...as if there is a conflict between the love and holiness of God...

First, God, who is loving and gracious, does not desire the punishment and death of any of His creatures.  Yet in His holiness and righteousness He cannot tolerate their sin and evil.  Yhis does not mean there is a tension within God, as if there was a conflict between love and holiness, for God is wholly love and wholly righteouness.  Hence when He acts, He does so without conflict or compromise.  So is He also wholly true in His every action toward sinful man.  Second, man cannot change his sinful condition, cleanse his guilt, or overcome his bondgae.  He cannot truly keep God's commandments --or return to His presence.  Death, both temporal and eternal, is his tragic destiny. The human situation is his tragic destiny. The human situation is utterly hopeless uless god provides a way out.

"The Cross" 

J. Rodman Williams