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Reason 1. These events aren’t God judging anyone for sins because the sins of the world were judged at the cross of Christ and completely paid for – by His death and the shedding of His blood.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.rely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life." Romans 5:6-10

Christ died for the ungodly – that means everyone born from Adam including Adam Himself. He died for us while we were still sinners and His enemies, dead in trespasses and sins. Because His blood was shed, the complete price of sin and the sins of the world have been accepted by God as full payment. This is what it means to be justified – the full penalty has been paid.

If you get a $180 speeding ticket, you are not justified in the eyes of the court until you pay the full $180. That’s why the judge will send the sheriff deputies to your home or business if you fail to pay the fine. When the court is satisfied, you become justified because you have reconciled with them over the ticket by paying the entire fine.

Furthermore, being justified by the court for that speeding ticket means you cannot be assessed more fines on that old offence. You can sleep like a baby knowing the deputies will not return in the middle of the night to collect more money because the court got what it wanted – the entire $180.

This is the picture of why we are both justified and reconciled to God. Jesus paid the penalty for sin, His death and His blood, to justify us in God’s sight. By accepting His Son’s sacrifice in our place, we and the entire world were reconciled to God - “that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.”
(2 Corinthians 5:19a).

You see, we were justified because we became reconciled the moment God accepted Jesus’ death in our place. Why? Because at that moment, we ceased to be God’s enemy by His acceptance of His Son’s death as full punishment for our sins, all of humanity’s sins. This is the very definition of being reconciled – the issue. which had made enemies out of two people, is taken away so there no longer remained a reason for them to be in conflict. So in Christ’s physical death, the sin and sins, which made had made God and mankind enemies, had been taken away so they could no longer remain enemies.

Now if you’re a Calvinist or Reformed theologian, this will not satisfy you because your basic beliefs rest on the assumption that God’s forgiveness alone produces salvation. In that case, take a careful look at the end of the Romans passage: We are RECONCILED by HIS DEATH and SAVED by HIS LIFE. Both are required for salvation.

Our salvation begins at the cross and is complete when we place our grace-given faith in Christ. At this moment the only peril we face, remaining dead in trespasses and sins, is eliminated. We are made alive in Christ, when we receive Him who is the Way, the Truth and the LIFE.
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