groan........ not again.....
Having faced the above question (or variants of that question) for the past few weeks, I was left wondering if the BSF writers ran out of originality. Not realising how pompous that thought was, I happily proceeded to write down "His grace, mercy and wisdom" in the space provided. When it came to the Why though, my fingers just stopped. Well yeah there are the obvious reasons that in spite of man's depravity and hopelessness, God has provided a way out, a redemption plan for man... but did that give me great comfort?
For the sake of context, this is the passage for that week:
"[21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--[22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Rom 3:21-26
Well, this wasn't to say that God's grace, mercy and wisdom didn't give me comfort. It was just that... I didn't feel that I put thought into the question. Can I say that those attributes of God were what impacted me? I tapped my fingers on my desk, stared at the wall, fiddled with my pen, made strange noises with my lips, etc... nothing. Ok fine. I closed the Bible and left that question blank.
On the bus-ride to BSF, (I do some of my best thinking on bus-rides) I was still thinking of that question and my mind was brought back to one of the books which changed my Christian thinking: "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper. I won't elaborate on my thoughts but the key thing was that I realised that the attibute of God which brought me greatest comfort was the God-centredness of God.
The God-centredness of God.
Hallelujah! I immediately turned to Rom 3 and read again these words: "...This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. [26] It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
This refers to God putting forward Christ as a propitiation, for the justification & redemption of man. But why? Because this divine act displayed God's righteousness! In the Old Testament, on the Day of Atonement, the blood of a sacrificial animal was used to make propitiation for the sin of man. This did not take away sin however as the blood of animals could not take away sin (Heb 10:4). On the contrary, the Day of Atonement was to remind man of his sin (Heb 10:3). So, God's wrath toward sin had yet to be averted and therefore, Christ's death on the Cross was necessary. Perfection and sinlessness had to be stained for God's righteousness & justice.
So was the Cross an act of love for man or an act of righteousness? Both! But God's righteousness and glory is paramount and HE takes precedence! Our God cannot put His love for man before the love of His own glory. If He does, that'll be idolatry! God cannot insult what's infinitely beautiful and glorious and thus, He has to put supreme value on his own perfection and worth. For THAT is righteousness--God's God-centredness.
In the pettiness of our thinking, this might seem to be pure, unadulterated vanity and arrogance. But that's man being man-centred. God's God-centredness is the very heart of righteousness.
We also sometimes fail to see that the very foundation of our hope and salvation lies in God being God-centred in the first place! For in the 2nd half of verse 26 it says, "so that he might be just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus". We see clearly that our salvation and justification lies in the very righteousness (justice) of God. Because God is perfectly righteous, through the propitiation of Christ, He is able to acquit us (justification) and therein lies our hope and our redemption! Hallelujah!
For "The God-centredness of God is the foundation of his grace to the ungodly. If God were not committed first to vindicate the worth of his own glory, there would be no gospel and no hope, for there would be no glorious God. " (John Piper)
Therefore, God is the centre of the gospel and the exultation of His own glory is its driving force; not the depravity of man nor the fact that God loves us.
For the God-centredness of God is the attribute that brings the ultimate hope and comfort for all people.
