“Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.” – Ezekiel 18:27
God is certainly perfectly just. He will punish the wicked. However, God’s essential nature is also fundamentally gracious and merciful. That means His great desire is to see each and every unrighteous person repent of his or her sins and seek forgiveness in faith. That is why God’s eternal Son, Jesus, went to the cross in our place.
Jesus stepped out of eternal glory and into our world, taking on a human body and nature to live a perfect life without any sin. Then He gave up that life on a cross, suffering and dying to pay the just penalty for all our sins. Jesus laid down His life to fulfill God’s perfect justice. Having done so, Jesus died, He was buried, and on the third day, He physically rose from the dead.
The result of all that is that anyone who repents of his or her sins in faith, entrusting their life to Jesus as Lord receives God’s abundant mercy and grace. All sins are forgiven. All guilt is erased. All shame is washed away. This is critically important because we’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short of God’s glory and standard for our lives. We’ve all chafed at, and rebelled against, God’s authority, design, and will for our lives. In ourselves, we’re all wicked.
But when we turn away from that wickedness, confessing our sins and calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved. Not because we deserve it but because God is merciful and gracious by nature. He longs to show grace to even this most vile, shameful, and sinful people. If you haven’t embraced that grace, don’t wait any longer. Cry out to Jesus right now and be saved. If you’re already enjoying God’s grace, pray specifically for people you know who aren’t. It is not too late for them to turn away from sin and turn toward God. #FollowJesus