Praise God for this great and undeserved gift to sinful humanity. God is both the righteous judge who convicts us of our sin and also the merciful judge who pays for it. Imagine standing in court, charged with a crime. The evidence is undeniable and you have confessed your guilt. The judge pronounces your sentence and then, to your great surprise, comes down from their place of authority and offers to write a cheque in full payment for your crime. If you accept the cheque, you are free to go. Justice has been served, mercy has been offered. This is what Jesus did for us, but on a much grander scale, when he paid the price for your sin by his death on a cross. Justice and mercy came together at the cross. We did the crime but Jesus Christ paid the fine.

Does this then mean that everyone is automatically saved? No! The next few pages will show you how a sinner can be saved from hell. You will also see, most importantly, why Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin making this gift valid.