This tract focuses upon what it means to be “guilty before God” as an unrighteous sinner, as well as the legal consequences of that guilt. It tells the reader that God’s Perfect Justice charges him with being an unrighteous sinner and that he is undeniably guilty as charged. In view of this it tells him that the judicial sentence for his guiltiness is to “be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” and that this sentence hangs over his head. He is then told how that God in His longsuffering and grace is for the time being withholding the execution of the sentence, and instead is offering to freely pardon him and justify him unto eternal life. Though he is guilty as charged, God is able to forgive him his sins and justify him unto eternal life because of “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

"… be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." (II Thessalonians 1:9)

Without a doubt these are the most terrifying words that could ever be heard by human ears. The horror of what it will be like for a person to stand before God and have God sentence him to "everlasting destruction" from His presence is indescribable. Yet not only are we all worthy of having this happen unto us, it is also the very thing that will happen to us, unless we allow God to save us from the debt and penalty of our sins.

Guilty Before God

All of us truly are sinners in God's sight and as such are "guilty before God." This is an undeniable fact. Not only does our own conscience testify that this is so, but this is something that God has the Apostle Paul plainly declare to us.

⁹ What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (Romans 3:9-11)

God, therefore, indeed does declare that all of us are guilty sinners in His sight — including you. And as such you yourself deserve to be punished by Him "with everlasting destruction" from His presence. You are guilty as charged. And this means that the punishment for your sins is not only hanging over your head, but you may hear those horrifying words at any time.

No Defense

Moreover to make matters even worse, there isn't anything you yourself can do about it. There isn't anything you can offer in your defense to either reduce your guilt or have the charges against you dropped. As the Apostle Paul shows throughout Romans chapter 2, you cannot claim to be better than others, or to have some good works to your credit, because God's Justice demands that you have perfect righteousness and no sins. Nor can you claim not to have known better, because God will use your own conscience to testify to the contrary. And neither can you hope to claim any extenuating circumstances, nor find any legal loophole through which you might escape.

Therefore you have absolutely nothing to offer in your defense. Which is exactly why God has Paul say,… 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)

Full Pardon Offered

Instead of having to hear the most terrifying words you could ever hear, God wants you to hear something wonderful. And this is that He is willing to completely forgive you all of your sins and to justify you, or declare you righteous in His sight, so that you can have everlasting life with Him, and not suffer everlasting destruction.

God can do this because of what the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, did when He died in your place on the cross of Calvary.

By dying in your place the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the debt and penalty of your sins. He functioned as your substitute-Redeemer. This means that He assumed your guiltiness before God and suffered the punishment of your sins for you. What you could not do for yourself, He did for you. And in so doing He completely satisfied God's Justice concerning the penalty for your sins, and He made it so that God can now freely forgive you all of your sins and justify you in His sight. 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; (Romans 3:24)

The only condition that God has placed upon you in order for you to receive His gift of forgiveness and justification in His sight, is that you believe in the total sufficiency of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you. As Paul says, God is "the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Romans 3:26)

To believe in someone means to completely depend upon him and his ability to do something for you that you cannot do for yourself. And this is exactly what it means to "believe in Jesus."

Have you believed in Jesus as your all-sufficient Savior? If not, why not do so right now. Then instead of being guilty before God, the following will be true of you: 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)

— K. R. Blades