When Love and Justice conflict at the Cross

It is argued by some that it is unfair to punish one person in place of another. After all,the very principal of just punishment is that each person bears his own sin:

The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father,nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him,and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them(Ezek.18:20).

How,then,could justice be served in punishing Christ for our sins?


In reply,it is definitely unjust to punish an unwilling person for another's sin. But Christ was willing to die for us. He died voluntarily: "I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me,but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again"(John 10:17-18). Even in ordinary life,some people(like soldiers) are willing to die for others(like their own countrymen). Such a deed is considered not only moral but noble.

Further,Christ is God. The One who demanded the penalty(God)was the One who paid it. The Judge paid the fine for the defendant. Like an earthly judge who takes off his robe,reaches into his wallet,and pays the fine for his accused son,even so God did this for us. In such a case the complaint that it is unjust to pay the fine for another's sins vanishes.

In addition,it is unjust to charge another person for my crime,but it is not unjust for him to voluntarily pay the fine. Once again,a voluntary substitution atonement is the apex of morality:

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,Christ died for us.(Romans 5:7-8).

In short,God's justice demands that all sin be punished,but not necessarily that all sinners be punished for their sin.

Finally,there is a priority within morality: Mercy triumphs over justice. Thus,while God's justice demands the punishment of the sinner,in the Cross,His love wins out. When there is an unavoidable conflict between two moral principals,the higher takes precedence over the lower. For example,Jesus taught that when the two unavoidably conflict,our love for God should take precedence over love for our parents(Matthew 10:37). Likewise,even though God's justice demands that all sin be punished,His love compelled Him to provide forgiveness for all sinners who will receive it.

Therefore,while justice as such demands that the guilty pay for their own sins,when there is a conflict with love as such,the latter takes precedence over the former. By way of comparison,a child should always obey his or her parents. However,when this is transcended by a greater duty to obey God(as when a parent commands the child to sin),we are not dealing with obedience to parents as such,when there is a conflict between commands,God is preeminent.

In the substitutionary atonement,we are not dealing only with God's justice but also with a conflict between God's love and justice. In this case,the obligation to what as such would always be wrong(not punish the guilty)is suspended in view of the higher obligation to what is always right(to save the repentant sinner).


Norman Geisler Systematic Theology

God bless everyone!