“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Dear Friends and Members of IBC, In this week’s Word for the Week, we continue reflecting on Sunday’s theme by looking at some foundational truths of the Christian faith. One question often asked—by those outside the faith and sometimes even by ourselves—is: “Why did Jesus have to die?” Before we answer this question, let’s zoom out and get the bigger picture, starting with who God reveals Himself to be in His book the Bible. Scripture tells us that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and the Creator of all things. He exists outside of time. He is Spirit - present everywhere, but He isn’t everything. God is both love and holy. God’s holiness means that He is pure and morally perfect. He is perfectly free from evil, there is only light in Him – no darkness at all. God’s holiness is an essential part of His character. Unlike us, His created beings, God always knows the right thing to do, and always does it. This should give us deep comfort. Because God is holy, He will always act perfectly fair and just towards us. Out of love, God created the world to have a relationship with His creation, to share in the overflow of love that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have enjoyed for eternity. But humanity chose to rebel and go their own way. Because God is holy, He can’t be in relationship with sin. He will not affirm a false reality where we place ourselves at the centre instead of Him. His love is too great to leave us in that kind of deception. And because God is holy, He hates sin. He hates what sin does to our hearts, how it separates us from relationship with Him, the reason for our very existence. Whether it is lustful thoughts, angrily losing our temper, belittling someone, pridefully looking down on others, greedily storing up more things for ourselves, or any other form, God opposes it, wherever it is found. The natural result of choosing life independent of God, enjoying different forms of sin, is that when we die and have to give an account of ourselves, we will get our wish and suffer an eternity separated from Him. But God, in His great love and mercy, didn’t leave us without hope. As soon as humanity turned their own way, God put a rescue plan in motion, a way for sin to be appropriately dealt with, and for people to come back to Him. This rescue plan is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus, God’s Son, who was present at the creation of the world, who God has eternally loved, came to earth, took on human form, and identified with the humans that He created. After living a perfectly sinless life, Jesus voluntarily chose to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us. He willingly chose to lay down His life, making this clear to His disciples. In Jesus’ death on the cross, we see justice and mercy coming together. The cross is where they both meet. But the story doesn’t end with death. Jesus’ resurrection is the pivotal point in the whole story. In pictures and icons of the cross, it is important that Jesus is not still hanging on the cross – because He isn’t! When Jesus rose from the grave after three days, it showed that death was defeated. The power of sin and death has been overcome. Forgiveness of sins is now offered to everyone who chooses to say, “My way doesn’t work, I’m hopelessly lost, I can’t do this myself” and instead puts their trust in Jesus - in His life, death, and resurrection. For those who do this, everything changes. They become a new creation. God’s Spirit comes to live in them, giving them power to turn away from sinful desires, and obey what God calls them to do. This is why Jesus had to die – so we could truly live! God Bless James