I had about an hour in the car alone today, and was able to listen to and concentrate on an album I have come to love. One song in particular, called “The Glory of the Cross,” has continued to awe me every time I hear it. Here is the first verse and the chorus. If you read it slowly, and comprehend the words, perhaps you will feel the immense impact:

What wisdom once devised the plan
Where all our sin and pride
Was placed upon the perfect Lamb
Who suffered, bled, and died?
The wisdom of a Sovereign God
Whose greatness will be shown
When those who crucified Your Son
Rejoice around Your throne

And, oh, the glory of the cross
That You would send Your Son for us
I gladly count my life as loss
That I might come to know
The glory of, the glory of the cross

The next verse is just as powerful, and plainly states that the righteousness that was revealed at the cross “proved to all [that God’s] justice has been met.” This one sentence encompasses incredible Biblical truth that I think many Christians completely miss: Salvation is not a gift that results in God accepting our sinfulness! The death of Christ on the cross did not enable God to ignore our wickedness or give us a “pass” or “bye” on our rebellion. For him to do that would require that he set aside his holiness, which, could he do it, would cost him his deity. Our sin is an offense beyond comprehension; so great that it requires our eternal separation from God to accomplish his justice against it. But God meted out his righteous judgment on Christ, in our stead, in totality, and thereby accomplished that justice. And he did this according to the counsel of his will, not based on any innate virtue or goodness we think we have. Wow. Were we to understand this more, we would surely be more grateful than we are.

You can read the rest of the lyrics here, or listen to the beginning of the song: The Glory of the Cross