Guilty Before God

is the solemn sentence of God upon the whole human race, “There is none righteous, no, not one”; “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:10, 23). And what God charges upon all is true of every individual. Where this terrible reality is believed, the believer of it feels he is shut up to God. What is to be done? It is too late for efforts or reformation. When the criminal is proved guilty, it is too late for him to propose living a new life; the judge can but pronounce sentence upon him. Righteousness must take its course.
But with God it is not so. God can be just and the Justifier. And thus it is that, after having proved all men to be guilty before Him, God, in His gospel, advances the salvation He has for guilty sinners. The sentence from the judgment throne is our due, but God announces salvation from the mercy-seat. God, in His wonderful grace, sets forth a mercy-seat through faith in the blood of Christ for guilty man.
Thus it is, that everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, whether professing Christian or heathen, who believes God’s word respecting His Son, escapes the sentence of death, and not only so, but, is on account of the work of Christ,