“When the cup of our iniquities was filled, and it had become perfectly clear that their wages – the punishment of death – had to be expected, then the season arrived during which God determined to reveal henceforth his goodness and power. No, He did not hate us, or discard us, or remember our wrongs; He exercised forbearance and long-suffering! In mercy, of His own accord, He lifted the burden of our sins! Of His own accord he gave us His own Son as a ransom for us – the Saint for sinners, the Guiltless for the guilty, the Innocent for the wicked, the Incorruptible for the corruptible, the Immortal for the mortal! Indeed, what else could have covered our sins but His holiness? O sweetest exchange! O unfathomable accomplishment! O unexpected blessings – the sinfulness of many is buried in the One who is holy, the holiness of One justifies the many who are sinners!”[1]
[1] The Epistle of Diognetus, Quoted in Brian H. Edwards & Ian J. Shaw, The Divine Substitute: The atonement in the Bible and history (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2006) 56-57.
Brian G. Hedges | Pastor & Author
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