“He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.” Proverbs 17:15

God detests and finds abominable (loathsome) any who would justify (clear, vindicate, excuse) the sin of the wicked. God equally detests and abhors any who would condemn one who is innocent of sin and evil doing. Let me tell you why that is so important to understand. God does not just flippantly forgive His people’s sin. “The Lord God will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:6-7) He can’t do so and remain just. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) The guilty soul must die because a “Just God” cannot clear the guilty soul without compromising His justice.

This is what makes “substitution” so beautiful in the eyes of a believing sinner. The sin of the elect has been put on Christ. He (the Lord Jesus) who knew no sin was MADE (to be) SIN for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Christ who was perfectly righteous and perfectly holy in God’s sight was made to be sin for us, and God punished Christ for that sin that was found on Him. God did not just sweep our sin under a rug and pretend it did not exist. God’s justice extracted full payment for all the sin of all God’s elect throughout all time. The holy wrath, judgment, and justice of God was exhausted on the Lord Jesus Christ and payment IN FULL was made to the justice of God. God didn’t “justify the wicked.” To do so would be an abomination. Christ became guilty with the sin of those that the Father gave Him to redeem before the foundation of the world. The sin of the elect was paid for, put away and done away with. It does not exist. (Ephesians 1:4)