God wasn’t seated on His holy throne and taken by surprise at our sinfulness

By Greg Holt

(ICB)  All who are at all familiar with the Bible understand some basic facts, such as Jesus Christ was (and is) perfect.  He lived a perfect life here on earth.  He never did anything wrong: never lied, never blew up in unrighteous anger, never stole, never wrongly impugned someone’s character, never misjudged anything or anyone – no mistakes, and no sins.  PERFECT.

We are called to follow Christ’s example, to be perfect as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48).  Everyone ever born has sinned (Romans 3:23), done wrong, committed iniquity, broken God’s laws, whatever you want to call it.  Wrong is wrong and it only takes one sin to condemn us.

Some would say that it is patently ridiculous for God to ever have expected us to be perfect.  I agree.  But our lack of perfection did not come as any surprise to God.  God wasn’t seated on His holy throne and taken by surprise at our sinfulness, He didn’t say, “oops, I never saw that one coming.”

Our God knows all and sees all, no surprises.  So of course God had a plan in place.

God declared the standard for humanity was perfection, as He is perfect – all the while knowing we could not attain perfection.  The penalty for not being perfect?  DEATH (Romans 6:23).

Seems unfair right?  Seems is the key word here.

Jesus Christ was seated in Heaven alongside the Father, just as much God as God the Father.  Then in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4-5), the time came for Jesus to become a human, to be born on this earth as a baby with all the trappings of being human included.

Jesus lived here about 33 years, He lived a perfect life, taught many people the Scriptures, healed hundreds if not thousands of people.  Jesus by all accounts was a pretty good guy (so to speak).  He even let the woman caught in adultery go free – by Mosaic law she should have been stoned to death.  But Jesus granted her forgiveness and told her to sin no more.

What did Jesus get in the end for His sinless life, His outreach to humanity, His love and care for those who did not return it?  Death.

Many will speak of judgement.  We will all in one form or another be judged in the end.

What about the judgment leveled against Jesus Christ?

Jesus lived on earth as a man, and yet never stopped being God.  Sinful Pharisees and others decreed that Jesus had to die.  You see the Man was a threat to their way of life (John 11:48), He upended the Pharisees unbiblical nonsense for all to see in the perfect light of day.

“¹ Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, ² saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: ³ all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. ⁴ For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”
Matthew 23:1-4

Upon the one Man that was perfect, the One being that did not deserve judgment – judgment was served.  A very vicious and painful beyond imagining judgment.  Christ was deemed a blasphemer, all of this was nothing more then a way to remove a troublesome thorn in the side of the Pharisees.

Even though the Pharisees intended the crucifixion and death of Christ for evil, God allowed all of this to happen in order to redeem fallen man, to pay the required price for OUR sins, so that we may be free from the judgment that would see all of us being sent to Hell upon death.

Through the mercy of God and the unimaginable gift we can all receive via Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection – we are, or we can be free from the destination of all of humanity, Hell.

Those who trust in Jesus Christ will never see Hell, but will be forgiven and have a place in Heaven with God.

The Must Read Interview with Satan – How to be Saved