“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness–by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Although the word “sin” is typically associated with immoral conduct, the Biblical meaning of this word goes beyond that definition to convey the idea of “missing the target.” Sin arises from our inability to meet the perfect standard that God established when He brought the very first human beings into existence. In other words, “sin” involves falling short of God’s purpose for humanity.
It’s probably fair to say that most of us perceive ourselves to be “good people” who have done little or nothing to offend our Creator. While this is undoubtedly true in the sense that most people aren’t intentionally malevolent, the issue involves God’s standard of perfection for humanity. God maintains this standard of perfection because it is consistent with His nature and His design for the human family (see Genesis 1:31).
This brings us to an uncomfortable reality. God, as the all-knowing Creator, has witnessed every secret thought, every hidden motive, and every wrong we’ve ever committed, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. This is critical, for as we’re told in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, “…God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad” (Ecclesiastes 12:14 TLB). The Biblical book of James adds, “…the person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is” (James 2:10 TLB).
Fortunately, God has provided a remedy in the substitutionary death of Christ. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross reconciles God’s perfection with our imperfection and rescues humanity from eternal death and separation from God. Through His death on the cross, Jesus satisfied the death penalty against humanity, thus enabling us to establish a relationship with our Creator.
As we’re told here in 1 Peter 2:24, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed” (NLT). Thus, we have the following double-edged message from the New Testament Gospel of John…
“…God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:17-18 NIV).