I always feel a bit of trepidation attempting to put into limited human words and ramshakle human reasoning the glimpses of understanding of God's nature and intentions. What we do have is the Bible as collected and translated today, and from it many theologians of all sects have found enough backing for several interpretations.
I am conservative , LCMS, and I think most conservative/mainline Protestants have not deviated too far from what Luther sermonized:
But now, if God’s wrath is to be taken away from me and I am to obtain grace and forgiveness, some one must merit this; for God cannot be a friend of sin nor gracious to it, nor can he remit the punishment and wrath, unless payment and satisfaction be made.
Now, no one, not even an angel of heaven, could make restitution for the infinite and irreparable injury and appease the eternal wrath of God which we had merited by our sins; except that eternal person, the Son of God himself, and he could do it only by taking our place, assuming our sins, and answering for them as though he himself were guilty of them.
This our dear Lord and only Savior and Mediator before God, Jesus Christ, did for us by his blood and death, in which he became a sacrifice for us; and with his purity, innocence, and righteousness, which was divine and eternal, he outweighed all sin and wrath he was compelled to bear on our account; yea, he entirely engulfed and swallowed it up, and his merit is so great that God is now satisfied and says, “If he wills thereby to save, then there will be a salvation."
Christ did all the work on the cross. We do nothing to earn salvation. In our liturgy, we confess that "we justly deserve your present and eternal punishment." However, we CAN reject that salvation by unabashedly and uncorrigibly violating God's commandments.
There you have it, hope that sheds some light
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