I’m working through Psalms right now and today, we are on Psalm 11. In this psalm, David depicts God as being wrathful towards the wicked. There are a lot of different angles I could take in this post, but one in particular stood out to me. We need to remember why Jesus had to die. If God wanted to just forgive us for our sins, it seems like he could have just done that from heaven without going through all the hassle. So why did he do it? To set an example? To show us his love? To prove he existed? While there is truth in all of these answers, none of them fully explain why Jesus had to die.

Given the incredible power of Jesus, he certainly didn’t have to submit to the Roman authorities. The prophet Isaiah can give us some insight on this in chapter 53 of his book. He says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” You can read the whole chapter here. Jesus was punished for us. God is both loving and just and there is a penalty for sins. The gift of salvation is that when we give our hearts to Jesus, God no longer counts our sins against us. (Romans 4:7-8) We are then forever freed from the punishment of our sins. We have eternal peace with God. For those who refuse this gift of salvation, the story will end differently. Those people will have to pay the penalty for their own sins, which is eternal separation from God.

As much as most would like to believe it doesn’t, the Bible does illustrate a God who deals justly with sinners. Do you enjoy peace with God today? My challenge to you is to remember that the peace you experience was paid for at a very high price. The price of the life of the Son of God. Do you not know if you have peace with God? I encourage you to receive the gift that he is offering to you…salvation through his Son Jesus Christ. Receiving Jesus into your heart is the most important decision you’ll ever make.