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Robin Boyd 1212

God loves us but hates sin. We all sin. God can't let sin go unpunished because God is just. The punishment for sin is death. If God punished us for our sins (even one sin has to be punished), we would not be able to be with Him in heaven. But God wants us to be with Him in heaven, so he provided a Way to punish our sins and still let us be with Him in heaven. That Way is Jesus, God's Son. God sent Jesus to be a sin-bearer for us. God punished Jesus for our sins. That way, God's justice was satisfied once, for all. When we admit that we are sinners (we are all sinners), and understand that because we are sinners (even one sin is too many) we cannot get into heaven on our own merit, and accept God's gift of salvation provided by Jesus' death on the cross, it is like our sins have already been punished (even though they haven't). Jesus' death takes the place of our own, so that God can let us into heaven and still satisfy His justice. Salvation occurs the moment that a sinner accepts Jesus' death as the complete and total satisfaction of his or her punishment for his or her own sins. It's like swiping a credit card at the ATM. Jesus' death is now "credited" to my account so that when God looks at my balance sheet, he sees "amount due: $0.00." My sins are already paid for so now I can be with God in heaven forever.

Sara Schneider 1199

Genesis-Revelation.

Ginny Auldridge New Brain

Jesus death on the cross is only part of what he did to save us. His ressurection from the grave and eventual acension into heaven made some things possible that were not before;
we are no longer bound to sin, we can be forgiven
we can hope for an afterlife that is glorious
he sent his Holy Spirit to form us together in unity as a family, or 'body' of believers, we are no longer alone and doomed to become nothing but dust.
Those are pretty incredible things, and it seems that over the years, more and more of his wonderful gifts become apparent to me.
I hope this helps,
Ginny

Brandi Helton New Brain

because to get to heaven you must be pure but we are not. so Jesus just took our place for us. Kind of like we you get in trouble and your parents bail you out.

Alex Moya 342

When we hear the ancient bells growling on a Sunday morning we ask ourselves: Is it really possible! This, for a jew, crucified two thousand years ago, who said he was God's son? The proof of such a claim is lacking. Certainly the Christian religion is an antiquity projected into our times from remote prehistory; and the fact that the claim is believed - whereas one is otherwise so strict in examining pretensions - is perhaps the most ancient piece of this heritage. A god who begets children with a mortal woman; a sage who bids men work no more, have no more courts, but look for the signs of the impending end of the world; a justice that accepts the innocent as a vicarious sacrifice; someone who orders his disciples to drink his blood; prayers for miraculous interventions; sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god; fear of a beyond to which death is the portal; the form of the cross as a symbol in a time that no longer knows the function and ignominy of the cross -- how ghoulishly all this touches us, as if from the tomb of a primeval past! Can one believe that such things are still believed?

Guaranteed Success 1341

Jesus the Man(Not Christ) was a real Bad-Ass!
Here is your Biblical Proof: John 2:12–25.

You can't really approach understanding why his death "saved" us unless you understand why he was killed. Read John 2:12–25, and take that information and place it in the context of any modern movie. It then becomes pretty easy to identify the "real" reason for Jesus the Man's murder or crucifixion. Jesus our main character is a home grown hero who just wants to live and fulfill what he knows to be the religious laws of his day. The Villains in this epic are the Money Changers who are taking advantage of the people who are making pilgrimages to Jerusalem to pray in the Temple by turning the temple into a bank and cattle auction grounds. Jesus the Man clearly upset was not going to have this so he fashions a whip and drives out all of the cattle and flips over the Money Changers tables. The coins of fly everywhere and there is complete havoc and chaos for a brief moment. Jesus the Man "Fu**s" up the Money Changers business basically. After Jesus drives away the Money Changers, everyone who comes to the temple to pray is searched which puts them in a state of shock and awe over this Jesus character, this makes the Money Changers angry.

What does this have to do with his death? EVERYTHING!

Who is this Jesus anyway? Coming from out of nowhere to "Our" temple telling us how to run things? He has to be dealt with quickly or we will have to find real jobs! Who can we find to take care of our problem?(Speaking as the Money Changers)

But no one could be found to assassinate Jesus because everyone was in Awe of what he did! Not even the crazies would do it. Something else had to be done. He had to be killed openly for all to see. Made an example of.

