|
|
| 12 Q. |
According to God's righteous judgment
we deserve punishment
both in this world and forever after:
how then can we escape this punishment
and return to God's favor? |
| A. |
God requires that his justice be satisfied.1
Therefore the claims of his justice
must be paid in full,
either by ourselves or another.2
1 Ex. 23:7; Rom. 2:1-11
2 Isa. 53:11; Rom. 8:3-4 |
 |
| 13 Q. |
Can we pay this debt ourselves? |
| A. |
Certainly not.
Actually, we increase our guilt every day.1
1 Matt. 6:12; Rom. 2:4-5 |
|
| 14 Q. |
Can another creature--any at all--
pay this debt for us? |
| A. |
No.
To begin with,
God will not punish another creature
for what a human is guilty of.1
Besides,
no mere creature can bear the weight
of God's eternal anger against sin
and release others from it.2
1 Ezek. 18:4, 20; Heb. 2:14-18
2 Ps. 49:7-9; 130:3 |
|
| 15 Q. |
What kind of mediator and deliverer
should we look for then? |
| A. |
One who is truly human1 and truly righteous,2
yet more powerful than all creatures,
that is, one who is also true God.3
1 Rom. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:21; Heb. 2:17
2 Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb.
7:26
3 Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Jer. 23:6; John 1:1 |
|
