How Does Jesus Sacrifice Save Us From The Penalty of Sin?

Jesus Sacrifice For Sin

God shows His great love for the created world through His great acts of love. This love is demonstrated, seen, and experienced through His great plan to save human beings... who have all brought upon themselves the penalty of eternal death for their sins... through  the life death and resurrection of His only begotten Son... Jesus Christ.

Although He [Jesus Christ] was without beginning or end... He was God... and He was with the other who was  also God... He submitted to being born as a human being named Jesus. This Jesus live a perfect human life... without any sin whatsoever... although experiencing temptation on all points. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of death for all humanity.

Read this message on our blog -- > https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-does-jesus-sacrifice-save-us-from.html

Jesus Christ should also be recognized as the member of the God family responsible for the creation of the universe. Therefore, His life is of greater value than the sum total of all human life and is therefore enough to pay the penalty for everyone has, or whoever will, live.

In paying that penalty God [through Christ] has made it possible for human beings to be released from their death penalty and begin moving towards a resurrection unto spirit born, everlasting life.

This sequence of sin, sacrifice, redemption, and resurrection has always been God's plan for the human beings He created.

Today we are going to walk through this teaching by breaking it down into 8 points and provide scriptural references to show where the teaching is found in the bible.

1. God's Great Love For The World

The go to scripture for this concept has to be John 3:16 which says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life".

I have always read the phrase “so loved the world” as if it is saying God loves the world "SO MUCH... that He etc”. But in looking at the words in the original language I think it could [and perhaps should] read something like "God in this manner loved the world, in... that He etc.”

That way of translating the verse put less emphasis on God's supposed “feelings” and more on God's choice to love, and His observable acts of love that come from having made that decision to love. The word for love here is agape... which in the Greek means love that stems from conscious decision rather than gut feelings. As followers of Christ you and I are all called to choose to love... even when we don't feel like it... and this is Godly love.

1 John 4:7-9 here the idea of God demonstrating His love is more clearly expressed using the phrase "this is how"

John 4:16-19 God initiates this relationship of love with us… even though we are not lovable! In other words, He chooses to love even though we have taken the position of His enemies through our devotion to our sins.

2. Humans Are Helpless and Powerless to Overcome Death

If God had not chosen to deal with you in love [which is grace in action] you would have no hope or reason to expect resurrection or eternal life... only everlasting death.

Isaiah 59:1-4 because of our free choosing of sin we have separated our self from our Creator who is the only one who has the power to grant life. That is the story of Adam and Eve in the garden.

Romans 5:6-11 God chooses to show love even though you were not lovable: rather you are His enemy and defiled by your sins. We may be haughty, and proud of our independent stance but we have no power or ability to bring about everlasting life... only our creator can do that.

... And the way God chooses to show love towards you and me is by confronting the issue of the sin that causes this separation. God does this through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:12-13 we can have hope [by that the scriptures mean not a wish, but a reasonable and rational expectation] for something beyond our limited days in the flesh through Jesus Christ.

The Church of God is tasked with proclaiming this  previously misunderstood, often unknown, truth from God. So that people might have a reasonable, rational hope/expectation of glory [through resurrection to spirit born, everlasting life] Colossians 1:24-29.

3. Jesus Christ… The Only Begotten Son

Jesus is referred to as the "only begotten Son" [John 3:16, John 1:14, 1 John 4:9]. What is the significance of this little descriptive phrase? I am not sure I have the definitive answer [I would be glad to hear your thoughts on this]. Here are some possibilities I came up with:

· is it saying that God gave all He had?

· is it highlighting the uniqueness of Jesus Christ? ... the idea being that only He could bring about this definitive head on confrontation with sin in such a manner that brings about life rather than death. This is the option I am going to elaborate on.

The next 3 points [#s 4,5,and 6] will seek to address the question: Why is the answer and remedy for sin only possible through, the one and only, Jesus Christ?

4. Jesus Lived in the Flesh, Endured Temptation, and Remained Without Sin

These criteria make Jesus Christ unique among all how have ever lived.

