Why Christ Died (1)

Why Christ Died (1)
Tim Haile, for the Parkway church of Christ

People will sometimes ask the questions with respect to salvation and redemption, “Why did God do it this way? Why did Jesus die on the cross?” Of course, we could just give the simple answer, and say that this is just how God wanted it done! However, this answer does not fully satisfy our interest, nor does it help us to fully appreciate what God has done for man. The fact is that the particulars and mechanics of the scheme of redemption are rooted in the very nature of God and His creation. God, by nature, “is love” (1 John 4:8,16). The kind of love that is attributed to God is a sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:25). Hence the notable words of Jesus in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Also, “Greater love has no one than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). These two verses combine to attribute this sacrificial love to both God the Father and God the Son. This love is intrinsic in God’s nature. God is so genuinely concerned for man, that He is willing to subject Himself to the cruelty and rejection of the very men that He wants to save. This was most evidenced in the treatment of Jesus Christ. Men had tested, resisted and rejected God before (Genesis 6; Acts 7:51-53), but this rejection became quite personal when God came in the flesh. But, regardless of this rejection by His own creatures, Peter said, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God “desires for all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). God “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezekiel 33:11). He wants them to “turn, and live.”

Let us not conclude, however, that just because God is a God of love, that He is not also a God of justice and of vengeance, for He most certainly is. “God considers it a just thing to repay with affliction those who afflict” His people (2 Thessalonians 1:6). Vengeance belongs to God, and He will one day “repay” evil men for their behavior (Hebrews 10:30). “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). We are to note both the “kindness” and the “severity” of God (Romans 11:22). God is love, but He is also “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). God’s own nature is one reason for the salvation system that He devised. More to come…

View past articles at http://parkwayarticles.blogspot.com. Please join us for worship and Bible study at our building located at 125 Hilltopper Ave, Bowling Green, KY 42101. We meet each Sunday at 10:00AM and 6:00PM for worship, and Sundays at 9:00AM and Wednesdays at 7:00PM for Bible study. Our radio program is aired each Sunday morning at 8:00AM on the WKCT 930AM band. Phone: (270) 842-2049 – Email: timhaile@mac.com.