UNPACKED – Why did Jesus need to die?

KEY QUESTION:
Why Did Jesus Need To Die On The Cross For Us?

Contents:

• Overview
• The Problem of Sin
• The Nature of God
• Reconciliation Through Atonement
• The Result of Atonement
• Conclusion

OVERVIEW
When someone becomes a Christian and begins studying the faith, a common yet central question quickly pops up: Why did Jesus need to die on the cross for us? If God is all-powerful, couldn’t he just forgive every one of their sins? What is stopping God from “waving a magic wand” over us so that all of us can be forgiven and reconciled back to him? Why do we need to be forgiven in the first place? To help us answer these questions, we’re going to look at the doctrine of atonement. The doctrine of atonement is an essential doctrine that explains why we are separated from God and what God did to bridge that separation without denying his nature.

To understand why Jesus died on the cross there are 4 things we need to look at:

• The Problem of Sin
• The Nature of God
• Reconciliation Through Atonement
• The Result of Atonement

THE PROBLEM OF SIN
The doctrine of atonement begins with the reason why we are separated from God in the first place. Since all of us are tainted by sin, we cannot be in relationship with God because of his holy nature. In other words, sin has created a barrier between God and us. The barrier is two-fold: humanity’s sin on one side and God’s holiness on the other. The two cannot mix.

Sin created a barrier between us and God because God is Holy.

God is morally perfect and therefore completely set apart from sin. God and sin cannot dwell together in the sense that sin cannot remain in the presence of God without being judged.

It’s like trying to join to same end magnets.  They simply cannot touch!

Since God is holy, he can never be defiled; either the sin is judged, or the two remain separate. We see a type and shadow of this holiness in the form of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament.

The Tabernacle was a place separated from the sin of the world. Its central room was called the “holy place.” God commanded that there be a veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place, and this is where the Ark of the Covenant dwelt. The Ark of the Covenant, as a representative of God, was to be kept completely separate from the defilement of the world outside of the most holy place – the two cannot be combined without severe judgment. This is an image of God’s relationship with sin: without proper atonement, sinners must either bear judgment or remain separated from God.

So, we have a problem – God is holy, and all of us are sinners; therefore, none of us can be in communion or relationship with God. How are we tainted by sin? There are three aspects of sin we need to consider when examining the full nature of sin that has disqualified us from having a relationship with God. The three aspects are: Imputed Sin, Inherited Sin and Individual Sin. Let’s look at each one.

Imputed Sin
The word “imputed” means “to credit something to someone’s legal standing or account.” It’s to treat something as legally belonging to someone, even if it did not originate with them. In this sense, imputed sin refers to the guilt of Adam being credited to us because he acts as our representative. Even though we weren’t the ones who ate the fruit, since Adam is our representative, God counts us guilty with him – Adam’s guilt unfortunately belongs to us from a legal standpoint before we were even born. It’s been credited to us.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” Romans 5:12
“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” Romans 5:19

A simple example that could help think about an Olympic relay team. If one runner drops the baton outside of the exchange zone or if they commit a lane violation by crossing the lane, the whole team is disqualified, even if the other runners ran perfectly. The consequence of one man’s actions is imputed to the whole team. Even though the other runners didn’t commit the violation themselves, they must suffer the same consequence.

Inherited Sin
In addition to the legal guilt that is imputed to us because of Adam’s sin, we also inherit a sinful nature. Inherited sin (sometimes called “original sin” or “inherited corruption”) means we are born into a state of corruption with disordered desires that are bent toward sin; we have a natural tendency and desire to sin. A good way to think about it is that we are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners by nature.

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5

“¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 

²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So, you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. Romans 7:18-25

A simple example that could help: An apple tree doesn’t become an apple tree because it produces apples. You don’t walk up to it and think, “Oh, there are apples on this tree, so the tree must’ve decided to be an apple tree.” It produces apples because it’s an apple tree by nature. The same is with us. The sin we engage in doesn’t “turn” us into sinners; we engage in sin because we are already sinners by nature. This is inherited sin.

Individual Sin
Lastly, in addition to sin being imputed to us as well as inheriting a sinful nature from birth, all of us have engaged in individual sin. These are sins that we personally commit; thoughts, words and actions that violate God’s law. These sins include, but are not limited to: lying, envy, gossip, lust, pride, murder, complacency, resentment, idolatry, cowardice, anger and indulgence. Unlike imputed sin that is credited to us, or inherited sin that is part of our nature, individual sins are actions that we consciously choose to engage in.

