Can someone tell me why Jesus died?

[mike7795]

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation? What is there to worry about? If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time? I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

Any (name removed by moderator)ut is appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. I have absolutely no doubt about my eternity. I’m asking this for those who do wonder.

 

[InLight247]

You sound like a Protestant. I have heard some Protestants proclaim that as long as one believes in Jesus, one can do whatever he likes, including killing and adultery, and still goes to heaven. Because “once saved, always saved”. In other words, one can use baptism and believe in Jesus as a license to commit crimes and sins and it does not matter.
If such a view is not an insult to our Lord’s Passion, what is? Remember Satan believes in Jesus too.

Jesus died for our sins so the gap between God and man is bridged over. It does not mean as long as the bridge is there, we can be lawless and ignore our conscience. James said faith without work is dead. Satan has faith in Jesus too. God said we ought to be holy since our Heavenly Father is holy. To be holy means to live without sin. It is black and white in the Bible.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

It is well to note that in the Garden Jesus asked the Father if there was another way. The Father said, “No.”

 

[saylo]

“The wages of sin is DEATH.” Since we are all sinners we would all inherit death for all eternity.

With Jesus taking upon Himself our sins and thus dying with them he removed our mortality caused by death/sin. The way for atonement in the Old Testament was by blood/sacrifice. This was the earliest ritual for remission for sin…but that practice has been not only insufficient but corrupted as well.

Mankind needed a PERFECT sin offering with innocent blood (animals were no longer acceptable).

So, God sent His only begotten Son so that sins may be forgiven.

Jesus also said, that “I have come into the world so that man may have life and have it more abundantly (eternal life).”

This is the New Covenant…the Old was no longer applicable.

Happy Easter!

 

[grandfather]

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation? What is there to worry about? If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time? I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

Any (name removed by moderator)ut is appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. I have absolutely no doubt about my eternity. I’m asking this for those who do wonder.

Jesus told His apostles to go into all the world and preach the good news of repentance for forgiveness of sins. Your forgiveness, your salvation is contingent upon your repentance, something you must do by grace. God extends His love to you as a gift. You must accept it. How do you know if you have accepted God’s love and are reconciled to Him? Is believing in faith that Jesus is who He claims to be all that is necessary for you to do as the Protestant heresiarchs taught and you seem to believe? Jesus says, “you call me lord lord and that is what I am, but if you do not do what I command, what good am I to you.” He says to the scribes and pharisees that they “search the scriptures thinking that in them they will find the words of eternal life”, (sound familiar), but He says, “I know that the love of God is not in you”.

It is necessary to love God to be saved. Protestants do not believe this. They believe faith alone saves them. That is not what scripture says. We must repent according to scripture. Have you repented? How do you know if you love God? What does scripture say about the matter? “If a man loves me he will keep my commands”, Jesus says. “The love of God consists in this, that we keep His commandments”, John says.

Love and obedience are the same thing according to scripture. If you do not do what He tells you, obey His commandments, follow Him, (keeps His rules), then you do not love Him.

You may tell yourself that you have no doubt of your salvation and maybe you are right that you are heaven bound with no chance of turning away. Maybe you are trying to convince yourself of something you desperately want to believe is true. We all want to know how we satand before God. We will find out at judgement when we meet Him and He tells us. We can know in any given moment if we are in the state of grace, repentant. Our consciences tells us. What does you conscience tell you now? Are you free from sin or a slave to sin? We can know if we are living with sin in our souls, right now today, and if in this moment we died that we are repentent. What we can not know is what we will do tomorrow.

Jesus asked Peter three times, “Peter do you love me?” He asks you the same question. If you love Him you are saved now. You know whether or not you do, by what you do, not what you think.

 

[saylo]

Very well said, Gramps!

 

[BlaineTog]

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation?

Partially, because we are, insofar as we have to acquiesce to God’s grace. Partially because people are stupid and pig-headed.

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time?

Nope. He made it possible for us to go to heaven; he didn’t make it so that we are all forced to go to heaven.

I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

Why should it be? Jesus died to make it possible for you to go to heaven, but you can still choose not to go. That’s what a mortal sin is: a choice against going to heaven.

P.S. I have absolutely no doubt about my eternity. I’m asking this for those who do wonder.

Really? I don’t wonder, but neither do claim certainty. I’m a sinner. I don’t deserve heaven. If God wants to give it to me, that is amazing, and I believe him when he says he will, but I also know I’m not a saint. I’m not perfectly aligned with God’s will, though I try. I can only trust that trying to be a saint is enough, though I know I don’t try as hard as I could.

 

[elt1956]

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation? What is there to worry about? If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time? I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

Any (name removed by moderator)ut is appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. I have absolutely no doubt about my eternity. I’m asking this for those who do wonder.

