Why Did Jesus Have to Die

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Why did Jesus come to earth and become a human being? Why did He live among us as One of us for 33½ years? And why did He have to die?

Sometimes a Christian will respond to these questions by repeating the best known verse in the Bible: "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." John 3:16. This beautiful verse, however, does not explain why Jesus had to die. It only says that God loved the world enough to give His Son.

The first mention of death in the Bible is God's solemn warning in the Garden of Eden, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day ye eat thereof ye shall surely die." Genesis 2:17.

Satan had denied the truthfulness of these words. "You will not die", he asserted Adam and Eve. "Not only is it safe, but it will highly benefit you. You cannot depend on God to tell you the truth; He is selfish and self-centered. It is not wise to put full trust in Him." were the insinuations Satan made. (See Genesis 3:1-6)

Worse than this, Satan had not only denied the truthfulness of God's words of warning; he had also perverted their true meaning. Desiring to have us fear our heavenly Father as arbitrary, vengeful and severe, he led to a misunderstanding of God's loving warning as a harsh demand for obedience under penalty of death.

And so, for thousands of years, men have offered sacrifice, at times even their own children, to appease the wrath of offended gods. Even in the Christian world, it is taught that had it not been for Christ's appeasement of a "just and holy" God, we would long before this have been destroyed.

But had God said, "Disobey Me, and I'll torture you for eternity"? Or even, "Disobey Me, and I'll kill you!"? What is the cause of the death and destruction of sinners in the end?

THE WRATH OF GOD

1. What is the source of our life?

Psalm 36:9

2. What is the result of sin?

Isaiah 59:2

Thought question: If we separate ourselves from God, what do we separate ourselves from, since we are dependent on Him for every breath?

Answer:_______________________________________

3. Revelation 14:9-11 warns that at the end, the wrath of God, unmixed with mercy, will be poured out upon unrepentant sinners and consume them. What is this wrath? Is it like our human anger?

Romans 1:18-28, especially verses 24,26,28

Note: How consistent this is with what we know about God! Since faith and love cannot be forced, what else can God do but sadly give up those who reject Him?

4. How does God feel in His turning away in loving disappointment from those who do not want Him, leaving them to the inevitable consequences of their own choice?

Hosea 11:1-8

OUR SIN BEARER

Though He had never been rebellious for a moment, when Jesus died, He experienced the consequences of sin, for He had taken not only our sins upon Himself, but the sins of the whole world, I John 2:2. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21:

Romans 4:25 says, "(Christ) was delivered for our offenses." The Greek word here translated "delivered" is the same exact word used in Romans 1 to describe God's wrath: "Given up". Therefore, the clearest translation of that verse would be "Christ was given up for our offenses."

5. What did Jesus say to His Father at the cross?

Matthew 27:46

Note: As He died, He did not say, "God, why are You torturing Me?" nor "Why are You killing Me, God?". But rather He cried, "Why have you abandoned me? Why have you given me up? Why have you let me go?"

The Father treated Jesus as if He had committed all our sins. And Jesus died. But the Father did not lay a finger on Him. Sin destroyed Him. (Read 2 Corinthians 5:21). At the cross, Jesus demonstrated what God will do to the wicked in the end: He simply will let them go. He will stop giving them artificial life and let those who do not want Him reap the natural consequences of separation from Him, the Lifegiver.

Jesus demonstrated not only the truthfulness of God's warning of the results of sin, but also the results of following God's law of self-sacrificing love. He showed that a love which seeks the benefit, welfare and happiness of another individual, despite the consequences to oneself, is the gateway to eternity. It is the solution to all suffering, the nucleus of all peace and unending happiness, and is ultimately stronger than death. Death could not keep Him in the grave. It is clear to all the universe that sin produces suffering and ultimately death, while self-sacrificing love results in happiness and life without end.

6. The majority of Christians believe that the punishment for sin is to burn in hell for eternity. What does Romans 6:23 say the interest, or return on sin is?

Note: Phillips translates this, "Sin pays its wage; the wage is death."

7. Paul used a metaphor of Christ paying the legal payment for our breaking the law of God. If Jesus paid the legal penalty for sin, did Jesus stay dead?

Mark 16:16, Romans 6:10

Note: God has used many, many different metaphors to help us understand truth. We cannot, however, use one metaphor to the exclusion of all others.

The majority of Christians use only the legal metaphor to explain the cross. Yet Christ rose from the dead, because the cross was a demonstration, not a legal remedy.

8. Was this demonstration/sacrifice merely to save us in this planet?

Colossians 1:19-20

Ephesians 1:9-10

Ephesians 3:7-10

Note: Remember that God was dealing with a war in His universe long before we were in the picture (see lesson 4). Jesus is called, "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (I Peter 1:19,20, Revelation 13:8).

Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all to me." (John 12:32) The word "men" was supplied by the translators. According to Colossians and Ephesians, Jesus' death made for peace in the entire universe. Jesus drew all—men, angels, and unfallen worlds, to Himself.

GOD LETS GO

9. What will the Lord reveal on the final day?

Isaiah 40:5

Matthew 25:31

Note: In order to keep us alive, God has had to veil His life-giving glory. Our world has been a dark place for the last 6,000 years.

10. How does Ezekiel describe God's glory?

Ezekiel 1:4,13,27,28

11. What is His glory often compared with?

Exodus 24:17

Hebrews 12:29

12. What will this revealing of His light do to those who are out of harmony with it?

2 Thessalonians 2:8

13. Can anyone survive this fire?

Isaiah 33:14-16

Note: Verse 17 says that we shall at this time see God in all His glory and beauty! Revelation 21:23 says that we shall live in His glory for eternity. Read also Numbers 14:21.

God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Matthew 5:45 makes it clear that God treats us all in the same manner; His love for us all being the same, He does not treat some of us better than others.

We read in Matthew 27:3,5 that when Judas looked Jesus in the face after his betrayal, Judas proceeded to hang himself. Yet we also read that a short while after, when Peter looked Jesus in the face after he had denied Him, his heart was broken and repented, and thereby converted (Luke 22:61,62). The same conduct on Jesus' part, the same look brought repentance to one man and death to another.

We all know that the sun's rays are indispensable to life; without them, life on earth would soon cease to exist. Yet the same rays that give life to plants kills germs. Yet the sun does not change.

We may therefore conclude that it will not be God Who arbitrarily decides who will gain life from His glory and who will be destroyed; but rather the receiver is the deciding factor.

14. What is God's finally letting the wicked receive the consequences of sin called?

Isaiah 28:21

Note: God's love for man is so great, and death so foreign to His nature, that even His finally letting go and letting man receive his own choice is called His "strange act".

15. When will sin finally be destroyed in the cleansing fires?

2 Peter 2:9

Matthew 13:40-42

(John 12:48)

Thought question: Since the wicked are not to be punished in hell until the judgment day at the end of the world, how many lost souls are in hell now?

Answer:______________________________________

16. What do the wicked receive in the fires?

Revelation 21:8

Note: The first death was called "sleep" by Jesus. It is simply an interruption of life, as one would pause a video-cassette. The second death is the final result of sin. Sin changes us; if left untreated, it will cause irreparable damage. There is no resurrection from the second death because there is no hope for them; even God cannot change them.

17. Where will the wicked receive the results of their own choices?

Proverbs 11:31

18. In lesson 9, we learned that at the close of the 1000 years, the Holy City comes down from Heaven with all the saints aboard. The wicked of all ages are then raised and Satan leads them in a dramatic assault on the city in an attempt to capture it. What happens then?

Revelation 20:9

Note: When a child "devours" a candy bar, how much is left?

19. How big will the fire be and what will it do to the earth?

2 Peter 3:10

20. How did Malachi describe this fire and what it will accomplish?

Malachi 4:1

Note: The wicked will burn like stubble or dry tinder, not asbestos as many believe.

21. Will the fire ever go out?

Isaiah 47:14

22. What will be left when the fire goes out?

Malachi 4:3

23. Where will we be able to find the wicked after this?

Psalm 37:10,20

24. Will the Devil torture those in the flames as many believe?

Revelation 20:10

25. What happens to him?

Ezekiel 28:17-19

Note: The Devil is not the warden of hell; in Matthew 25:41, Jesus states that no human was ever meant to be lost in the flames, but only the Devil and his angels. Satan's existence will forever end.

26. Some say that the body will be burned up in hell, but the soul will be tortured forever. What does Jesus say?

Matthew 10:28

Note: The Scriptures are plain; everything that comprises a person- his intelligence, personality, life and all else that makes him an individual will cease to exist.

27. What is Job's fitting question regarding God's justice?

Job 4:17

Note: No loving parent could ever stand for his child to burn for even one hour for a terrible crime. But men accuse God of burning His wayward sons and daughters for eternity. Satan well knew what this lie about God would accomplish; it has accused God of an atrocity far worse than any that has ever occurred by the worst and most sadistic of men.

28. What should be our reason for serving God?

John 14:23,24

Note: No one will be in Heaven because they were afraid of Hell. People will be in Heaven because they loved and admired God and the ways of righteousness. And those who love Jesus will have no need to fear Hell. I John 4:18.

