The wish for death rises only when our suffering seems unbearable. What we really want in those times is not death, but relief. We would love for the good times to come again. We would like the pain to go away. We would like to have our loved one back from the grave. The longing of the human heart is to live and to be happy.
God made us that way. We were made to live forever. And we will. The opposite of eternal life is not annihilation. It is hell. And it remains forever. All that is good—all that will bring true and lasting happiness—will be preserved and purified and intensified.
We will be changed so that we are capable of dimensions of happiness that were inconceivable to us in this life. For this Christ suffered and died.
Why would we not embrace Him as our treasure, and live? How to Be Thankful in All Things. Give Menu. Give Online Your gift helps share the Gospel. Share Tweet. Here are seven of them: 1. Through the spilling of the blood of an innocent sacrifice, the debt of sin could be paid. Leviticus ; Hebrews After their sins were forgiven, the people continued to sin , meaning that they had to come back and sacrifice again, year after year. Not even the high priest could help them; he himself was a sinner, and the sacrifice was for himself just as much as for the people.
Hebrews God hated this frightful state of affairs. His longing was to have communion with people and to save them. He looked for someone who could lead the people out of the vicious circle of sinning and forgiveness. So then God sent His own Son to carry out this greatest work in history. Ezekiel ; Isaiah ; Isaiah ; Isaiah ; John This meant that Jesus was tempted as we are. Luke ; Philippians ; Isaiah It was as a man that Jesus had to learn obedience, because, being a man, He had His own self-will, or sin in the flesh, and was tempted.
The result was that He never sinned and was without sin. Hebrews ; Hebrews ; Hebrews When Jesus spoke out against sin and against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the time, He spoke with authority and conviction. The Son of God took our nature, and in it took upon himself to teach us by both word and example even to the point of death, thus binding us to himself through love. Abelard's theory and the call to the individual to respond to Christ's death with love continues to have popular appeal today.
Our redemption through the suffering of Christ is that deeper love within us which not only frees us from slavery to sin, but also secures for us the true liberty of the children of God, in order that we might do all things out of love rather than out of fear - love for him that has shown us such grace that no greater can be found. Did Jesus take the punishment for humanity's sins when he died on the cross? That idea is called penal substitution and is summed up by Reverend Rod Thomas, from the evangelical group Reform, as "When God punished he showed his justice by punishing sin but he showed his love by taking that punishment himself".
Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, disagrees with the theory of penal substitution and said so in a radio talk given over Lent In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed.
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This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Why did Jesus die? Last updated Atonement and reconciliation Actors enact the Crucifixion The events leading up to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus are well-told by the Gospel writers, as are stories of the Resurrection. What is the atonement? New Testament images The New Testament uses a range of images to describe how God achieved reconciliation to the world through the death of Jesus.
John Here are some other images used to describe the atonement: a judge and prisoner in a law court a payment of ransom for a slave's freedom a king establishing his power a military victory And here are some examples of how the New Testament explains the death of Jesus: 'For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many'.
Words attributed to Jesus in Mark Written by Paul in 1 Corinthians Theories of the Atonement Theories of the Atonement Theologians have grouped together theories of the atonement into different types.
The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. Not to punish it would be unjust. It was just; we were guilty. There was only one way to be free: someone must pay the penalty. The reconciliation that needs to happen between man and God goes both ways. Reconciliation from our side is simply to receive what God has already done, the way we receive an infinitely valuable gift.
The measure of his love increases still more when we consider the degree of our unworthiness. Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice could pay it. It is my sin that cuts me off from God.
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