Question: "What does it mean that Jesus died for our
sins?"
Answer: Simply put, without Jesus’ death on the cross for
our sins, no one would have eternal life. Jesus Himself said:
"I
am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” (John
14:6). In this statement, Jesus declares the
reason for His birth, death and resurrection—to provide the way to
heaven for sinful mankind, who could never get there on their
own.
When God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect in every way and
lived in a virtual paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis
2:15). God created man in His image, meaning they
also had the freedom to make decisions and choices of their own
free will. Genesis 3 goes on to describe how Adam and Eve succumbed
to Satan’s temptations and lies. In doing so, they disobeyed the
will of God by eating of the tree of knowledge from which they were
forbidden: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to
eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die’” (Genesis
2:16-17). This was the first sin committed by man
and, as a result, all mankind is subject to both physical and
eternal death by virtue of our
sinful nature
inherited from Adam.
God declared that all who sin will die, both physically and
spiritually. This is the fate of all mankind. But God, in His grace
and mercy, provided a way out of this dilemma, the shed blood of
His perfect Son on the cross. God declared that “without the
shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews
9:22), but through the shedding of blood,
redemption is provided. The Law of Moses (Exodus
20:2-17) provided a way for the people to be
considered “sinless” or “right” in God’s eyes—the offering of
animals sacrificed for every sin they committed. These sacrifices
were only temporary, though, and were really a foreshadowing of the
perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Hebrews
10:10).
This is why Jesus came and why He died, to become the ultimate and
the final sacrifice, the perfect (without blemish) sacrifice for
our sins (Colossians 1:22; 1 Peter
1:19). Through Him, the promise of life eternal
with God becomes effective through faith to those who believe in
Jesus. “So that what was promised, being given through faith in
Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22). These two
words “faith” and “believing” are critical to our salvation. It is
through our believing in the shed blood of Christ for our sins that
we receive eternal life. “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).