“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Isaiah 59:2 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23

Whether to a lesser extent or greater extent, all of us have engaged in individual sin, therefore all of us deserve the penalty it yields.

Something to think about: If you miraculously managed to go through life without ever committing a single individual sin, you would still be eternally separated from God. This is because, though you haven’t committed any individual sin, sin is still imputed to you, and you still have inherited a sinful nature. The reason Jesus is different is that, not only did he live a sinless life, but he is also begotten of the Father and was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He is the Second Adam, completely separated spiritually from the first Adam from birth; imputed and inherited sin do not apply to him.

An easy way to remember:
Imputed sin is legal
Inherited sin is natural / by nature
Individual sin is behavioural

“But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24

The penalty for sin is death in three forms: physical bodily death (man did not die before sin entered the world), spiritual death (alienation from God here on earth without any ability to restore ourselves) and eternal death (permanent separation from God eternally).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

So, in relation to the problem of sin, we find ourselves in a hopeless situation but because of the nature of God we are saved.  Let’s look at that quickly.

THE NATURE OF GOD 
BUT GOD!

Remember what God said in Jeremiah:

“But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24

Not only does God practice justice and righteousness, but he also practices and delights in steadfast love. God’s love means that he eternally gives of himself to others. He longs to bring his children back to himself just like a father would a child. The act of atonement we find in Christ is not a response from God because we love him, it’s an initiated act from God because he loved us first.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 

God has loved us since the foundation of the world, and his love is an equally important attribute of his nature, along with his righteousness and justice. 

God is also a God of mercy and grace. What’s the difference between the two? A good way of thinking about it is this:

• The mercy of God is to say: Go, you are released from your debt.
• The grace of God is to say: Come, you are welcome into my presence.

Mercy is not being given what you deserve, whereas grace is being given what you don’t deserve. God displays both attributes simultaneously.

The problem then is that, although God loves us and desires to extend grace and mercy to us while we’re in a sinful state, as I mentioned before, his righteous and just nature demands that sin be punished. This is the crux of the atonement: God must make a way to pour out his love, mercy and grace on us while, at the same time, remaining righteous and just by punishing sin as deserved. The answer is the cross.

 Sin must be punished because God’s righteousness demands it. If God were to “cancel” the sins of mankind, he would not be a righteous God, and there would be no ultimate justice in this world. God cannot allow this, as righteousness and justice are a part of his nature.

God can’t waive a sin away with a magic wand because forgiveness always has a cost.

Imagine that you are driving your little Toyota you drove when you first got your license – it’s old and a little bit worse for wear.  You’re in a hurry; you quickly reverse from your car park without seeing (because you have no reversing camera of course!) a black Porsche just behind you. You slam into that Porsche and massively dent it.

You faint and die.  Story over.

Jokes you look up your insurance company only to find you haven’t renewed your insurance!

You are thousands of dollars in debt to this person!

The driver happens to be merciful and said it’s fine they will cover it.

You are forgiven but there is still a cost to make things right.  The driver paid your cost.

With forgiveness there must be a cost.

Jesus dying on the cost is a hard concept for people from other religions to grasp.  For example, in Islam Allah is all merciful – he just forgives Muslims because he can.  In other religions their gods are just – but not forgiving, not merciful.  For example, Karma – you get what you deserve – there is no mercy. 

Christianity is the only religion where God is both just and merciful. 

Just because the cost of forgiveness is paid.

Merciful because we’re forgiven.

There are no such thing as cheap mercy and cheap grace in Christianity.  No such thing as injustice.  Ultimately the Father hates sin because it murdered His son. 

RECONCILIATION THROUGH ATONEMENT
For God to extend his love, mercy, and grace to us through salvation while, at the same time, ensuring that sin was punished in accordance with his perfectly just nature, God chose to pay the penalty of sin himself in the person of Christ.

 God is love and Him paying the penalty for our sins enacts the greatest fulfillment of what love is self-sacrifice.

¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

Christ became the propitiation for our sins.

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
“Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” Romans 3:25

A question I’m sure most here are thinking: what on earth does “propitiation” mean? The word “propitiation” means to “satisfy or turn away righteous wrath.” One of the best ways to understand propitiation is through the lens of the Old Testament. On the Day of Atonement, once a year, sacrificial animals were slain in the courtyard. Their blood was brought into the Most Holy Place by the high priest and sprinkled on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. These sacrifices functioned as propitiatory substitutes, symbolically bearing the guilt of the people so that God’s wrath would be turned away. These animal sacrifices on the Day of Atonement pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice God Himself would provide: Christ, our true and final propitiation.

