One of the most comforting of Scriptural doctrines is that our salvation rests not alone upon God's mercy, but upon His justice. In His mercy and love, "he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." But when the Son took our place, He bore the punishment that should have fallen on every sinner... Therefore God is righteous in setting free from guilt and penalty every sinner who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour... Leland Wang, the Chinese evangelist, told of an incident of his childhood which vividly illustrates the substitutionary work of Christ. On one occasion he had been very naughty and his mother, with a stick in her hand, called him to her to be punished. But he ran off, taunting his mother because she could not catch him. She had little chance of catching her small, lively son. So she stood still and said, "I feel ashamed of myself that I have brought up a boy who is not willing to be disciplined by his mother when he does wrong, so I must punish myself," and she began to whip her bare arm. This so touched Leland's heart that he ran back to his mother, threw himself into her arms, and pleaded with her not to hurt herself but to punish him. But no further punishment was necessary... Mr. Wang says that, as he grew older, the memory of this incident helped him to understand the great love of the Lord Jesus Christ who willingly took our place on the cross.
As we approach Good Friday, let's remember the sacrifice Christ made for us. "Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."
Copyright (c) Elton L. Young, 2002-2012
