There is a sense in which God is in a fix; a kind of dilemma as it were. You see, God’s moral perfections and perfect justice demand that every person save One is punished for sin, yet God’s love and mercy demand restoration between humankind and himself. Justice demands punishment; love demands forgiveness. The solution to this fix is provided by God himself who became a man, lived a morally perfect life, and died in our place paying the penalty for our sins. Because Jesus as the Son of God lived a perfect life he was not morally guilty before the divine court and could totally satisfy God’s moral demand for justice. On the cross Jesus took our place and bore our sins upon himself paying the penalty that our sins deserve. While on the cross the Father turned his back, so to speak, on his Son who went through hell for us. Yet, Jesus did this for us!
And so, at the cross we see the perfect display of God’s justice and the perfect expression of God’s love. His justice is satisfied in that the punishment for our sin has been paid by his Son. [Note: Some might assert there is no justice in God punishing his Son (an innocent man) for our sin (the guilty ones). However, Jesus assumed our guilt vicariously thus becoming guilty for us and, in doing so, took upon himself the punishment we deserve (see 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pt. 2:24).] The good news of the gospel message is that the debt for our sin has been paid in full. His gracious love is demonstrated in that he does not punish us as we deserve. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” On the basis of Jesus’ death God can now freely forgive us for the penalty has been paid by God himself.