Let us face a trilemma; three, and only three plans, were possible for God with man:--
First, To have been just with man, without any love or mercy; hence, for every sinner to have suffered the just penalty for his sins, without any redemption. That would have meant Hell for every responsible human being, without any Heaven at all.
Second, To have been all mercy and all love and no justice. That would have meant no moral laws; for why have moral laws, if there would be no penalty, no justice? That would have meant a premium on crime. That would have meant the debased, the debauched, the immoral, the drunken, the fiend, on a level with the chaste, the pure, the upright, the true. That would have meant unbridled rein to passion and lust and every other evil inclination, and no penalty following. That would have meant Hell in trying to get rid of Hell.
Third, There was left but one other possible plan, to be just and at the same time extend love to the sinners. In the nature of the case, real redemption, without any makeshift, was the only way this _could_ be done. "Even so _must_ the Son of man be lifted up,"--John 3:14; "that he himself might be _just_ and the _justifier_ of him that hath faith in Jesus,"--Rom. 3:26; "God so _loved_ the world that he gave his only begotten Son,"--John 3:16; "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be _the propitiation for our sins_."--1 John 4:10.
This leads to another question: How can God be _just_ and _not_ justify "him that hath faith in Jesus"? Again men may quibble and warp, and ridicule, but no one will ever answer the question. And the reason why this question will never be answered leads to another question:
From how many of his sins is the one "that hath faith in Jesus" _justified_? We have now gotten to the very centre of the whole problem of salvation. Let us give it most careful consideration.
In not one of the Scriptures cited at the head of this chapter is there one word that limits the number of sins for which Christ died, or from which the believer is justified. That of itself is sufficient warrant for us to conclude that Christ died for _all_ of the sins of the believer, that when He "gave himself for our sins" (Gal. 1:4), it included _all_ of our sins, and that the believer is justified from _all_ of his sins. One man promises another that he will pay his debts. That of itself means all of his debts, unless the one making the promise was simply juggling with words. While this of itself would be sufficient, God in His word has made it positive and absolute as to how many of the believer's sins were laid on Christ ("the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."--Is. 53:6); for how many of our sins Christ gave Himself ("Who gave himself for our sins."--Gal. 1:4); for how many of our sins Christ died (1 Cor. 15:3); from how many of his sins the believer is _justified_, ("that he might himself be _just_ and the _justifier_ of him that hath faith in Jesus."--Rom. 3:26). In Lev. 16:21, 22, God gives us a picture, foreshadowing the Saviour, of laying the sins on the substitute: "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him _all_ the iniquity of the children of Israel, and _all_ their transgressions, even _all_ their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him _all_ their iniquities." "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh [or beareth] away the sins of the world."--John 1:29. _But how many_ of our sins? Let God's word answer: Titus 2:13, 14, "Our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might _redeem_ us from _all iniquity_." Look at it again, reader; grasp its full meaning; let it be impressed indelibly upon your soul: "Our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might _redeem_ us from _all_ iniquity." Then as certainly as the believer is redeemed by Him, he is redeemed from _all_ iniquity; and as certainly as he is redeemed from all iniquity, that certainly the believer is going to Heaven, for there is nothing left that can cause him to be lost. Hence God, through Paul, has told us "By him every one that believeth is _justified_ from _all_ things."--Acts 13:39.