Untitled Sermon (12)

Everyone has a certain way they understand about why Jesus died for us, but that understanding is usually confusing and makes God out to be like a monster. So there is something wrong with most people’s understanding about why Jesus died for us.

Basically, the typical explanation that most people understand about why Jesus died, goes like this:

Because we sinned, God is angry with us, or has wrath toward us. God demands that we pay for our wrong-doings, and until we pay, we are guilty and we can’t have a relationship with God.

So, God sent Jesus who lived a sinless life and then died for us. When Jesus was crucified, God poured out His wrath on Jesus instead of us, so that we don’t have to experience God’s wrath.

So now, by having faith in Jesus, we don’t have to experience God’s wrath because Jesus absorbed it.

So, this whole view makes it seem like God is a monster who is angry with us because of our failures. And Jesus came to save us from God and God’s anger.

However, we know God isn’t like that. God is not a God who is angry toward us. So the whole story doesn’t make sense.

But the Bible does say, in Romans 6:23, that we owe death for our sins.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That’s what I have been studying: why do we owe death for our sins? Can’t God just forgive us the debt we owe, without needing Jesus to die for us?

So that’s what God answered for me today.

You see, most people don’t know this, but death is a person. Death is a being, similar to Satan.

Revelation 6:8 NKJV

8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

Also, in Romans 5, it tells us that because of our sin, death reigns over us. The being known as Death is given authority over us when we disobey God.

Romans 5:12–14 NKJV

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Then it tells us that because of our sin, Death reigned over us, but then through our faith Christ, we can be released from Death reigning over us:

Romans 5:17 NKJV

17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

You see? This verse doesn’t just say that we die, it says death “reigns” over us, which means Death has power and authority over us. But then when we receive the gift of righteousness through Christ, we are set from from death’s power.

The reason Death has power over us is because we “owe” payment to Death. The being known as Death requires payment so that we can be freed from his power.

See most people only think about Satan as the evil being, but they don’t realize Death is also an evil being, according to the Bible. And when we sin, we give Death authority over our lives.

But since Jesus died for us, even though He was sinless, He took the authority away from death!

Revelation 1:18 NKJV

18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

Jesus was able to take away Death’s authority because Jesus died without Death every having authority over Him.

Romans 6:8–9 NKJV

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

So, what all of this means, is the reason we owe death for our sins, is because we owe death to the being known as Death!

In order to be released from Death’s power, we have faith in the one who died, Jesus. By believing in Jesus, we pay what we owe to Death, the being.

You see? It’s not God that we owe a debt to, it’s death!

God was never angry with us! When we have faith in Jesus, we aren’t paying God, we’re paying Death!

Most people believe God is angry with them, but God is never angry with us! Jesus didn’t absorb God’s anger for us, because God never had any anger toward us!

Instead, Jesus purchased us back from Death, so that we can belong to God again!

Then, when we belong to God, we can totally dominate this life! We can reign in life again, which is what it says in Romans 5:17. When we are freed from death, and belong to God again, we reign over sickness, and finances, and problems, and everything!

So to summarize:

Because of our sins, we owe a debt to death, not God.

Jesus died, without owing any debt, which gave Him power over death, the being.

Now, if we have faith in Jesus, we can pay death what we owe, thereby setting us free.

So God doesn’t have wrath, or anger, toward us, and never did. Jesus saved us from death, not from God’s anger!