Why did Jesus have to die for our sins to be forgiven?

[Umaro]

The Christian God is omnipotent, so couldn't He have forgiven humanity without all the horrible pain and suffering He sent his son through? The physical assention would have been enough to inspire the belief, and a global majority denies the resurrection was true, so that's not much motive.

 

[jasper123]

The Christian God is omnipotent, so couldn't He have forgiven humanity without all the horrible pain and suffering He sent his son through? The physical assention would have been enough to inspire the belief, and a global majority denies the resurrection was true, so that's not much motive.

God is God and I'am not going to question Him.
God wanted and ultimate sacrifice to attone for
sin, God the Son Loved his Father and mankind,
his creation offered Himself as the sacrifice.
Ron

 

[Key]

The Weight of Sin, requires an example that humans can understand. God used Sacrifice to explain and show that example, God set for this rule and then, e showed us how much he loved us, to die himself as our sacrifice so that we could both know the weight of sin, and also know Gods love for us.

I hope I have answered this Question for you.

God Bless

Key

 

[Emmy]

Dear Umaru, God`s Holy Law stands forever, and His Law is absolutely fair. God`s Commandments are for our own good, if we follow them we will reap the consequences, good and benevolent rewards, as well as deserved punishments. Our wrongdoings and selfish and loveless acts towards each other, did not only condemn us, they also turned us away from God, they also put up an immovable barrier, which could only be overcome by a sinless and innocent Blood-Sacrifice. Because we had moved so far away from God, and no-one was without sin or transgression, God Himself, as Jesus the only Man without sin, could, and did pay the price for us, He reconciled us to God, and we were free to repent, and return to our Heavenly Father. Jesus was the last Blood-Sacrifice which was accepted by God` s Holy Law, all God wants from us now: Love God, and love each other, become perfect in loving as God is. I say this humbly and gratefully, Umaru, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[Catherineanne]

The Christian God is omnipotent, so couldn't He have forgiven humanity without all the horrible pain and suffering He sent his son through? The physical assention would have been enough to inspire the belief, and a global majority denies the resurrection was true, so that's not much motive.

There are several versions of the answer to this question, which is a very good one to ask.

The answer I would give is to do with what is called the Unequal Exchange. This is a situation where you have an immortal God, and a mortal creation. In particular he has a very special relationship with mankind, and wants to extend that relationship into eternity. But that relationship is threatened by man's propensity to cut himself away from relationship with God, and choose to behave in ways which God cannot look upon. It is this behaviour which is in some spiritual way connected with our mortality, and it is only by overcoming this life, and living without sin that death itself can be overcome.

God gives us eternal life by changing places with us. He takes on our humanity, and becomes man. Then he dies, and rises again from the dead. In doing this, he conquers the power of death for all time, and becomes the first born of a new creation; the first sinless man also becomes the first immortal man. Then all who believe in him are offered the same immortality that he has, because his holiness is infinite, and our sin - however bad - is finite. So all of our sin, which equates to separation, is burned away in the fire of his holiness, and nothing remains but love, and eternity.

This explanation leaves many questions unanswered, of course. Such as, why bother with all that; why not create men as immortal beings in the first place. I have no idea why not, except that the angels are immortal beings, and God created them, but clearly wanted to create mankind as well.

There is much that we do not know and struggle to understand. I personally do not think the manner of death was important, nor that it was the worst possible death, as some Christians try to claim. If they think that then they have very little knowledge of the extent of man's cruelty to man. What was important, imo, was the whole of the Incarnation, from start to finish, and the Resurrection. The tragedy of the crucifixion adds to the poignancy of the whole story, but it is the Unequal Exchange that is the heart of our faith.

 

[SoldierInGodsArmy]

You shouldn't base your belief upon what the global majority thinks.

 

[jesusxchick]

Jesus needed to die for ours sins because God decided that we needed a sacrifice for our betrayal. He's the maker of everything and everyone, He makes up the rules and they're fair, perfect, and just. Plus, questioning God really isn't something to do because He's our authority. A servant doesn't question their master, the same goes for us and God.

 

[hlaltimus]

The Christian God is omnipotent, so couldn't He have forgiven humanity without all the horrible pain and suffering He sent his son through? The physical assention would have been enough to inspire the belief, and a global majority denies the resurrection was true, so that's not much motive.

Sure...He could have forgiven humanity without the sufferings of Christ, only then He would have to have been only imperfectly just and what we might call generally just. What kind of a preservation would you like to have in heaven; A perfect infallible preservation or a general, fallible safety that just might fall in on you several thousand eon's in the future? The invariable, perfect attributes of God are the very soul and bedrock stability for every true Child of God, even though that perfection of Divine nature will work against some while working to the favor of others. If He is perfect in the eternal stability of heavens, then He must also be perfect in the just punishment of all transgression and this is why Christ had to suffer as a federal representative for humanity. If God the Father is perfect, (and He is,) then either I have to take the fall or a true, legal representative for me must take that fall and I am going for the later deal. Perfection of Being must work both positively and negatively, and we will be to blame in the case of receiving the later.

 

[SoldierInGodsArmy]

Another thing, God proved to mankind that if he can resist the temptation, spread the word, etc. You can too.

 

[Jadiell]

You've had some pretty good answers here, although some of them are a bit difficult to understand. I'll leave you with an (imperfect) analogy which helped me to understand it.

A powerful and just judge is presiding over a new case when he realises that the defendent is a good friend of his. The evidence is overwhelmingly against his friend, and the correct sentence is a fine which he knows is far higher than his friend's ability to pay.

In theory he could ignore the evidence and declare his friend innocent, and he would lose nothing, right? But he would. He would no longer be just. The man broke the law, and deserves to be punished.

So the judge does the only thing he can in order to preserve both his integrity and his desire to help his friend. He declares him guilty and sentences him to the correct fine, and then goes down and pays the fine for him.

Christians believe that God did the same thing through the cross.

 

[phoenixgw]

The Old Testament worship is a sacrificial system. Blood of an innocent must cover sin or no one would be spared. We would all die as a result of sin, for original sin corrupts all of us from birth (we are born as sinful creatures, torn between selfish desire & the Creator's).

Blood of animals was used to cover individual sins, but only the perfect (complete) sacrifice of Jesus could permanently cover sin (past, present, & future).

Jesus' sacrifice means that we no longer have to use the blood of innocent animals to cover our sins from the eyes of God. Nor do we need a temple or an altar for sacrifice. Jesus is our High Priest who mediates between us & the Heavenly Father. The Father only hears prayers that are mediated by our High Priest, Jesus. That is why most prayers end "in Jesus' name, Amen."

A testament (as in 'will & testament' is only enacted when someone dies). If Jesus didn't die, we would still be under the Old Testament sacrificial system.

I hope I didn't put people to sleep on that one.

 

[TexasGirl06]

The Christian God is omnipotent, so couldn't He have forgiven humanity without all the horrible pain and suffering He sent his son through? The physical assention would have been enough to inspire the belief, and a global majority denies the resurrection was true, so that's not much motive.

Jesus had to die....
because God said that sin must be punished.

He also said....that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness for sin.

Something must die, in order for us to "live".
Eternally, that is.

In the Old Testament, the people were instructed to kill animals, to cover their sin.

God was preparing the way....
preparing the stage....
for the Ultimate sacrificial Lamb.
That's Jesus.

Jesus would come...
He would be perfect.
Without Blemish.
The sins of the World would be upon him.

His shed blood will cleanse my sin.