It’s gotta be done

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. – Romans 8:1-11

“You have to replace it. It’s beyond repair.” Ever heard those words? Ever had that said to you about your transmission? Your refrigerator? Your air conditioner? Not a fun moment. But some things just have to be done. Some things cannot be ignored.

That is our situation before God if we are going to live with him. Something has to be done. Something major has to be repaired. Something has to change. That something is the uneven scales of justice that weigh God’s just requirements against our sin and unrighteousness.

The scales are tipped terribly against us. We don’t honor God as we should. We don’t love God above all. We don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. We don’t believe God is good all the time. We cannot recommend ourselves to God on the bases of our good works, our godliness, or even our pitiful situation. The scales must be balanced.

They are not balanced, however, by piling on a load of good-doing. They are not balanced by means of making up for the bad we’ve done or doing more and more good to take the place of the good we have failed to do.

The scales are balanced by Jesus. God has balanced the scales himself. He sent his Son in the flesh to accomplish what we could not: live a pure and perfect life of love and faith. Then he offered his Own Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Justice has been served.

Is there a sense of guilt hanging over your head for some past failure? Is there some good you failed to do? Is there some way in which you dishonored the name of Jesus? Is there some shortcoming known only to you, hidden away deep in the dark places of your heart. But you know God knows it. And you can never bring it into the light of his love.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Bring that sin, shame, guilt, failure, shame, ugliness out. Lay it at the foot of the cross. See it evaporate before your eyes as soon as the light of God’s love falls on it. God’s justice has been satisfied. It had to be done for God is just. But it has been done for God is also love. It’s gotta be done. And it has.