Christ as our propitiation demonstrates how God can remain perfectly just while fully extending His love and grace to sinners: Christ voluntarily gave his life on the cross, becoming sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). God poured his righteous wrath on Christ as payment for our sin; therefore the penalty is paid, and the barrier between God and us is removed. We can now be reconciled back to God and enjoy his grace and mercy because our debt has been paid through Christ as our propitiation. The work is completely done by God for the benefit of man; man plays no part in the cost but is the full beneficiary. Praise God!

Christ’s obedience in living a righteous life
Christ lived a perfect, sinless life of obedience to God in order to earn righteousness for us. Just as the disobedience of Adam means his sin is imputed to us, the obedience of Christ (the Second Adam) means his righteousness is imputed to us. Paul makes this clear in Romans:

“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one Man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19

Because of Christ’s perfect obedience to the law, we can be made righteous. 

God sees you through your new nature that is in Christ and not your sin in the flesh. 

This is why we can come boldly before God now.  Because we have Jesus’ righteousness.  Your sin no longer has the power to separate you from God; it no longer has the power to condemn you – because you are now the “righteousness of Christ”.  We are going to talk about this in a couple of months’ time in another Unpacked session.

Christ’s obedience in suffering on the cross
In addition to obeying the law perfectly on our behalf, Christ also took on himself the sufferings necessary to pay the penalty for our sins. He suffered physically through scourging and crucifixion, and he suffered psychologically and spiritually through bearing the penalty of our sin. Just as Adam’s sins were imputed to us, God imputed our sins to Christ on the cross – that is, he legally charged them to Christ and Christ was judged accordingly in our place.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

The act of Christ’s sacrificial death is also known as penal substitutionary atonement. Christ’s death was “penal” in that he bore a penalty when he died, and his death was a “substitution” in that he was a substitute for us when he died. Penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) rejects the idea that Christ simply “covered” or “wiped away” our sin without satisfaction, like a bank wipes away credit card debt when someone goes bankrupt. Instead, Christ became our substitute (we were “swapped out” for him) and paid the penalty by bearing the wrath of God that was meant for us.

Through Christ’s obedience in both his life on earth and death on the cross, our sins have been permanently atoned for. We are redeemed completely and forgiven in full through Christ and him alone – and this is why Jesus needed to die on the cross for us!

THE RESULT OF ATONEMENT 
Now that we understand the doctrine of atonement, what does this mean for us today? What is the result of our atonement? Let’s look at 2 Corinthians:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

1. We rejoice that we have been saved

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When we come to Christ, we don’t become merely “improved versions” of ourselves; we become completely new creations! All our sins have been forgiven, the old have passed away, and all is made new. A result of the atonement is that we become so in awe of what Christ has done for us that our hearts cannot help but rejoice! Now that we are reconciled with God the Father and the Holy Spirit through Christ the Son, we experience a hope that transcends human understanding.

2. We share the gospel

Secondly, the hope and joy we experience through the knowledge and revelation of our atonement drives us to become “ministers of reconciliation.”

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

This year is The Year of the Harvest. As a part of this year’s vision, we want to see the gospel shared and preached to every person in this nation. This is the result of the atonement – we become messengers of God. Now that we have been reconciled to God, we are commissioned to proclaim that reconciliation to everyone around us. The atonement is not just for everyone sitting here tonight – it’s for the world! This is what Paul is saying in this passage: “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” We must go out into the world as ambassadors for Christ and preach the message of reconciliation!

How do we do that? Maybe we’ll do an Unpacked session on evangelism in the future (??), but here is a quick way to evangelise, using a method known as the “Romans Road.” The “Romans Road” is a way to preach the essentials of the gospel using scriptures all found in the book of Romans. Take a look:

This is a quick and concise way of sharing the gospel message.

CONCLUSION 
So, as we close, this is the doctrine of atonement: All of us are sinners by nature and are automatically disqualified from a relationship with him. Yet, because God’s nature is one of love, mercy and grace, he sent Christ to earth to bear the ultimate penalty for our sin, becoming our substitutional sacrifice, so that we are no longer condemned for the sin we’ve imputed, inherited and committed. As our sin has been imputed to Christ, his righteousness has been imputed to us – what else can we do but rejoice and tell the good news to as many people as we can!