“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:8)
“Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.” (Psalms 78:35)
Perhaps you are like me and there was a time in your life, or maybe even now, you had or have a little trouble comprehending that the Bible describes our Lord as a “righteous judge” and our “Redeemer.”
How can He be our judge and at the same time the one who was willing to go to the cross and pay the penalty for our sins? He took the punishment that we deserved and only He could make the payment that we owe for our wicked and deceitful hearts. If you maybe think that you are not so wicked, remember the words of Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
My wife and I just finished reading Gordon MacDonald’s book, The Life God Blesses and in it he relates a story that I think does a good job of answering this question. He says it is an old story he has heard many times, but I confess, I don’t think I had heard it myself.
“As children we were often told, for illustrative purposes, of a courtroom scene, of a judge who calls for the next case only to discover that his son stands before him accused of a serious auto violation. The evidence is presented, and it is unimpeachable. And when it is time for the verdict, the judge can only say with judicial firmness, ‘Guilty!’
The judge is not free to overlook the seriousness of his son’s offense. He cannot claim family privilege because his loyalty must be to the law and its supreme demand for justice. And so the guilty verdict is pronounced, and with it, the accompanying penalty. A stiff fine.
But then something different happens, the storyteller says. As the defendant is led away to the place where he must pay, the judge leaves the bench, removes his judicial robe, and joins his son at the desk where fines are paid. He is no longer the judge; he is a loving father.
He lays his hand upon his son’s shoulder as he identifies with him and his predicament. Why, he even reaches into his pocket and finds the cash that will help his son fulfill his obligation to the law. Two people have acted here; the man who is the judge and the man who is the redeemer. A rescue, a redeeming event has happened here. Justice has been properly served and so has love. Both are the same person.
The Greek word for redemption (agorazo) is related to the notion of entering a slave market and purchasing a slave for the purpose of setting him free. …….I am often caused to picture the powerful Jesus entering the marketplace, where I am a slave to the sin that the Father has judged so severely, and setting me free.
This is great theology, It brings relief to the troubled soul; it brings delight. Horatio Spafford wrote a great song in the midst of a terrible personal tragedy more than a hundred years ago. One verse of the song reads,
My sin---
Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin---
Not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the Cross,
And I bear it no more:
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul!
And then the simple refrain, one phrase repeated twice:
It is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul.
In a world where it is said, nothing is free, redemption is. Free to one who moves toward the Cross, kneels, and receives the gift of redemption. (Gordon MacDonald, The Life God Blesses, pp. 161-162)
PRAY
1. Lord, I thank You that you are a righteous Judge that hates sin. I thank You that your standard is high, but that I don’t have to pay the price that You have already paid for me.
2. Help me this day to remember that I am but “dust” but, You care about me. You know everything there is to know about me and yet You still love me, and have adopted me as Your son or daughter.
Fill me with Your Spirit today, that I may be used by You to tell others about Your grace and mercy to me and to all who will call upon your