Why Did Jesus Die? Isn't God Love? By Aleena Denison At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

I've heard this question a lot, and have also heard a variety of answers, none of which were incorrect, but some were a little unclear. This past year I read a book called The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus that was amazingly clear on answering this question. The author went back to the beginning, to the creation of the world…

• God had created a perfect world, and a perfect man and woman to live in it. Sadly, this man and woman disobeyed God, knowing that the consequence of sin was death; death of the body, death to a relationship (separation from God), death to life with God (forever). Today we have the sin of Adam (the first man) in us, and we, too, are separated from God and life forever with Him.

• God could have ended the human race after the first man and woman sinned, but because His love for His creation is so great, we remain. However, a price has to be paid for the sin debt (eternal death) we have. God required that the only way there could be covering, or atonement, for sin was through the blood sacrifice of a perfect animal (one without any defects).

• Thousands of years ago, the shedding of animal's blood was the way that God accepted sinful mankind, but because these animals did not have Adam's blood, their blood was only a temporary covering, "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement." Leviticus 17:11

• Because of God's love for the human race, He wanted to take care of the sin debt once, and for all, so from the time of Adam, He promised that He would send a Deliverer. This Deliverer would be a perfect Man (without Adam's sin nature), who would die for sin. God continued to remind human-kind that there would come a time when they would be delivered from sin's curse.

• Jesus, God's perfect Son, and also God Himself, was the only One who could pay the price required for sin. He alone could be born of a woman (descended from Adam), and yet without sin. He, the perfect Creator God, would become like man, die the death required for the penalty, and break sin's curse against the human race. This was not something that Jesus did unwillingly. He was not forced into a decision by God. His love for us is as great as the Father's, and He gave up His life to show us that love.

• Now, because of Jesus' death we no longer have to offer perfect animal sacrifices to cover sin. Jesus' blood washed sin away completely, and it was a once-and-for-all payment. If we believe that our debt is paid by the shed blood of Jesus, our relationship with God is restored and we are no longer separated from God for eternity.

So, we really shouldn't be questioning whether God is love because Jesus, His Son, had to die. The statement is that because God is love, Jesus had to die. Mankind doesn't deserve the love of God. We are the created and we disobeyed God, therefore God had every right to destroy us forever, but because of His great mercy and love, He provided a way so that we could live with Him forever!

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