Paid in Full

I heard a preacher just the other day say something which I believe to be wrong. Not Biblical. It is a generalization, so there is a way of looking at it which could be loosely construed as 'true,' but look close and you will find that it is not only error, but it can be a sign that the person saying it does not fully understand the concept of Jesus' work, done for us on the cross.

The phrase goes something like this:

"I have been justified by grace - that means it's 'just as if I'd' never sinned."

But the problem I have with that is simple: when Jesus died on the cross for you and I, it was to pay the price for our sins. That's quite different. In case I'm not making sense to you, let me put it in the form of a story:

Let's imagine that you walk into a restaurant and order a big meal, but just then you discover that you don't have your wallet. You apologize to the waiter, ask them to cancel your order and get up to leave. No food came to the table, things like this happen, everyone is gracious, you leave, the table is quickly offered to the next patron, and nobody is really out anything other than the fact that you didn't get a meal. That would be "just as if it never happened." But...

What if you walked in, sat down, ordered everything on the menu, ate all you could to the point of pain, ordered lots of expensive specialty drinks, dessert, and even some food to-go. Then you got up and announced that you didn't have a dime with you. You would have committed a crime, but set that aside for a moment - imagine that some other patron observed the scene. Somebody with whom you are not in any way acquainted. That stranger steps up to the manager, and quietly hands them the exact, precise amount that you owed the restaurant. Even a perfectly calculated tip for the waiters. To the penny.

Now - is it 'as if it never happened?" It happened! People saw it happen, you know it happened, you did wrong and tried to get away with it. No - it is as if it happened but the price was fully paid. Perfectly paid. Completely paid.

THAT is what Jesus did on the cross - he paid for my sin and yours. He did not somehow turn back time and erase the sin. He did pay for it - in full - perfectly. It is as if the debt was covered, handled, paid in full.

Big difference. Makes me want to be sure that I don't create more debt for my precious savior. How about you?