God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

What is so wonderful about this passage is that God lets the sins we committed before accepting Jesus GO UNPUNISHED, when we accept Jesus as our savior and Lord. We read a lot in the news today about people pointing the finger and placing blame on others. Sometimes this is a smoke screen and other times a wrong has been done. But very rarely will a person who is convicted of a crime go unpunished. In a society of rules, punishment is important and it acts as a deterrent to other people following in the footsteps of the offender. On top of that, we would likely in our lifetime never see someone who was wronged, sacrifice their Son for the perpetrator.

But God left our sins beforehand unpunished. And he sent his Son to pay their price. Almost unbelievable, but true. He personally cares for each of us that much! What an amazing amount of patience he has with us. And this is the good news (or the gospel) about Jesus Christ, for me and you. So think about your sin areas; you know what they are. And now realize you not only have a clean slate in life if you follow Jesus, you also, have a master and Lord who will empower you to be God’s servant of goodness in an evil world. We have not only been forgiven, but we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, if we truly follow him. By Christ’s blood we are justified, and because of his forbearance with us, we can tap into his power source and truly be gracious and just with others, as well.

Lord, thank you for your incredible patience with me. Thank you that you desire to know me and give me a new start. May your Spirit guide me in your ways today; I give him full reign in my life!