What Does the Cross Have to Do with Justice?
A Level Playing Field
Justice is such an important issue today, and the cross speaks volumes to this. In fact, for followers of Jesus, you can’t have a biblical understanding of justice apart from the cross of Christ. And at the cross, we see the greatest demonstration of justice in human history: God pouring out his judgment on our sin.
The Atonement
Jeremy Treat
In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, pastor Jeremy Treat gives a foundational understanding of what Scripture teaches and what the church confesses about the doctrine of atonement.
It’s at the cross where we learn, ultimately, that God is a just God. So we have a vision of justice from the cross, but then what we have to learn is that the cross makes us a just people. We are justified by the blood of Christ, and as a justified people, we are then called to seek justice for every image-bearer on the planet.
For us as Christians, I really believe the cross makes us a people of mercy and justice. The cross levels the playing field. You can’t look down on anyone else when you’re at the foot of the cross, because we recognize that we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And yet it’s the grace of God that motivates us to go and serve, to show mercy, to seek justice for all. We really need the cross to understand this today.
Jeremy Treat is the author of The Atonement: An Introduction.
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