The Big Questions About Jesus Chikamu

Why Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross for God to Forgive Us?

Jesus' death on the cross is at the very heart of the Christian faith. Some who don't believe in Jesus and others who have chosen to follow Him struggle to understand its meaning.

There are two schools of thought here.

1. If God had to torture and kill his Son, Jesus, so his wrath against us might be satisfied, that's not a God they want to follow. He would be a moral monster. They don't even want to acknowledge his existence.

2. If God is love, and he has loved us from the beginning, he didn't need the death of Jesus to forgive us. The cross is just a demonstration of how much God loves us, nothing more.

There are three problems with this thinking. The first is that they don't know who God is; the second is that they don't understand how bad sin is, and the third is that they don't understand that love costs.

What happened on the cross wasn't God killing Jesus so sinners might be saved. There was no third person there. It was you and God. Who is God? Jesus is God. God willingly sacrificed himself, in Jesus, for you so you might be saved. That is an entirely different view of the cross.

How bad is sin? It's really bad. The cost is your eternal separation from God. It has an eternal cost that only an eternal price could address. Only God could pay this price because only he has eternity within himself. This is the eternal remedy God provided at the cross.

Does love cost? Of course, it does. Anyone who has ever loved knows that love costs. If the cost applies to our limited human love, how much more does it apply to the cost of eternal love? More specifically, forgiveness costs. It hurts. It means giving away what you deserve for the sake of another. If you want to understand the cost of God's forgiveness, look at the cross.

Jesus prayed, "If there be any other way;" but there was no other way. Because he loved you, he went through with it.

You see, the cross isn't some sentimental appendage to the Christian faith; it's not just an illustration of the love of God; it is the means – the only means – by which the love of God saves. The cross is central to becoming and living as a Christian. I encourage you to think deeply about the cross and its meaning.

– Eliezer Gonzalez