I recently heard a song on the radio that
mentioned God “is faithful and just to forgive us.” And I know that’s right—it
is, after all, from 1 John 1:9! However, I immediately realized something. My
entire life I focused on the term “faithful.” For me, 1 John 1:9 was a
testimony to God’s faithfulness in his saving those who would confess their
sins and want to follow him. Surely, this is true. However, I always glossed
over the words “and just.” It is just
for God to forgive us! What a thought! God doesn’t simply shrug his shoulders
at sin and overlook justice for a tiny microsecond. No, when we receive
salvation, in a sense we’re getting what we deserve.
What? Has Randy gone crazy? No, not at all.
Rather, in this short post I want to point out that we are given Christ’s
righteousness. He is the one who never sinned, and who deserves nothing less
than all of God’s riches and treasure. We are said to be joint-heirs with Jesus
Christ in Romans 8:17. He will get what he deserves; we will be made part of
that! Of course, the fact that we’re made part of it is itself grace; it is an
instance of us getting what we don’t deserve. But it is fundamentally right and just for God to then forgive us. What a comforting thought!