By his nature, God is obligated to meet sin with justice.

Things must be put right and there is no one to put things right with total justice but God.

He did that with Adam, Eve and Satan in the garden. He dispensed justice for each of them and hinted at the final act of justice when Satan’s head would be mortally wounded (Genesis 3:15).

He did it when Cain murdered Abel. God marked Cain and cursed the ground from which he would eat. He was made a vagrant and a wanderer.

He did it in Noah’s day, using water which at once destroyed the wicked but buoyed Noah and his family up and away from the depravity of the world while safe within the ark.

History records his continuing justice. Time after time, God has met his divine obligation, descending into the lives of men to put things right. We long for him to do so. We long for justice. We long for peace.

There is one final day coming. Jesus told us:

“Do not be amazed at this; for a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come out: those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
- John 5:28-29

But God is obligated to bring justice to me as well as any other sinful person. And so he sent his son to save me. On the cross Jesus paid for my sin.

If I will but meet him there, he promises to forgive me. Buried with him in baptism, he nails all that is hostile to me to his own cross (Colossians 2:11-14).

This, however, he was not obligated to do.

Judgement is pure justice, but the cross is the pure, gracious, merciful love of God.