We grasp the horror of human evil only when we focus on God’s standards and on the atonement necessary to satisfy them.
Anything that violates God’s nature is evil. Sin is not merely a minor deviation from a negotiable standard. It is, in the eyes of a holy God and the holy angels who serve Him, a despicable aberration from God’s nature.
The clearest indication of our evil’s depth is what it cost to redeem us. Some talk as if God’s bighearted love for us is sufficient to save us. But the problem of how to reconcile evil people with a God who hates evil is the greatest problem of history. It calls for no less than the greatest solution ever devised, one so radical as to be nearly unthinkable, and to offend the sensibilities of countless people throughout history.
Since evil offends God’s nature, the true test of good and evil is how God sees it. Simply serving our desired ends does not make something good; neither does causing our unhappiness make something evil.
So many human cultures agree on basic issues of right and wrong because, as His image-bearers, our consciences can give us insight (see Romans 2:15). But as finite and fallen creatures, our consciences can be misguided and weak (see 1 Corinthians 4:4; 8:7), and even seared and corrupted (see 1 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:15). We must rely on God’s self-revelation in His Word to know His character and His commandments, and to recognize both good and evil.
God’s holiness carries exceedingly high demands. As a single, unified God, He cannot exercise one attribute in disregard of (let alone in opposition to) another. Therefore the omnipotent God could not save us while leaving his holiness unsatisfied.
If redemption could be purchased at a lower cost, surely God would have chosen it. I think Jesus explored this possibility when He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). Luke adds, “And being in anguish, he [Jesus] prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (22:44).
We may feel tempted to underestimate the horrors of the Cross, because to recognize them is to admit that our monstrous evil demanded a price so horrific. To make light of our sin is to make light of Christ’s cross.
