Jesus Christ Our Sacrifice

Hallo everyone, today I want to share about Jesus Christ Our Sacrifice - why does God have to send Jesus Christ to die for Our sins. First of all, before we begin, we ought to ask ourselves why does God want to go through all the hassle of sending His Son to die for us? Why cant He take any other way? Ever pondered upon it?

Well, we have to know when we ask something like this, to wonder why God couldn’t find “another way”, it implies as if we know better than what needs to be done. Tell me then, what can we actually do to save ourselves? Every religion teaches us good things but Christianity teaches us what is truly good, Jesus Himself have said when the Rich Young Man asked him, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Now, Jesus is telling us, to change our perception of good, good does not necessarily depict something nice or even pleasant. TRUE goodness talks about perfection, and no one is perfect, no one but God alone that is truly good.

Deuteronomy 32:4reminds us that

“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

His (God’s) thoughts are not our thoughts—they are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8).

Now that we have a glimpse of what is truly good, let us then look a little at God’s Character. As a Good God, He cannot tolerate the sins that we have in our lives, the Bible clearly dictates, Romans 3 : 23, that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. In the Old Testament, God has prepared the hearts of the Israel nation in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, this is when God instituted that sacrifices of lambs and rams for the atonement of the sinner.

Howsoever, there would be endless bloodshed and even sacrifices, for people will sin over and over again, and sacrifice merely serves as a reminder. But this symbolic act would one day reveal itself in the Form of Our LORD Jesus Christ, when John The Baptist proclaimed in John 1 v 29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), history is written.

Why did Jesus have to die?
1) Remember, the holy God cannot let sin go unpunished. Our own sins would drag us to a life of suffering in a dreadful place call hell. But thanks be to GOD, He kept His promise and send the perfect Lamb (His Only Son) to bear the sins of those who trust in Him. Jesus had to die because He is the only one who can pay the penalty for our sins. Sin requires a punishment, that is why when Jesus came.

He said in Matthew 5 v 17, “

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. "

2) Only Jesus Christ, can give us this fellowship again with God. This is what the blood of animals cannot do. In Hebrews 10 v 1- 4, it says, The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Only with Jesus Christ, can we enjoy fellowship again with God. because, it is God, not man, who offers the appeasing sacrifice - cf. 1Jn 4:10 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Through His death on the cross, Jesus is the way by which God can show mercy, grace, and love to the sinner. This wonderful "propitiation" was given to the whole world but is accessed only by those who believe in Jesus. 1Jn 2:2 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Only when God cleanse us, we can be clean and now freely communicate with Him, because we have now a High Priest that is intercessing for us, God’s Only Son, Jesus Christ. And also, “God made Him (Christ), who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

3) The 3rd reason as to why Jesus Christ have to die, God wants to show us how much He loves us, and also to let us know, we, humans are incapable of writing our own salvation, like I have asked earlier, we think we know how to go to Heavens, we think we got what it takes but what do we have actually? Can we buy our way into Heaven? If we can, please answer me, where is the booth for the ticket sales? The road to Heaven, can only be given by God. About Heaven, it does not necessarily have to begin when we die, it begins right here, as written in John 17 v 3,

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Eternal life truly begins, when we have Jesus Christ, because we are now living in the full knowledge of God’s Goodness. Through Jesus Christ, God wants to teach us, how to live.

Because God is a God of LOVE, He provided God Himself provided the only sacrifice (Jesus) who could atone for the sins of His people, Our LORD Jesus Christ.

- Johnson Khor

Images taken from: http://willohroots.wordpress.com/2009/11/ http://callmejacob.blogspot.com/2010_08_29_archive.html http://pemilikhidupku.blogspot.com/