29. Will sin ever rise up again after it is destroyed?

Nahum 1:9

CONCLUSION

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be anymore pain, for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Satan has slandered and misrepresented the Character of God from the very beginning of the Great Controversy. Aren't you glad that you can enjoy Heaven without worrying about one of your relatives being tortured throughout eternal ages, while you are trying to be happy regardless? Does this wonderful truth help you to understand God's love more and the issues in the war? Jesus invites you to live in His new Kingdom. Will you accept His invitation now, and take a stand for God and for truth in the Great Controversy?

My response to Christ is:______________________________

The Bible and " Hell-fire"

The common teaching on hell is not only horrifyingly grotesque and indescribably cruel, but it just doesn't make sense. It is outrageously unfair. Why should individuals who have sinned for seventy years or so be sentenced by a holy God to an eternity of torment? The penalty is all out of proportion to the crime. Even our most cruel and tyrannical judges on earth do not condemn anyone to a lifetime of torture.

Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 NKJ. According to Jesus, both soul and body are destroyed in hell-fire. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about the fate of humanity at the end of the age. He spoke of the narrow gate that leads to life and the broad road that leads to destruction, not eternal torment (Matthew 7:13,14).

In the most well-known text in the Bible, John 3:16, Jesus explains that God gave His only Son, that those who believe might not "perish, but have everlasting life." Two fates are contrasted- everlasting life and perishing, not eternal torment.

DIFFICULT PASSAGES EXPLAINED

1. The word translated "hell" in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word "Sheol", which simply means, "the grave". In the New Testament, it is usually the word, "Hades", which means "abode" or "place of the dead", with no inferring of fire or torment.

In a few passages where Jesus spoke of "hell" it is the greek word, "gehenna", which was the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem, where the dead bodies of vile criminals were sometimes tossed as punishment (no living people were ever thrown into Gehenna). Jesus used that loathsome garbage dump as an example of those who will be "thrown into outer darkness."

2. "Their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:47,48

Many Christians have taken these words as a description of eternal torment. They picture a "worm of conscience" that keeps gnawing away at the damned forever and ever. They picture a fire that is not quenched because it keeps on tormenting the lost forever and ever.

Jesus was actually quoting verses from the book of Isaiah. He was referring to a gruesome scene which the prophet describes in Isaiah 66:24: "They shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." This is a description of Gehenna outside of Jerusalem. Notice that it is dead bodies being depicted here. No one is writhing in agony.

The point God was trying to make is the utter and complete destruction of the lost. Whatever the fire does not consume, the worms eat; the worms do not die and the fire is not put out until they have done their work and nothing is left.

3. "Tormented forever and ever" Revelation 20:10

"FOREVER" in the Bible is a period of time, limited or unlimited, depending upon what is being described. The word forever in the Bible is like the word TALL. Tall has different meanings depending on what is being described, such as a dog, or house, or a mountain. The word forever is used 56 times in the Old Testament in connection with things already ended. In the case of man, the Bible teaches that forever means man's lifetime or as long as man lives. In the case of Samuel, "forever" meant "as long as he liveth", I Samuel 1:22,28. In Psalm 48:14 "forever" means until death. Burning "forever" in the fire means that man burns until he dies.

4. "Fire unquenchable" Luke 3:17

Jerusalem was destroyed with "unquenchable fire", Jeremiah 17:27, but it is not still burning today. I Chronicles 36:19,21 says Jerusalem was burnt with fire to fulfill Jeremiah's prophecy. "Unquenchable fire" cannot be put out, but it goes out when everything is burned up.

5. "Everlasting" or "Eternal fire" Matthew 25:41

Jude 7 says God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with "everlasting" or "eternal" fire. 2 Peter 2:6 says that the fire turned those cities into ashes as an example to those who live ungodly. So "eternal" or "everlasting" fire turns things to ashes and then goes out. It is everlasting in its effect and not its duration.

6. "Everlasting Punishment" Matthew 25:46

Note that it is not everlasting punishing, buty rather punishment. The punishment for sin is death, Romans 6:23. Revelation 21:8 calls this death which the wicked die the second death. If you are sentenced to eternal death, that is, if you will never come back to life again, then that is an eternal punishment, isn't it?

7. "The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever" Revelation 14:11

The prophet Isaiah used the same language in speaking of God's judgement against wicked Edom (Isaiah 34:9,10). The land would become "burning pitch". "It shall not be quenched night or day; its smoke shall ascend forever." (V. 10). The land of Edom is not still burning today- the fire went out a long time ago. It is simply poetic language to emphasize the thoroughness, the utter destruction, involved in this judgement.