The Guilt and Penalty of our Sin

In the previous post, we made reference to Charles Dickens' book A Tale of Two Cities. In it, Sydney Carton went to Charles Darnay's prison cell with the intention of exchanging places with him. In so doing, he, Sydney Carton, a free and uncondemned man, was accepting the guilt of Darnay's family and the sentence of death that had been given Darnay. Indeed, Carton was guillotined so that Darnay might be restored to his life and wife.

When Jesus came to this earth, he came with the intention of exchanging places with we who were sinners and lawbreakers on death row. In doing so, he, a sinless and uncondemned man, also accepted the guilt of our sin. The Scripture says,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

Not only did he accept our guilt, he also accepted the penalty for our sin. Again, the Scriptures say,

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
-- 1 Peter 3:18

Jesus accepted our guilty and the penalty of our sin so that he might bring us to God and restore us to life.

Sacrifice for Sin

Reflections on 2 Sam. 24:18-25 & 1 Chron. 21:18 - 22:1

David was so greatly troubled by the plague ravaging Israel that he offered himself that the plague might be stopped. If David had been the only one to sin, his death might have satisfied justice, but David was not the only one who had sinned. God had been angry with Israel as well (2 Samuel 24:1), so they also had sinned. That being the case, either Israel had to die or an appropriate substitute who was not himself condemned. David, of course, was a sinner who was himself in need of a sacrifice. He could not be a sacrifice for Israel. God, however, had a plan whereby both David and Israel could be saved by a sinless and perfect sacrifice. That plan progressed on the hill where Araunah was threshing wheat.

AN APPOINTED PLACE. At that time, the altar of burnt offering was at Gibeon a short distance north of Jerusalem, but David was afraid to go there because of the angel spreading the plague (1 Chronicles 21:29-30). God had chosen another place, Araunah's threshing floor, as the permanent site for the altar, and his angel had halted at that place. Gad instructed David to build an altar there and offer sacrifices. This was the place where Abraham had brought Isaac and God had provided a sacrifice for him (Genesis 22:2). This would become the site of the temple and the altar of burnt offering (2 Chronicles 3:1).

AN APPROPRIATE PRICE. When David approached Araunah to buy his threshing floor, Araunah offered to give the threshing floor and animals to David. Such offers were part of the negotiation process (see Genesis 23), so it is not surprising that David insisted on paying even though he was king. Still, his reason for insisting is significant. He said, "I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Sin is costly, and David did not wish to make a sacrifice that denied that cost.

ACCEPTABLE PROPITIATION. David offered blood sacrifices on the altar that he built, and the Lord showed his acceptance of the sacrifice by sending fire from heaven to consume it as he had at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 9:23-24) and as he would when Solomon's temple was dedicated (2 Chronicles 7:1). God accepted David's sacrifice, not because the blood of bulls and goats could atone for sin (they could not, Hebrews 10:4), but because he himself had already planned to provide the perfect sacrifice for sin, his only begotten Son, on this very mountain.