A man committed multiple crimes.
He was caught, and is awaiting trial.
His lawyer tells him that if he’s found guilty, the judge will pass sentence on the criminal with two options:
Serve a life prison sentence or pay a fine of €1trillion…
The criminal knows that he’s guilty and feels that his life is over. He knows there’s no way he can pay the fine. No one he can think of would or could pay the fine for him, either.
Then an envelope is brought to him. He opens it and sees a letter that says, “I have taken every penny I have and hereby pay your debt in full.” Underneath the letter the criminal notices a cheque written out for €1trillion.
The criminal has two choices:
Choice One is to think that it’s all a hoax.
He disbelieves the letter and, to save himself embarrassment, doesn’t try to cash the cheque. He goes to court and pridefully proclaims he’s innocent. To his horror, the judge calls for a book to be brought forward which lists all the evidence of the defendant’s guilt. His crimes have all been well documented and he didn’t even know. Now a convicted criminal, he ultimately pays the penalty himself, with his life behind bars.
Choice Two is to believe what the letter says.
He speaks to the Judge with a humble and repentant heart, remorsefully admitting his guilt. He put his faith in the letter, gratefully hands the cheque in to be cashed and, thankfully, never returns back to his old crimes, as he remembers the price that someone paid on his behalf, ultimately setting him free.
We are all in infinitely more trouble than this criminal…
God is our judge, and He has sentenced us to physical death, and the second death in the lake of fire, because of our crimes (sins) against Him (breaking His commandments).
But God has also sent us His letter (the Bible), which explains that He has provided the payment for our sin (like the cheque in the illustration) by sending His innocent Son, Jesus, to take our place, receive our punishment and pay our fine.
As Jesus was beaten and bleeding on the cross, torturously dying a criminal’s death, a great exchange took place.
Our sins were laid upon Jesus (see Isaiah 53) and Jesus became sin on our behalf (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus obeyed His Father’s will and He paid our fine with His life.
The wrath of God was sent upon His Son Jesus, who was forsaken and then died. It was the will of God to crush Him for our sins (see Isaiah 53).
On the third day after Jesus’s death, He rose up from the grave back to life.
As a result of Jesus becoming sin, dying on the cross and then rising back to life on the third day, He defeated both sin and death.
If we repent of our sin, like the criminal repented of his crimes, and if we put our faith in Jesus and what He has done for us (as the criminal put his trust and faith in the letter and cheque), we in exchange become the righteousness of God in Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Just as Jesus is the Son of God, through Him, we can become sons and daughters of God!
If we are in Christ, God looks at us and sees the perfect life that Jesus lived. We are no longer guilty!
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17