Question: Dear Greg,
I’ve come across many Christians who speak about the tremendous sacrifice of
Christ’s death for our sins. John
However, how much of a sacrifice is the loss of anything when one knows it will be returned in three days? If I were asked to give the life of my own son for the betterment of mankind with the knowledge that his life would be returned in three days it would be a trade I could bear. However, without the promise of my son’s return the sacrifice would be much more difficult, if not impossible.
So, where is the sacrifice in Christ’s death?
Tim
Answer: Dear Tim,
You note that you have “come across many Christians” and further, you do not understand the enormity of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. I therefore assume that you are not a Christian, or at the very least that you do not have a grasp of the essential beliefs of Christianity. It would seem that your difficulty lies with one of the core beliefs of Christians.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was and is God. In his human life he was incarnated as a human being while, by definition, remaining God. God cannot die or cease to exist or suspend his existence. Thus the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than simply that of another man. Jesus was, in fact, not just another man.
We have a booklet that is available free of charge, as supplies last, within the United States and Canada that goes into detail to explain how Jesus was not simply another man. If you would like a copy let me know an address to which it can be mailed.
In Christ,
Greg Albrecht