Why did Jesus die for our sins?
Listen: 57 Question 2
This is such a crucial question for us all. The Apostle Paul understood why the Lord died for him as he says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” He realized that it was the love that Jesus had for him that caused Him to die for him. Let us never question the love of God for us. Probably the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16, speaks of the boundless love of God towards us. It says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It’s this great love of God that caused Him to send his only begotten son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Galatians 1:4 tells us that Jesus, “…gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.”
What incredible love, that the Son of God should die for the sins of ungodly people as we read in Romans 5:6 which says, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Without Christ, we were completely without strength. We needed a savior, but had no power to save ourselves. Isaiah 63:1 tells us that the Lord is, “…mighty to save.” Where we were without strength; where we were powerless, Christ is all powerful, with the ability to save all who come to Him by faith.
So, who needs a savior; who needs to be saved from their sins? Well, the righteous do not need to be saved, but we are told in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” There has never been a man that could stand before the Lord in his own righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Since there are no righteous people, then it must be the sinners, the ungodly, those without strength that need to be saved from their sins. 1 Timothy 1:15 says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
We have all sinned, as we read in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” So, we are all sinners. It was for helpless sinners that the Lord Jesus died. Hebrews 10:10-13 says, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” Even the Old Testament sacrifices that were ordered by the Lord could never take away sin. They were never intended to take away sin. It is only through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary that we can have our sins taken away.
So, why did Jesus die for our sins? He died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins because nothing else could ever take our sins away. He died because we are powerless to take our own sins away. He died because He loves us so much and wants us to live with Him forever in Heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
My friend, Jesus died for you. Have you trusted in Him as your savior and Lord? He loves you so much and wants to give you the free gift of eternal life. If you come to Him in faith, believing that He died and rose again, He will save you. In John 6:37, the Lord Jesus said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Won’t you come to Him by faith today? He will accept you; He will not cast you out.