Forgiveness and Justice

So many people talk about forgiveness. They know it's a great idea, but there's something that keeps them from pulling it off. There's something that keeps them from actually making the decision to forgive. I think the main thing that people struggle with when they think about forgiving is the issue of justice. We hear it all the time: “There's no justice, no peace.” 

Because there's a concern that the person who wounded me needs to pay. There's a debt that is incurred because of that wound. And do I have to pay for what they did? Who's going to pay for that? That's the big thing that keeps people from forgiving.

And the answer is: It is already paid for. 

You see, the blood of Jesus covers every sin, including the ones that wound me. It's true, very true, that Jesus came to the planet and lived perfectly and after 33 and a third years, died on the cross, stretched out his arms, he said, “It's finished. I’ve paid for this.” 

Jesus has paid for every sin ever committed by anybody. And so, the issue of justice is, yeah, it's been paid for. Although it's really not just, is it? You see, the one who is perfect and righteous, the one who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteous of God in Christ. So Jesus, in an unjust situation, paid for our sins. He who did not deserve it, paid for our sins so that we can be restored to a relationship with his father.

So it's not justice we're looking for that brings peace, because peace never comes from justice. Peace only comes from the injustice of the cross, where the righteous one paid for the sins of the unrighteous. So we can receive that and it can be settled. That means that we don't have to worry about the payment! It's already been paid.