "revealed" could refer to the uncovering of the arm (i.e., "rolling up the sleeves") in preparation for a decisive act of judgment, or it could refer to a saving revelation of Who or what the "arm" is. The Hebrew text seems to leave some options open. However, in this verse two seemingly opposite truths can be seen and known with certainty:

1. The cross reveals God's fierce arm of judgment against unbelief and sin.

2. The cross reveals Gods mighty arm of salvation for sinners who believe.

The greatest revelation of God's saving strength is found in the cross, and the most terrifying revelation of His awesome wrath is found in the cross. Judgment and mercy are potently and paradoxically displayed here. Let us never lose sight of TWO equally weighty messages declared in picturesque form by the cross: first, that GOD HATES AND JUDGES ALL SIN; second, that GOD LOVES AND SAVES SINNERS WHO TRUSTINGLY TURN TO HIM ON THE BASIS OF CHRIST'S SUFFERING IN THEIR PLACE.

The cross unveils both hell and heaven, sin and salvation, judgment and mercy, truth and grace, love and hatred, despair and joy, abject hopelessness and unconquerable optimism . . . all brought together in one place, in one historic event, as one finite bit of time folded inextricably into the eternal and timeless moment, one apparently contingent and changeable human circumstance united with the supra-chronological and eternally settled divine purpose, linking the soul of One Man to the entire human race, drawing spiritual poison into Himself and transferring life-giving Spirit back across the divide, demonstrating spiritual death in physical death, displaying spiritual life in physical resurrection, and through incalculable sacrifice purchasing everything that would ever be needed for dirty wretches to be brought into the favor of a pure and righteous Father.

The Gospel is God showing forth His mighty strength, saving His chosen ones, making known His great power through apparent weakness. It is the power of mercy to love the unlovely. It is power of grace to overcome sin. It is power of God's Spirit to effect repentance and draw faith from human hearts as water was drawn from the rock in the desert. It is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.

A God-Centered Defense of the Biblical Doctrine of Hell

Editor's Note: In a recent post, I pointed out that a Biblical understanding of sin takes the mystery out of the doctrine of hell and places it back in the doctrines of grace, where it belongs. The author of a book called, "Hell? No! Why You Can Be Certain There's No Such Place As Hell" took exception to my overt affirmation of the reality of hell. I was headed out of town for the weekend and could not respond to his comments, so I asked my friend Chris DeVidal to respond. And I'm glad I did. Here's the thoughtful and God-exalting response written by Chris . . .

The basis of your argument is:

* We didn't ask to be born, and yet we are damned
* Infinite punishment could not possibly be merited by a finite crime
* Jesus seemingly preached against hell in Luke 9:51-56

Editor's Note: The first assertion is the height of ingratitude. The second is inaccurate due to a low view of sin (which springs from a low view of God, as Mr. DeVidal is about to demonstrate). The third is a gross misinterpretation of Scripture that any first year Bible student could dismantle with ease. But let's allow Chris to answer, he does a better job . . .

Please allow me to answer these three points with one question:

What motivates God to do all that He does?

Why the creation? Why the cross?

You might say, "love."
And that's a good answer, but it needs more refinement.
I think you might mean, "love for humans."

Tell me, what did God (the Father) love before He created us?
I think there can only be one answer, the Son.

Who is the Son?
Deity. God.

If you don't agree with me on this point we have a different discussion. So let's assume you agree.

So what motivates God?
Love. For Himself.

Don't take my word for it. Ask yourself what motivated Him to save when you read Isaiah 48:9-11.

Or John 17:1 Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
Or John 14:13 ... so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
Or John 16:14 He will bring glory to Me ...
Or Acts 12:23 ... because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down ...
Or Psalm 25:11 For the sake of Your name ... forgive my iniquity ...
Or Romans 9:17 I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed ...
Or Exodus 14:4 ... I will gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army ...
Or Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake ...
Or Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord ...
Or Ezekiel 20:14 But for the sake of My name I did what would keep it from being profaned ...
Or Psalm 106:7-8 Yet He saved them for His name’s sake,to make His mighty power known.
Or Isaiah 43:6-7 ... everyone who is called by My name,whom I created for My glory ...
Or Jeremiah 13:11 ... to be my people for My renown and praise and honor.
Or 1 Samuel 12:20-22 ... For the sake of His great name the Lord will not reject his people ...
Or 1 Corinthians 10:31 ... do it all for the glory of God.
Or Ezekiel 36:22-23, 32 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. ... I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord.
Or 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

(Reminder, God wrote those verses about Himself.)

Want more proof?
How about the biggest book in the Bible: The Psalms.