-The Crucifixion story-

How does Jesus' death save us?

It doesn't. Or, it does. He died! Or he rose again! Or he did both! Whatever you believe, the question doesn't depend on Jesus at all! The saving part of the question is what "YOU" decide the answer is. Jesus didn't die for you specifically. He died literally for the egregiously outrageous point he was trying to make. I guarantee he wasn't thinking about you or I, individually, on that plank of wood. I GUARANTEE IT! What he was thinking was an amalgamation of the life he lead and how he knew he had to do what he did and nothing further into the future. Was Jesus the Son of God? Yes, but no more than You or I can be considered. That is the Point and Crux of the Question. How many people have to die for "You" to understand that life here is precious and exactly what you want to make out of it. You have roughly 80 years of life, why the hell are you worried about someone who died almost 2000 years ago. Does that really matter more than how you are going to help the person across the street with their groceries. Or, hold the door open when you see someone has too much stuff in their hands. Maybe even given someone who doesn't have enough money at a cash register the amount they need PLUS a few extra bucks, wow! I hope you get the point I'm laying thickly upon your eyeballs.

Jesus died on the cross to show "US" that "WE" are all "Sons" and "Daughters" of God/Goodness, if we choose to be. So we can save our "selves" and each other, if we choose it. That is the point. Jesus saved himself and us by giving up his "human" form as an example to us who hold on to ours selfishly and will not give freely of it. "What am I going to get in return?" Absolutely nothing if that is the question that precedes every encounter with your brother and sister in life.

Jesus' death is like a shooting star. If you like shooting stars then it's a wonder to behold. If you don't like them, go inside and watch some t.v. It's just another sign post to read on the journey inward. Read it, Merge, use your signals for others benefit, but what is most important is; whatever you choose do, do it whole heartedly and with your whole being.

gsus

Jeff Henning 1645

I can honestly say that this saying like most of the christian religion is a crock. People believing in christianity are the most blind, dependent, close minded people I have ever met. The religion itself is based off of mere myths that basically boil down to common sense things. Like not killing, stealing, etc, this are all things that honestly, I do not need a religion to tell me that, I need a brain. The people believing in the religion however, are definitely worse than its teachings. The religious zealots and bigots have really gotten on my nerves due to their apparent lack of intelligence and common sense. Their ability to remain so sold on the fact that the bible is true and any other idea or thought is wrong completely astonishes me. Of course, heaven and hell is a big factor as to why people call themselves christian. Yes, if you accept jesus into your heart you will go to heaven, and if not you will go to hell; the worst place imaginable. But wait, the key word there is imaginable. Hell is not known to actually exist. I also find it astonishing when people who on this answer have stated that the bible is the true word of god. Well number one god actually did not write these teachings down, in fact people hundreds of years later, decided to start writing stuff down, and we all know how stories can get mixed up just through word of mouth. People believe because it gives them an answer for what happens after their pathetic life on earth is over. They say well, I haven't done my best to change the world for the best of all that live there but I believe in god which means I will spend the rest of eternity in heaven. This is such a shame, and just like most of the human race would think. Living life on earth is not enough, they have to live an eternity in the best place imaginable. Well let me just say that two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer. If it is eternity you seek, if you work hard and do your best to change the world for the greater good you will be remembered but if you just pray and accept jesus into your heart there really is no guarantee that you are going to heaven so why bank on something that is not known to exist.

I'm also in shock that the person below actually posted this. I'm pretty sure a personal merit can be considered on accepting jesus into your heart, and yes if people do not accept christ into their heart then they do not gain access into heaven so you are in no way correct there. The things you claim support christianity are also based off of your loose belief and knowledge of the bible and it is easy to tell that you have not studied any different religions or heard of any different theories or ideologies. That "moral code" has been around a lot longer than christianity and I think the evolutionary theory can explain a lot more than creationism. Also do not forget that christianity stemmed from Judaism which was the first major religion. And I'm not going to lie the train story made absolutely no sense on this subject. I do not remember christ pushing people out of the way of an oncoming train (but I could be wrong). Just because you ignore the facts does not mean that they cease to exist. Your supposed clues supporting the truth in christianity only makes people doubt more than believe because your clues are based on blind faith.