A. Lived in the flesh - John 1:14, Philippians 2:5-8

B. Endured temptation - Hebrews 4:14-15 Jesus endurance of temptation is exemplified in his encounter with Satan in the wilderness [Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1-13]. We also see His endurance when Peter tempts Him to alter the plan of God [Matthew 16:23], and in His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane [Matthew 26:36-46]. Note: these were not merely "going through the motions". Jesus considered them a real trial Luke 22:28, 44… He lived a full and authentic human life.

C. Was without sin - 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21

5. That Son, Jesus Christ, Died as a Sacrifice For the Sins of ALL Humanity

Scripture tells us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the sinless righteousness that leads to life. So, we need a fix, and we need one that is comprehensive enough to cover all humanity... since all have sinned. That fix is the death of Jesus Christ.

D. the debt you owe for your sins is death, Jesus pays that price of redemption with His own life Matthew 20:28.

E. the payment Christ makes is enough to cover ALL people Romans 5:17-19 .

F. this sacrifice and payment has a permanent effect and does not have to be repeated over and over Hebrews 7:26-27.

6. Jesus Life is Sufficient to Pay For All

How can a single life pay the penalty for all other lives? To answer this, we need to understand something about Jesus Christ... prior to setting aside His divine glory and coming in the flesh... He is the one through whom and by whom all things were created.

In Genesis 1 when the creation of the earth, the stars, the seas, the plants, the animals are laid before us... the one who later become Jesus Christ is there. When human beings are created... He is there.

Because He is the creator of all humanity, His life, is of greater value than the sum total of all human life that has ever been… or ever will be. His death therefore is sufficient to pay the penalty for every human being.

For this reason the scriptures explicitly draw out this important  facet of who Jesus Christ was and is:

John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16-17

Points 4,5, and 6 are a 3 reasons why Jesus is the one and only life that the Father could send to make this equation of salvation work. Indeed God sent his one and only begotten Son... and His death heals the separation between God and human... ends the hostile relationship [wrath]... takes away the penalty of our sins.

He has given you access to the "hope of glory"... a rational and reasonable expectation of resurrection to spirit born immortal life.

He has not done everything for you as many falsely teach... He has opened the door which was previously closed… and made it possible for you to progress on the path towards everlasting life.

The door is open but you must make the journey!

7. The Death of Jesus Christ Had Always Been God's Plan

1 Peter 1:18-20 ... this was planned before creation... before Adam, Eve, or anything else was brought into being... sin was anticipated, expected, and a way to confront it was in place.

Acts 2:23 the crucifixion, sacrificial death, and resurrection to life was planned.

It has also, always been God's plan to roll out the resurrection of humanity in stages:

1 Corinthians 15:22-23 ... first Christ, then the saints, then the rest of the dead Revelation 20:5

Note: a reward for the saints has always been planned Matthew 25:34.

8. Christ's Death Sets You Free

It is important to understand what exactly it is that you and I are set free from. The freedom we have in Christ does not mean we are set free from any future expectation of obedience to the Father’s commandments.  

What we are set free from is: the penalty of death imposed by the law, which we brought upon ourselves by the sins we have committed.

Romans 8:1-2 the word condemnation is a good translation here, but its a somewhat old-fashioned way of speaking, here’s a rewording: "there is now no sentence of death upon those who are in Christ Jesus"

Romans 6:18 your freedom and release is not so that you may do as you see fit... rather it is a passage from submission and service from one master to another... we are moved from service to sin, which leads only to permanent death... and we are moved to service toward God which lead to everlasting life. We serve God through walking in His commands which is the foundation of active love which we freely choose to do… Romans 3:31, Galatians 5:13 [how do we love our neighbor? Keep the commandments How do we love God? Keep the commandme nts!].

Conclusion

This core teaching and understanding of scripture give us confidence that our sins can be, and have been, blotted out. With this knowledge we can move forward in our Christian lives, no longer at odds with our Creator... but at peace. No longer living under a dark cloud of inevitable death and non-existence... but having a rational and reasonable expectation of everlasting life.

We can thank God, because of the sacrifice that Christ willing offered… to save each and every one of us.