What are the Psalms' basic content?
Praise God!
Praise God!
Praise God!

The Psalms were written by God. So what He's really saying is,
Praise Me!
Praise Me!
Praise Me!

What motivates God most is love for Himself.

By beginning with the assumption that God revolves around man, you are led down a terrible road - even to the point of inventing a different god than what is found in the Bible.

This is called idolatry.
(I don't know if you're an idolator, but the warning must be clear: assume that man comes first and you will become one.)

I'm not sure you were aware of this assumption. I know of very, very, very few people who have asked and Biblically answered the question, "What motivates God?" Not even me. But you must ask this question to rightly understand the Bible. When you see that God is motivated by love for Himself, the Bible falls into place. Your life will radically change for the better. Trust me.

So if God loves Himself above all things, how does that presuppose the doctrine of Hell?

Let me explain . . .

God is infinitely worthy.

Worthy of exaltation.
Worthy of majesty.
Worthy of respect.
Worthy of praise.
Worthy of honor.
Worthy of glory.
Worthy of song.
Worthy of all!
He is WORTHY of obeying, simply because He is worthy.

Now, what is sin?

What is sin but a rebellion against His command? What a TERRIFIC insult to His honor!!! He said "don't do it," we say, "you're not worthy of obeying." On the basis of His worth alone, He should be respected, listened to, agreed with, obeyed. He is supreme over all!

If He says jump, our only answer ought to be, "How high?" Simply because He is worthy of obedience.

David the Psalmist agreed. He sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba and his son and dragged all of Israel down into scandal, thus sinning against literally millions of people. Yet he wrote these words:

Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight
(Psalm 51:4a ESV)

Why?

so that You may be justified in Your words
and blameless in Your judgment.
(Psalm 51:4b ESV)

Another way to consider sin is it is deeds that would be done only if He isn't really there.

If a dignitary, some royalty or ambassador, visits your house and you go about your life as if he were not there, you would greatly insult him. How would your and my life change if Jesus knocked on our door and said, "I'll be following you around from now on, listening to your thoughts, words, watching your actions and judging your fears." Would you act or think differently?

To the degree that you would change, there is unbelief that He really is watching, that He really does exist. This belittles Him. God will not tolerate belittling of His name for very long.

He is most motivated by love for His own self-worth.

Tell me, what would it communicate about His opinion of Himself if there was no punishment for those who belittled the worth of His great name, the name that He loves?

What if He did nothing to uphold the worth of His great name?

GOD WOULD BE INFINITELY BLASPHEMOUS.

If God were not to uphold the glory of God, God would deny God the glory that God deserves. God would be heaping scorn upon God. That would be blasphemous!

Let us consider even the smallest little grumbling about the weather, alone in your car on the way home from work. I was guilty of this a few weeks ago.

What are we really saying?

First, we say that God doesn't know what He is doing. Don't you see that He is watering the plants to feed you? He doesn't have to. He could let you try to make plants grow all on your own, without any water at all anywhere on the earth.

Second, we say that God doesn't love His creatures to send this providence. There are literally MILLIONS of people on earth shaking their fist in His face, and He gives them a sandwich. What a tremendously loving, patient God this must be!

Third, we say that God doesn't exist. When we complain to the air about circumstances, we are effectually complaining that He sent the circumstances. We would never, never, never, never, never question His providence if He were sitting in the car next to us. This belittles His great name. God will not tolerate belittling His name for long.

Grumbling under our breath to ourselves about the rain must be an infinite affront to the majesty and authority and worth of HIS GREAT NAME.

What an amazing God, then, who visits the furious wrath deserved upon those who grumble about His rain. He visits the full fury of hell, upon His Son, who gladly volunteered for the job "for the joy that was set before him." (Hebrews 12:2 ESV)

I CANNOT believe I get to worship this God!

What a God!
What a God!
What a God!

In summary, hell is a doctrine that is demanded by an understanding of the nature of the God of the Bible. Period.

If you don't agree, you have to deny the core, fundamental essense of who God is.

Ultimately, in order to escape these Biblical truths, you must create another god.

This is called idolatry.

Conclusion

* God loves Himself above all things, and does all that He does to bring glory to Himself.

* God is worthy of all, and worth giving glory to.

* Even the slightest grumble under your breath, alone by yourself where no one hears, is worth an infinite amount of punishment. (Indeed, I did not say this earlier but an infinite amount of punishment in hell really isn't enough to pay for just one of our crimes, let alone our multiplied crime upon crime. If hell didn't exist the trees and the rocks would SCREAM for justice!!)

* God would not be just to Himself if He did not mete out the just punishment on those who grumble under their breath.

