Why did Jesus have to die to save us?

Why did Jesus have to die to save us? Could God not have saved us another way without Jesus dying?

The Bible says that the death of Christ on the cross results in our salvation. But why did Jesus die on the cross and endure such a painful death? Was there not an alternative way God could have used to save us from our sins?

How did sin enter the world?

According to Romans 5:12, sin entered the world because of Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden. The result of sin also resulted in death entering the world, and every man on earth has sinned, according to Romans 3:23, and fallen short of the glory of God.

What are the consequences of sin?

Sin is disobedience to God and an offense against God’s holiness and authority. When we sin, it implies that we disrespect God’s authority because we think we know better than He does about what is good and wrong.

Before we can understand why did Jesus have to die, we first need to understand the consequences of sin. The Bible says that the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that the soul that sins shall die. But God does not want anyone to suffer eternal death and end up in hell. Therefore he gave His only Son that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life, according to John 3:16.

How did people get their sins forgiven before the death of Jesus?

Since the consequence of sin is death, God decided to introduce a system where a clean animal will die from a person’s sin instead of them dying.

So, a person would take an animal without blemish, place his hands on the animal’s head, and transfer their sins to the innocent animal.

Then the animal will be killed, and the person will be declared sinless. This animal sacrifice had to happen every day.

We can read Exodus 29:10-14 to tell us what used to happen in more detail.

What happened when Jesus died?

When Jesus died, it ended the sacrifice of animals that could not permanently take away our sins. Jesus was innocent and without sin. Nevertheless, our sins were transferred to Him, and he died on our behalf (Hebrews 9:28).

However, instead of Him dying every day like the animals that had to, He only died once (Hebrews 10:10).

The blood of goats and bulls cannot permanently take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4), but the one sacrifice of Christ did take away our sins.

Why is Jesus' death important?

Jesus is a substitute, meaning He paid the penalty of sin instead of us.

In our legal system, if someone is fined $1 000,000 and cannot pay, it is acceptable for someone else to pay the fine on their behalf. The judge does not care who paid the fine, as long as the fine is paid. Therefore, we sinned, but it was Jesus who paid the fine for our sins, not us.

According to the severity of the offense, God must punish sin in accordance with His holiness and justice. God did not want to destroy us even though we would have deserved it, but out of love and mercy, He decided to clear the fine by paying for it Himself. Jesus is God in human form. The God of the Bible became human to die on our behalf and is, therefore, a substitute.

The death penalty for all human crimes was paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross. Therefore a person is free if they accept the substitute. On the other hand, they shall have to endure the just condemnation of their sin if they do not accept Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

Why the cross was a form of punishment?

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross instead of other options? Why was the cross preferred to stoning? There is no response to this question. Instead, the Bible provides a detailed explanation of the why of Jesus’ death and its significance and consequences. This horrifying and shameful death is fitting for the horrifying and disgraceful nature of the sin that was punished.

Could any person accomplish the task of saving us?

The answer is no because every human has to endure the consequences of his or her sin. Only a sinless person could stand in for others. I cannot pay the penalty for any other if I am already bankrupt or in debt. No one is sinless, and everyone has polluted themselves with numerous minor and large acts of disobedience to God. It reminds me a lot of the story of Abraham, who was asked to sacrifice his son, but God himself provided a replacement for the victim. Jesus is the substitutionary lamb who died in our place.

What would happen if Jesus did not die for us?

To be forgiven of our sins, we would have to sacrifice an animal every day, like in the Old Testament.

This would be a laborious task, and many animals would have to be killed daily.

What if I sin after getting saved/ becoming a Christian?

Responding to this question requires us to consider what Jesus is doing now in heaven. The Bible says that Jesus is our High Priest who makes intercession for us. Now, what is the role of a High Priest? His role is to receive the confessed sins of the people and atone for them. Jesus now receives confessed sins and atones for them, and we find grace and mercy because Jesus was also tempted like us and emphasizes our weaknesses.

1 John 1:9 says that if a person confesses their sins to God, then He will faithfully forgive us our sins, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.” Therefore we should confess our sins after we are saved so that Jesus can cleanse them since He is currently our High Priest.

What happens to those who refuse to accept the death of Christ?

If a person refuses to accept that Jesus died for their sins, then they will not receive eternal life, according to John 3:36.

Therefore Jesus had to die for our sins for us to be saved, and any other way to get us saved would not have been good enough. Therefore, there is nothing that you can do to save yourself, and there is no good deed good enough to save you.

Conclusion

Why did Jesus have to die to save us? When reading the bible about salvation, it is reasonable to conclude that there was no alternative way to save us, but by Jesus dying on the cross. The penalty of sin is death and it is either you die or someone dies on your behalf. There is no other way. There is also no deed good enough to save you.