"Note, however, that we are justified by His grace. It is because of God's grace we are declared righteous before Him. We are all guilty before God-- condemned, vile, and helpless. We had no claim on God; the disposition of our case was wholly up to Him. He could with total justice have prounounced us all guilty, for that is what we were, and consigned us all to eternal damnation.... He owed us nothing, we owed Him everything.

But, because of His grace, God did not consign us all to hell; instead, He provided a remedy for us through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:25 says, "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." What is a sacrifice of atonement? A footnote of the New International Version gives an alternate reading of "the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away sin."

The meaning of Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, then, is that Jesus by His death turned aside the wrath of God from us by taking it upon Himself. As He hung on the cross, He bore our sins in His body and endured the full force of God's wrath in our place.... By His death Jesus completely satisfied the justice of God, which required eternal death as the penalty for sin.

It is important that we notice who presented Christ as this sacrifice of atonement. Romans 3:25 says God presented Him. The whole plan of redemption was God's plan and was undertaken at God's intitiative. Why did He do this? There is only one answer: because of His grace. The atonement was God's extending favor to people who deserved not favor but wrath. The atonement was God's bridging the awful "Grand Canyon" of sin to reach people who were in rebellion against Him. And He did this at infinite cost to Himself by sending Jesus to die in our place."

- Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges

Just something I read this morning while on the train... it really struck a chord with me today. Thought I'd share.