Adrianne Colleen 1650

All of the religions other than Christianity that I have studied boil down to a system that relies on people's own merit, i.e. do the right things and you'll go to heaven, paradise, nirvana, etc. Christianity is the only religion I've found that pivots not on personal goodness, but grace: I'll never be good enough to get into heaven, but because God loves me he has made a bridge through grace. If you see truth as something empirical, that either is or isn't, the very uniqueness of this concept should be a clue to its accuracy. In other words, if A, B, C, and D are all saying the same thing but E is saying something different, that difference lends weight to E's message, because the others cannot claim to be the true path if they are essentially the same, particularly when some of them claim exclusivity.

There are other things that support Christianity--the variety, complexity and simultaneous order of creation (including us!), the moral code that is virtually universal among human societies, among others--but ultimately, God did not leave absolute evidence of his existence for a reason: he wants us to seek him and love him of our own free will, not because we have to accept him as we accept the physical world around us. (If you wonder, "why not?" just think how unfulfilling it would be to have someone love you only because you cast a spell on them. In your heart, you would know that could never be real love.) He has left ample clues, but he will not force us to draw conclusions from them. That's the point of faith.

To briefly address your point about forgiveness, we have to remember that when we sin it is not only other people we have injured, but most of all God. After all, we might be able to reason that others deserve our actions to repay them for how they have wronged us, but how can we ever justify hurting God, who has given us every good thing we have and life itself? This is why some reconciliation, some payment had to be made for the debt of our sins. You have probably already read other descriptions of the concept of sacrifices; this was not unique to Judaism, but is found in many religions, though the sacrificial objects differed. This is from where the concept of blood debt derived. Even outside the realm of spirituality, the idea of owing a debt for one's wrongdoing is found in every government's justice system. Both the sacrifices and prison sentences provide a limited amount of restitution for a specific act or time period; conversely, Christ's sacrifice pays the debt of each person in full, because unlike the other sacrifices which were worth less, he was perfect. If you need an analogy, visualize that you're taking a shortcut across some train tracks after the warning gate has come down. You are startled by the horn of the train that suddenly appears and trip, but before the train hits you, someone shoves you off the tracks. By the time you turn around to see your savior, you see him, thrown 30 feet from the tracks. Knowing that you deserved to be hit by the train but were rescued, you have two choices: you can either live your life as though nothing had happened, or you can let this be an opportunity to live in a way that honors that sacrifice. I hope this gets you a little closer to the truth you seek.

Kirk Sidlo 1539

I hope that you have already found answers to your question, and I do not know if I am repeating exactly what another person said, but I do not wish to read through the multitude of posts already submitted.

God is a God who both demands justice and loves us.
God is good, good in the purest extent of the word. Anything less than perfect good is not good.
And we are not good. We inheritely are not good, we do evil, and are not fit to be with God. It does not take long in this world or in view of history to see this.
However, both God's love and God's justice must be fulfilled. And God loves us so much that he would rather take our burden than us suffer it.
Thus, Jesus, of God, came and took our place, paid our debt.

My pastor has used the analogy to the greek myth of the odyssey a few times. Specifically, the story of when Odysseus and his crew are trapped on the island with the cyclops, Polyphemus. The men anger and blind Polyphemus, and are trapped in a cave with Polyphemus' sheep. The only way that the men can escape is to hide behind the innocent sheep- so that when Polyphemus feels the presence escaping, he finds a sheep, not an offender.

Of course, such an analogy is not perfect. We certainly did not blind God, and I am relatively sure that reading my answer will only bring more questions, such as "Then isn't God going against himself?" or maybe "Why would God do that?" However, I hope that it helps you understand. And if that is the case, then please, post another question. But if I used this space to write about every single doubt this response could create and every possible wonder about my response to your doubt.. that'd be a lot of reading.

Jim Dubs 1262

John the Baptist answers your question when he points to Jesus' nature as the "Lamb of God, who akes away the sin of the world." By doing so, John reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be lead to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel's redemption at the first Passover. Christ's whole life expresses his mission: "to serve and to give his life as a ransom for the many." (Mark 10:45)