Hi Mike, elt here. What happens to self-responsibility if Christ’s dying for us removes all of our future “sins”. Just asking what you think. A bit confused here on this. Peace.

 

[mike7795]

Hi Mike, elt here. What happens to self-responsibility if Christ’s dying for us removes all of our future “sins”. Just asking what you think. A bit confused here on this. Peace.

Hi elt!

Self-responsibility and sin exist only for the time that we see ourselves to be separate from God. John of the Cross said, “For the just man there is no law. He is a law unto himself.” The Catholic Church made this man a saint.

The majority Catholic approach to sin is like cutting down a large tree by starting with the leaves, working to the twigs, then the larger branches, the trunk, than the roots. By the time one even partially completes this task, more leaves have already sprouted!

There is another approach to sin, and that is uprooting the sense of individuality, the sense of separateness from God. With this method, the tree is cut out at its very roots.

Regards,
Mike

 

[wanner47]

Hi elt!

Self-responsibility and sin exist only for the time that we see ourselves to be separate from God. John of the Cross said, “For the just man there is no law. He is a law unto himself.” The Catholic Church made this man a saint.

The majority Catholic approach to sin is like cutting down a large tree by starting with the leaves, working to the twigs, then the larger branches, the trunk, than the roots. By the time one even partially completes this task, more leaves have already sprouted!

There is another approach to sin, and that is uprooting the sense of individuality, the sense of separateness from God. With this method, the tree is cut out at its very roots.

Regards,
Mike

So because Jesus died for me and my sins, I can now go out and sin all I want and there are no consequences? I’ll still go to heaven anyway?

Great, thanks for letting me know! Off to rob that bank…

 

[mike7795]

So because Jesus died for me and my sins, I can now go out and sin all I want and there are no consequences? I’ll still go to heaven anyway?

Great, thanks for letting me know! Off to rob that bank…

How could you possibly infer that from my reply?

Please, read the words that are there - not the words that you want to see. In a rush to attack, words are often distorted, as in this case.

I don’t have the time to answer every ridiculous reply that someone makes, so if you can help by reducing your own, I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

 

[wanner47]

How could you possibly infer that from my reply?

Mike

From this:

Self-responsibility and sin exist only for the time that we see ourselves to be separate from God.

So, now that I know I’m not separate from God, since He died for me, I no longer have to worry about self-responsibility. I can be irresponsible with no consequences. After all, Jesus has already forgiven me via his death on the cross.

That’s the logical conclusion to your position.

 

[mike7795]

From this:

So, now that I know I’m not separate from God, since He died for me, I no longer have to worry about self-responsibility. I can be irresponsible with no consequences. After all, Jesus has already forgiven me via his death on the cross.

That’s the logical conclusion to your position.

You claim to see yourself as One with God, but there is a large gap between intellectual “knowing” and experiential KNOWING. St. John of the Cross was obviously referring to the latter, and that is why I included the quote in my reply. I notice that you had no thoughts on his quote, which is another way of wording mine. Interesting.

Do you pray TO God? Do you go to a place to worship God? Do you go to receive the Eucharist? If so, why? Aren’t you already One with Him? Wouldn’t that be redundant?

So no, your conclusion was not logical.

Regards,
Mike

 

[wanner47]

You claim to see yourself as One with God, but there is a large gap between intellectual “knowing” and experiential KNOWING. St. John of the Cross was obviously referring to the latter, and that is why I included the quote in my reply. I notice that you had no thoughts on his quote, which is another way of wording mine. Interesting.

Do you pray TO God? Do you go to a place to worship God? Do you go to receive the Eucharist? If so, why? Aren’t you already One with Him? Wouldn’t that be redundant?

So no, your conclusion was not logical.

Regards,
Mike

Of course I’m “One” with him because I do all that you mention.

However, YOU’RE saying that it’s not possible to lose our salvation, so by THAT logic I can go sin all I want with no consequences.

 

[saylo]

Jesus gave his Apostles the power to forgive sins when he said, “Whose sins you shall forgive; they are forgiven. Whose sins you shall retain; they are retained.”

That means that forgiveness is always there BUT we have to ask for it throughout our lives through the sacrament of Confession.

Why do we miss something as plain as that?

