What Justice Requires

We owe our Sovereign a debt;
An insurmountable one we could never pay.
But our arrear, with mercy, He’s met,
For in our place, His life down, He did lay.

This is what justice requires;
The wages of sin is death.
But that the wicked should perish, God does not desire,
So He became man to be left bereft of breath.

You see, forgiveness cannot erase,
An amount that is owed of any kind.
The wronged party that forgives must still embrace,
The debt of the debtor; its payment to them is assigned.

Imagine someone knocked down your fence,
Then apologized and offered to pay.
But being forgiving, you said, “I’ll cover the expense,
Don’t worry my friend; be on your way.”

Now, what you have done here,
Is an act merciful and gracious.
But in forgiving, you must pay the arrear;
To say, “The fence still needs fixed,” is not fallacious.

The difference between this example,
And the debt we owe, for our sin, to God,
Is that even if our righteous deeds be ample,
They can never save us from the rod.

Sin against the Infinite One,
Bears punishment of infinite length.
But rejoice now, for God has done,
What only He could do in His almighty strength.

To pay our debt God was born as man;
Christ our Lord then lived the perfect life.
From Heaven’s splendor to us in the dirt He ran,
To rescue us from torment and strife.

He was mocked, shamed and beaten,
And then nailed to a cross He was killed.
To pay for the forbidden fruit we’ve eaten,
In selfless love Jesus’ blood was spilled.

Then in three days He rose from the grave,
Proving His payment for our sin sufficed.
And all who trust Him, for their sin, will be forgave;
All glory be to Jesus the Christ.

Our loving God and Sovereign has paid our debt;
Repent of your sin now and believe.
With gracious forgiveness all will be met,
For us, into His kingdom, He’s eager to receive.