2.  THE NECESSITY OF SALVATION

WHAT IS GOD'S ATTITUDE TOWARD SIN?
    Because God  is absolutely holy,  He cannot approve  or excuse 
sin.   Because He is absolutely just,  He must punish sin wherever 
He  finds it.  He  has decreed that  "the wages of  sin is death." 
Romans 6:23. 

WHAT IS GOD'S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE SINNER?
    God  loves the creatures whom He  has made.  While He does not 
love sin, yet He does love the sinner.  Romans 5:8 

WHAT IS GOD'S DESIRE WITH REGARD TO ALL SINNERS?
    God's desire for  all is that they be saved.  He does not want 
them to perish.  2 Peter 3:9. 

WHAT PROBLEM WAS RAISED BY THE ENTRANCE OF SIN INTO THE WORLD?
    It raised the problem as to how God could save ungodly sinners 
and still be righteous in doing so.  Romans 3:26. 

WHY WAS THIS A PROBLEM?
    God's love desired  the salvation of sinners.   Ezekiel 33:11.  
Yet because of His  holiness, He could not permit sinful creatures 
to enter His heave.  1  Corinthians 6:9,10.  In fact, His  justice 
demanded that  all sinners  must die  as a  result of  their sins.  
Hebrews 9:27.  The problem then was this:  how could God's love be 
satisfied without violating His holiness and His justice? 

WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF GOD HAD DONE NOTHING?
    All sinners would have perished in hell.  Psalm 9:17. 

ISN'T GOD TOO GOOD TO SEND MEN TO HELL?
    God is good but He is also righteous and holy.  Not one of His 
attributes can  triumph at the  expense of another.   His love can 
only be exercised in a righteous, holy way. 

WOULD GOD HAVE BEEN RIGHT IF HE HAD DONE NOTHING?
    Yes.   Then  we  all  would  have  received  exactly  what  we 
deserved.  But God's love impelled Him to action. 

HOW COULD GOD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?
    He  could solve it only by finding  a substitute to die in the 
place of the guilty sinner.

WHAT REQUIREMENTS WOULD SUCH A SUBSTITUTE HAVE TO MEET?
    First  of  all,  he  would  have  to  be  a man; otherwise the 
substitution would not be a fair  one.  Then he must be a  sinless 
man.   If he were  not sinless, he  would have to  die for his own 
sins.  Thirdly, he must be God,  since the Substitute must be able 
to  put away  an endless  number of  sins of  an endless number of 
people.  Finally, he must be willing to die for sinners; otherwise 
Satan would charge God with unjustly making an innocent victim die 
unwillingly for guilty rebels.

COULD SUCH A SUBSTITUTE BE FOUND?
    Yes, God  found a Substitute Who met all these requirements in 
the  Person  of  His  only  begotten  Son,  the Lord Jesus Christ.  
Isaiah 53:4,5.


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