 

[Mark_Robert]

Yes Jesus died for our sins. However, we must believe in Him to be saved and benefit from His saving death. Belief goes beyond a mere intellectual acknowledgement that He died for us and rose again for our salvation. Faith involves the entirity of our being, our orientaion toward God and away from sin. Merely believing without living out the commands of God is mere intellectual assent whereas saving faith is participating in the life of grace. By sinning or a lack of faith we are saying “no” to God and His kingdom. That is essentially what mortal sin is. It is preferring self over God. It’s placing trust in onesself instead of God. The life of faith is making a moment to moment decision to serve God and deny self. We must be vigilant in our faith in God because that faith can be revoked at any time. In this present life, we are able to change our minds and hearts so it’s a constant struggle to maintain that belief and fidelity toward God. Although we strive, there must be the acknowledgement that our very capacity to believe in Him and practice the virtues of faith are God’s gift of grace to us. We do nothing by our own native powers. Salvation comes from God alone. Yes we strive, but it is purely God’s gift that we are able to fight the good fight.

 

[johnnydigit]

hopefully i can give an answer that someone else may understand better.

to the subject, “Can someone tell me why Jesus died?”
-because Adam and Eve sinned, and the only way to make things right with God by offending the divine, was to offer a divine sacrifice. every man on earth dying could not do it. sacrifice has always been a custom for making things right.

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation? What is there to worry about? If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?
.

Jesus opened the gates of heaven for us. they were closed after Adam and Eve. even saints could not get in. He did not guarantee our entrance, He only guaranteed that the gates were now opened to us, and would always be opened to us, so long as we follow His commands. His death was not a one-way, guaranteed ticket to heaven (“once saved always saved”). that is not fair or just for anyone. it just wouldn’t make sense to not be responsible for evil.

If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?

because although it was good, we were fouling that up, too. Jesus had to come to complete the whole plan. in Judaism, it is incomplete because they are still waiting for the Messiah. Jews are sometimes called “incomplete Christians”. with Jesus, it is finished.

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time? I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

it’s easy to be evil. it’s hard to be good. He did not waste His time if you understand what i said above. it needed to be done.

like i said, you can choose to commit mortal sin and condemn yourself to hell, or you can choose to receive His forgiveness and be washed clean. you can then enter heaven. you have free will. you have a choice. He guarantees heaven is available to you. follow Jesus, and you can have the happiest life here on earth. too.

remember, His death opened the gates of heaven. it is up to you, by His grace of course, to do what it takes to walk through. what it takes is to be like Him here on earth and love others. a “get out of jail free no matter what” card is just too easy and let’s you do whatever evil you want to others, which is not fair or just to anyone. it makes no sense and is naive. God is fair and just, and gives you free will to let you choose.

hopefully i didn’t get sucked into something and that it helps somebody out there…

 

[pray4peace]

If Jesus died for our sins, why are we still acting as if we’re somehow responsible for our salvation? What is there to worry about? If we still have to follow all of these rules, why not just stick to Judaism?

If it’s that easy to go to hell, did Jesus waste His time? I can’t believe that the concept of “mortal sin” exists if the Son of God died for me. Isn’t that idea a little insulting?

Any (name removed by moderator)ut is appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

P.S. I have absolutely no doubt about my eternity. I’m asking this for those who do wonder.

 

[dana19620]

Just a couple of thoughts.

If Jesus had not become our sin and died, we humans would not make it to heaven on our own. Just because Jesus died in order to forgive us our sins does not mean we are free to sin. Just as a parent does not abondon a child who disobeys them - they forgive them, and then expect then to follow the rules and do what is right. If the child again disobeys, he or she must experience the consequences (punishment), but the parent continues to love them and care for them. So to does our Father forgive us, expect the us to do what is right, and continues to love us, but, he also will have a consequence we must endure for our disobedience. The promise of forgiveness for sin does not mean we have a free ride to heaven and can do what we want.

Or

Consider your soul being like the acerage the farmer sows. When the soil is tended and cared for, the soil becomes furtile and nourishes us. Living a life that is pleasing to God is how we tend and care for our soil, allowing God to plant his seeds within us to nourish us and prepare us for a place in his house. Sin is like planting rocks and boulders upon the soil. You may place a rock of greed, a boulder of hate, or a mountian from a venial sin. The rocky soil makes it difficult for God’s seeds to grow within and makes it difficult to travel to the Kingdom of God. It’s not impossible to get there, but the journey will be more difficult and take much longer.

 

[Jimdandy]

Jesus died so that the human race could get back on tract so to speak with the original plan of the Creator.

He chose to die the way he did simply out of love for us.
He loves us just the way we are, knowing that if we try we may achieve a state of holiness that will perfectly unite us with His Sacred Heart and will gain us a glorified body and new life at the end of time. He desires us to live forever with Him.

It is a narrow,very difficult path full of pitfalls and dangers
abound in the attacks of the evil spirits.

His example of pain and sorrow carried for another and offered to God shows us the way. His Light is our guide-His Body and Spirit are the nourishment we need.

Carrying our crosses, living the beatitudes we follow after Him.