God’s Law demands payment for transgressions.
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
Many people are under the belief that God looks at sin differently now than He did during Old Testament times. It may surprise people to know that God still answers that issue with “I change not.”
God has not changed His view of sin at all. In fact, Romans 6:23 reveals that “the wages of sin is death” – death here referring to eternal death in Hell and the Lake of Fire. “Wages” are the price to be paid for sin.
God revealed through His Son that on Judgment Day (the Great White Throne Judgment in Rev. 20) – every sin would be revealed and judged. He said: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:36,37). Even the careless words that people say will be judged – as well as actions and even thoughts.
God still cannot overlook sin. Every sin – to Him – not matter how small – is seen as a rebellion against His rightful authority. If He could have overlooked it, it would have been completely unnecessary for Jesus to die on a Cross – a horrible death. He had to die because it was God’s only way to pay for sin (“the wages of sin is death”) and yet be able to let the sinner go free.
God’s Word, the Bible, reveals that every human on earth – yes, even me and you, are sinners in His eyes. It says, in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Because of sin, everyone is condemned.
From the Garden of Eden up to the Cross, the only payment for sin was an animal sacrifice. It was necessary then because “the wages of sin is death.” These sacrifices were temporary and could never permanently remove sin. Later, God promised that a permanent Sacrifice would come that would be the only way sin could be forgiven and removed.