Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Somebody Has to Pay for Sin
By Rick Warren

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” Habakkuk 1:13 (NIV)

In Greek and Roman mythology, all the gods—like Zeus, Jupiter, and Apollo—have human frailties. They get angry. They lust. They’re impatient. They zap people with lightning bolts. They are inconsistent and unreliable.

But the real God, the God who created the universe, is 100 percent just and unpolluted. He’s never done anything wrong, impure, or imperfect. He’s holy. Habakkuk 1:13 says, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing” (NIV).

Because God is perfect, you can trust him. But his perfection also means that he cannot tolerate sin. So, at the cross, God, the Father, took every sin of the world and poured it all on his perfect Son, Jesus Christ, who volunteered to take it on.

God sent Jesus to be your substitution. If Jesus hadn’t been your substitute on the cross, then you would’ve had to pay for your own sins. But Jesus satisfied the law. He did what justice demands. He accomplished this because he is God himself who lived a perfect life without sin.

But it wasn’t easy for Jesus. In fact, it was torture. You know how guilty you feel over one sin? How would you like to carry the guilt of every sin—from the sins done in secret to the public, horrific ones? That would be mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual torture.

On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 NIV). Jesus was experiencing physical agony—and the torment of being separated from his Father. 

A holy God could not stand even to look at his Son, full of the sins of the world. God looked away because he is perfect. Can you imagine what this cost Jesus?

But he was willing to go through that pain because he wanted to provide a way for you to be in fellowship with a holy God.

Somebody had to take the punishment, and Jesus did it for you. Jesus became your substitute so that, when God looks at you, he doesn’t see your sin. He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

And because of that, you can experience both eternal life and a full, purposeful life here on earth.

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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