By Kwaku Gyamfi
The mystery of God’s love for humanity to rid of us the sin that so easily ensnares us is something that the canal mind cannot conceive. The Bible in Ezekiel 18:20 says that, “ The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” This scripture (on its own) when read out of context becomes problematic and in comparison with the subject of grace, it raises lots of ambiguities and misconceptions. I remember getting in a dialogue with a Muslim friend at work and in trying to represent the love of God in Christ Jesus, the above scriptural reference became a foundational ground for rejecting salvation. When something is read without first examining pretext and post-text, it’s easy to conclude on fallacy and pretense. What Ezekiel talks about is of the sin of omission and negligence. The text affirms that an un-repented sinner will definitely suffer the consequence of his crimes; however, if the sinner forsakes his ways and turns from his wickedness, God’s love is forever ready to embrace him with forgiveness and restoration.
The infinite nature of God’s holiness and character so demanded that sin be dealt with; but unfortunately for man, all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23); there is none that does right, not one. Mankind by an ill choice has moved from being sinless to being sinful. And therefore any compensation he offers to God for his dilemma can never satisfy the infinite appetite of God for holiness. “Hence, either humanity would have to pay for their wrongs by suffering eternal hell, or God himself would have to pay for this wrong. This is what God did by becoming a man and dying on the cross.”[1]So in Galatians 4:4-5 the Scriptures says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Christ became our substitute that He might propitiate (appease) our sins toward God’s holy judgment. So Isaiah said, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.”[2] “Hence, Christ’s death appeased God’s wrath toward sin because Christ received the punishment God’s holiness demanded.”[3]Christ became our reconciliation to God—our sacrificial lamb—because only He could shoulder such a burden as sin.
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