Illustrations of Salvation: Legal

Metaphor: Legal- In Jesus we find complete forgiveness so God "will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19)

Positive: Forgiveness-

• Sins are forgiven forever: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:12) (also Jeremiah 31:34)
• Forgiveness comes from God's grace: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace." (Ephesians 1:7)
• God desires for everyone to be forgiven: "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." ( 1 Timothy 2:4)

Negative: Crime and Punishment-

• A compassionate but just God: "The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation." ( Numbers 14:18)
• God punishes sin: "Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins? (Lamentations 3:39 NLT)
• Everyone is guilty before God: "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Romans 3:19)
• God is the ultimate Judge: "If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? (Proverbs 24:12) "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12)

Illustrations:

• Most people, at one point in their lives, have had to deal with a legal issue-a parking ticket, a dispute in court, the selling of a home, or other more serious cases.
• While not pleasant, we understand that the legal requirements and process is necessary and healthy.
• The Bible uses this metaphor to show both the necessity and the rightness of Jesus' ministry of forgiveness and eventual judgement.
• The legal consequences of sin are so big and eternal that we cannot deal with it on our own. Jesus is the only person who can and has done something about it.
• His death on the cross has made it possible for us to receive God's forgiveness.
• The Bible presents Jesus' work as an advocate on our behalf. He is our 'defense lawyer' (Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1.9).
• By dying in our place and taking the legal penalty that we deserve on Himself, He is able to forgive us, if we receive it. He is able to remove our death sentence and set us free!