* This God is amazing who visits the fury of infinite wrath upon Himself in order to show kindness to us, so that we will in turn bring Him the glory He deserves.

WHAT A GOD!
WHAT A GOD!
WHAT A GOD!

"...bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Isaiah 43:6b-7 ESV)

Isaiah 52:14 - The Astonishing Sacrifice

"Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men. "

There are some intense thoughts here for the interested reader. Please consider these points as seeds for deeper meditation on the cross of Christ. God's Word REVEALS God's character - and His work on the cross reveals mysterious wonders that are satisfying food for our hungry, sin-sick souls. This is where we find the greatest encouragements, and the deepest change. We begin with an examination of the Hebrew word for "astonished." I pray that you and I and all mankind will fall down in utter awe before the Beautiful One Who died for lost, disgusting sinners like us. (Had I said "wretched," you wouldn't have tripped over that sentence. But the two words are synonymous - do you believe it? Until we believe it, won't be astonished by the cross.)

Astonished = Heb. SHAMEM, שמם - "To be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy ... to be desolated, be deflowered, be deserted ... be awestruck." (Brown-Driver-Briggs). "Basic to the root is the desolation caused by some great disaster, usually as a result of divine judgment.... the sense of 'horror' and 'shock' brought about by the vision of desolation. It is the inner response to the outward scene." (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament), "Awestruck or astonished." (Bible Knowledge Commentary).

The Cross is an Astonishing Thing
Gazing upon the cross of Christ will leave us blessedly desolate, as we are finally freed from ourselves, and liberated from the destructiveness of sin, and rightly made nothing in our own eyes. The cross properly deflowers us from the self-wrought veneer of our own glory. As worms looking up to the cross, we see what we are in what He became for us. As puffed up, self-inflatable gods looking down upon the cross, we see the means by which we may be made worms again. God knows we need to be astonished by some things. We need to be shaken out of the stupor of sin.

The Astonishment of the Cross Comes from the Marring of Christ's Appearance and Form.
Marred = Heb. MISHCHATH, משחת - "disfigurement (of face), corruption" (Brown-Driver-Briggs). Note that this is not an adjective, but an adjectival noun - representing disfigurement as personified and epitomized. The word is only used twice in the Old Testament. The other occurrence is in Leviticus 22:25, where it refers to an animal that has been bruised, crushed, torn, or cut, and is therefore unacceptable as a sacrifice. These terms fit well as a description of crucifixion, and the unacceptability of the animal may relate to Christ's work as the sin-bearing sacrifice, the One who became sin for us, and also became a curse for us. He bore our marred image, and shared with us in the destructive effects of sin - but for Him it was taken even further, so that He was marred by sin to a greater extent than we were.

This marring of the Son of God is designed to astonish us on many fronts . . .

The Cross Gives an Astonishing Revelation of the Depth of Man's Sin

On the surface of it, in the garden of Eden a piece of fruit was eaten. Today, fruit is eaten innocently on a regular basis. So what's the difference? In short, the difference is a matter of will. Adam and Eve ate the fruit contrary to God's command. In that act, for the first time, human beings defied the divine authority. We chose a course of action that was opposed to the revealed will of God. Our choice in the garden demonstrated extreme distrust for God, accusing Truth Personified of being a liar.

We dared to base the destiny of our race on the notion that Goodness Himself is somehow less than good. Our actions declared that God, Who IS LOVE, is unloving. We concluded that God was unreliable, imperfect, and unloving, and opted to build our future on the shaky sands of self-reliance, pride, and human wisdom. And by the way, we can still sin by eating fruit - if we don't eat it in faith, and to the glory of God.

Our choice in Adam opened the door to all sorts of calamity. It forfeited a perfect world for an existence fraught with tragedy. It separated us from God, ostensibly for eternity and without hope of repair or remedy. Adam had no hint that God would later move heaven and earth to undo the damage caused by humanity's rebellion.

The Cross is an Astonishing Revelation of God's Righteous Hatred for Sin, and His Just Judgment Against Sin

God's hatred for sin is not a mere preference. It is a deadly serious abhorrence of that which deserves to be abhorred. If Christ's experience on the cross shows us God's attitude toward sin, then in God's eyes there can be nothing more heinous than sin. Sinners who are not redeemed are ultimately abandoned by God. Bearing our sin, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" The final result of sin is complete separation from God. He will have nothing to do with sin, for it is utterly and eternally odious to Him.

To further discern the awfulness of God's judgment against sin, consider that Christ's wounds were not merely physical. He appears even in heaven as "a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain." God's judgment against sin, meted out vicariously against His Own beloved Son, was much deeper than bodily death. What Christ suffered in His body was an illustration of His greater afflictions.

