GOD’S WORD FOR JUNE 16 ~ ~ 1 Timothy 1:15~ ~ “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”

Continuing with excerpts from “The Pleasures of God” by John Piper

(Yesterday we touched on the fact that God forgave “former sins” before Jesus paid the price on the cross. In other words, Old Testament believers were forgiven ahead for Jesus’ sacrifice, because of their faith. John now addresses the fact that God’s righteousness is called into question for this, which is what Paul had to clarify in the book of Romans.)

He says:

The reason God’s righteousness is impugned when he passes over sin and doesn’t judge it, is that sin is an attack on the worth of his glory. God’s righteousness is his unswerving commitment to uphold the worth of his glory and promote its fame in all the world.

When sin is treated as though it is inconsequential, then the glory of God is treated as inconsequential.

When God passes over sin, it looks as though he is agreeing that his glory is of little value. But if God acts in such a way as to deny the infinite value of his own glory, then he commits the ultimate outrage; he desecrates what is infinitely holy and he blasphemes what is infinitely sacred. He joins the sinners of Romans 1:23, and exchanges the glory of the immortal God for the creature!!! This prospect is so terrible that if it came to pass, there could be no gospel and no hope, for there would be no righteous God!!! (We would all end up in the lake of fire, with no chance of salvation)

Nevertheless God has chosen sinners for himself. He means to pass over their sins and bring them into his presence and give them everlasting joy. He has done this even though their sin desecrates his glory. How then does he uphold the worth of his glory and yet save sinners? The answer is given very clearly in Romans 3:25-26:

“God put Christ forward as a propitiation by his blood —that is, by his death on the cross—and this was to demonstrate God’s righteousness —his unswerving commitment to the worth of his glory…it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus”

In other words, God would not just sweep the sins of his chosen people (the Jewish nation—specifically Old Testament believers) under the rug of the universe. If he was simply going to acquit guilty, God-belittling sinners by faith, then something terrible and awesome had to happen to vindicate his allegiance to the worth of his glory.

That something was the death of his son. This death demonstrated the inexpressible passion God has for the worth of his glory and for all the vindication of his righteousness.

(Tomorrow we’ll see how that is accomplished)

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