Why?
What was the reason(s) for the death and resurrection of Christ?
Looking for input from other members to learn about this important subject so post freely.
If your Theology is based on scripture please quote it if possible.
I'm non-denominational so if your view comes from a denomination I would be interested to know the source.
Many Thanks.
Daniel.
I will start with Ro. 3:25
Paul in Ro. 3:25 giving the extreme contrast between the way sins where handle prior to the cross and after the cross, so if they were actually handled the same way “by the cross” there would be no contrast, only a time factor, but Paul said (forgiven) sins prior to the cross where left “unpunished” (NIV), but that also should mean the forgiven “sinner” after the cross were punished.
From Romans 3: 25 Paul tells us: God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. …
Another way of saying this would be “God offers the ransom payment (Christ Crucified and the blood that flowed from Him) to those that have the faith to receive that ransom. A lack of faith results in the refusal of the ransom payment (Christ crucified).
God is not the undeserving kidnapper nor is satan, but the unbeliever is himself is holding back the child of God from the Father, that child that is within every one of us.
Paul goes on to explain:
Ro. 3: 25 …He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished
I do not like the word “unpunished” but would use “undisciplined”.
So prior to the cross repentant forgiven people (saved individuals) could not be fairly and justly disciplined for the rebellious disobedience, but after the cross if we repent (come to our senses and turn to God) we can be fairly and justly disciplined and yet survive.
God and Christ would have personally preferred Christ’s blood to remain flowing through his veins, but it is I that need to have that blood outside of Christ flowing over me and in me cleansing my heart. I need to feel that blood and know it is cleansing me.
If you think about the crucifixion, you would realize, at the time Christ was on the cross, God in heaven out of empathy/Love for Christ would be experience an even greater pain than Christ. We as our Love grows and our realization of what we personally caused Christ to go through will feel the death blow to our hearts (Acts 2:37). We will experience the greatest pain we could experience and still live, which is the way God is disciplining us today and for all the right reasons because Loving discipline correctly accepted results in a wondrous relationship with our parents. (We can now comfortably feel justified before God.)
Is God blood thirsty requiring innocent blood in order to have the power to forgive?
From Christ’s pray in the Garden it would appear Christ personally desired His blood remain flowing through His veins, so would God out of empathy for Christ also personally desire Christ’s blood to remain in His veins?
Who is needing and desiring Christ’s blood to leave His body?
“John 6: 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them”
I really want life in Christ, eternal life, and having Christ live in and through me, so I am blood thirsty.
I need to believe, realize and even physically feel Christ’s blood, out of His body available for me, to have it (in the form of wine) flow down my throat and over my heart, cleansing my heart and making it holy.
The blood of animals could only outwardly cleanse temple objects and people, but Jews could not drink animal blood, since it would do nothing for them.
God made and emphasized nasty blood to be the source of cleansing, so when I physically drink Christ’s blood symbolically in the form of wine, I can experience a cleansing.
Justification and justified is not an Old Testament word used to ever describe a righteous person, but the New Testament (especially Paul and especially in Romans) use it a lot to describe the way Christians are to be before God, so how does that “happen”?
What does it take for a previous repeatedly rebellious disobedient child to comfortably stand next to their parents (feeling justified)?
What does it take for a former criminal, who has repented of his former behavior, to comfortably stand before a Judge feeling now justified before the judge?
Could you really feel “justified” before your parents, if your older brother took the punishment/discipline you fully deserved in your stead?
Jesus did physically go to the cross, so you do not have to physically go to the cross so in that respect there is “substitution”, but is it penal substitution?
If you are not truly fairly/justly discipline by your Loving Parents, how can you truly know they are your Loving Parents?
Crucifixion is not the payment punishment for your sins, since your sins are way beyond any payment method, but God’s Love is great enough to forgive those sins. Crucifixion is just/fair discipline for your sins and you can be crucified, by being crucified with Christ (similar to the experience God had while Christ was on the cross and to be remembered every time you take the Lord’s Supper).
Yes, Christ crucifixion is described by Christ, Peter, Paul, John and the Hebrew writer as a literal ransom payment, but God is not the unworthy kidnapper and satan is not holding the child out of the Kingdom, so who is hold the child back?
When you talk to the nonbeliever: you do not pray to satan to take the ransom payment and let this child enter the kingdom, but you do try to get the nonbeliever to accept Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which is the literal ransom payment and if he accepts a child goes to the Father.
Briefly: Christ going to the cross provide me a way to be crucified (being crucified with Him) and still live. I want to be crucified (disciplined) by my parent God for all the benefits Loving discipline provides.
Yes! Christ went through the punishment for sin, but that was so I could go through the punishment for sin and not to do it in my stead.
The reason unbelievers do not have their sins atoned for is because they do not allow themselves to be crucified with Christ (part of the atonement process.
To understand “atonement” for sins, we need to understand what the sinner went through for really minor sins (unintentional sins) in Lev. 5 to know the part we play and the experience we are to have.
Much more can be said.