Just look at some of the internal aspects of Christ's sufferings:

Isaiah 53:6 ... the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief.

Isaiah 53:11 As a result of the anguish of His soul ...

Isaiah 53:11 ... He will bear their iniquities.

Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.

Even in Gethsemane, our Lord spoke these words:

Matthew 26:38 "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death ..."

The Cross is an Astonishing Revelation of Christ's Willingness to Suffer

Our Lord's suffering was greater than any other man's suffering ever was. At particular times, each of us has carried the objective and subjective guilt of his own sins. To an enlightened conscience, the weight of this is unbearable. Yet our knowledge of personal guilt is spread out across a lifetime, and we often succeed in distracting ourselves from it. When we believe the Gospel, we find a salve which brings comfort to our bedraggled hearts and cleanses our consciences continually. But Christ carried the sins of the many, all at one time, and without benefit of distraction or comfort. He suffered the fully concentrated blast of sin's horrendous condemnation, and the unbridled wrath of the Father. It would take an eternity in hell to justly execute God's wrath against our sin upon us. Christ received that eternity's worth of wrath, multiplied by millions or more, all in the space of a few hours at most. It's no wonder there was darkness, and there were earthquakes. In light of this, it's remarkable that the earth itself did not burst into shards of cosmic debris, and that the sun did not implode at the sight of God enduring the agony of man's sin.

When Adam's fallen sons receive the wrath of God in any measure, they can at least realize that they are receiving exactly what they deserve, and what their deeds have warranted. But Christ's suffering was magnified by His divinity and sinlessness. He never deserved an ounce of divine wrath, but He received all the infinite fury of it.

"Because Christ was infinite in dignity, glory, and power, he had to descend an infinite distance to save us." (William P. Farley, Outrageous Mercy, p. 93)

Christ's sufferings were unimaginably heavy, yet He did not suffer under compulsion. He gave Himself willingly and without a trace of malice. Typically, when we human beings suffer even slightly, we rise up with cursings of hellish anger and hatred. But the Man Christ Jesus, suffering fathomless horrors, offered forgiveness to His murderers.

The Cross is an Astonishing Revelation of God's Humble Omnipotence

There are wonders here! Absolute wonders!

Implicit in the Gospel is Christ's amazing ability to become something MORE (or at least "other") without losing (or changing) what He essentially IS in His perfect divinity. He existed eternally as God, but became a man. He lived sinlessly on earth, but became sin for us on the cross. He is forever blessed, yet He "became a curse for us." (Galatians 3:13). He was, and is, and always will be divinely perfect - yet He "took the form of a bondservant" (Philippians 2:7) "became obedient" (Phillippians 2:8), "learned obedience" (Hebrews 5:8) and "was made perfect" (Hebrews 5:9). Nevertheless, He is "the SAME yesterday, and today, and forever." All of this is consistent with His astounding humility and grace, not to mention His abundantly and overwhelmingly great and indescribably magnificent LOVE. God can do things that we can't even begin to imagine, because He is moved by "the great love with which He loved us." (Eph. 2:4).

Note: This is not an acquiescence to the heresy known as "process theology." Process theology teaches that some aspects of God are changeable by nature. Contrary to this, Scripture teaches that Christ took on human characteristics in time, without any change in His eternal deity. There is mystery here, to be sure, but the mystery should never lead us to a denial of God's sovereignty and immutability, for those are Biblical facts which must never be denied. Link: http://www.theopedia.com/Process_theology

The Cross is an astonishing Revelation of God's Infinite Love for Human Beings

Why did God the Father send His Son? Why did God the Son consent to suffer death in our place? Why did God the Holy Spirit actively participate in this divine conspiracy which involved the crushing and alienation of one member of the Holy Trinity? Surely the collective heart of the entire Godhead was broken in Christ's passion! And we ask again, WHY?

The New Testament offers up a disarmingly simple answer to this complicated question:

Titus 3:4-5 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy ...

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) ...

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

At the cross, inexorable justice meets fathomless love. And there is sufficient sacrifice here to save a world that has abandoned it's Creator.

The person who looks upon the cross with faith sees this: his own sins have caused the suffering, shed the blood, and taken the life of the Perfect Man who is the Son of God. By this fact we are ever crushed. But God has used the cross to wipe out the debt of our sins and bring us back into fellowship with Himself. By this fact we are ever renewed and made joyous again.

So, first we are astonished at our wretchedness. But as we continue to consider the cross, we become even more amazed at God's stupefying grace.

Dear friend, are you astonished yet? If not (or if not enough), keep setting your gaze upon the cross. There you will find that God gives you everything you need, and all that He requires.