Little Johnny was going to a public school and he was doing very poorly in math. So his mother decided to put him into a Catholic school.
When she got his report card at the end of the term, his grades in math had improved tremendously. So she asked him why. He replied, "When I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they meant business!"
There are reasons why I almost didn't tell that story. But the one reason that I did is this: That when we see Jesus on that cross, we know God means business!
Under the law of God the penalty for our sins is death. And God upheld His law and that penalty, and passed the sentence that those who sin shall die.
Our only hope is in Jesus, because Jesus took that penalty for us when He died on that cross in our place.