The Council Speaks

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Question: I was reading in 1 John 4:9–10 about Jesus' sacrifice for our sins. I don't understand what sacrifice Jesus made for our sins, and why He had to do it.

Answer:

The context of 1 John 4:7–21 seems to be the love of God that was displayed or evidence for us sinners who are saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus lived a sinless life and therefore was the Perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world (John 1:29). First John 4:9–9 says, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Because Jesus was the Perfect sacrifice, His death (broken body, shed blood) paid for our sin on the cross. By believing in Him and by repenting of our sin and believing Jesus is our substitute for the payment of our sin, we are made righteous before God. We could not pay for our sin because we are born sinners.

Frank Ward and his wife, Lori, serve at Kikino, Alberta, in pastoral ministry with the Kikino Bible Church. Frank is of the Cree tribe in Alberta.

Answer:

What sacrifice did Jesus make for our sins? This is a great question. Let's go back to the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus so we can have some understanding of what Jesus' sacrifice means to us now.

The Lord told Moses to give specific instructions to the people of Israel in how they were to offer sacrifices to cover their sins; this happened many times. On one day of the year was a special sacrifice of an animal, a male, with no defects.

The leaders of the tabernacle, who were chosen to do this, had to butcher this animal. If you have hunted before, and had to butcher the animal, you know it is not a pretty sight. The leaders offered these sacrifices to God that would cover the sins of the people of Israel.

God is holy, awesome, righteous and just, but He is also a God of love. God made a way to break this way of offering animal sacrifices for our sins. God did what only He is able to do; He came to Earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins! "Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6–8).

He became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins once and for all for the whole world. He made right for us what Adam and Eve made wrong when they sinned in the Garden of Eden. He made a way to not just cover our sins but to take our sin away. John the Baptist wrote this in John 1:29, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Why did He do it? When Jesus was tortured, and nailed to the cross, it was not a pretty sight, either, but it was necessary. It was God's will. There had to be a perfect sacrifice, and that would have to be Jesus because He never sinned. His sacrifice was needed to satisfy all of God's righteous judgment on sin. "All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much" (Ephesians 2:3–4).

Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice on that cross so long ago. Without a perfect sacrifice, things would not be able to be right between God and us, but now God made this possible!

The sacrifice Jesus made is of great importance because He was the only One who could bring us back to God, have a relationship with Him and the only One who made a way for us so we can be forgiven from our sins.

Myrna Kopf is Cree from Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement, northern Alberta. She has taught at a Native Bible school and lives in Idaho, where she works at a care center for the elderly.

Answer:

What does sacrifice mean? Let me tell you a true story from many years ago. A Cree tribe went out on a big hunt, and they successfully found the Buffalo. But, they went beyond their traditional hunting area, and crossed onto territory that was claimed by both Cree and Blackfoot. When the Blackfoot found out, their small war party surprised the Cree camp. After a short battle, the Blackfoot decided to return at dawn.

The Cree camp knew that the Blackfoot would return in full force in the morning and that many lives would be lost. They weren't sure how to get the women and children to safety in time, so the Blackfoot wouldn't overtake them all.

The older Cree women got together and decided that they would stay and keep the fires burning throughout the night, so the Blackfoot would think that everyone was still at camp.

In the dark of the night, the younger ones of the tribe left the older ladies to fulfill their plan, and it worked! The Blackfoot were not aware that the rest of the camp had escaped, and when they arrived in the morning to find just the older ladies sitting around the fire, they were furious! These ladies' sacrifice was great, and they knew their fate, but they still chose to save their families by staying behind and tending to the fires throughout the night.

It's hard to understand that level of sacrifice. Most of us would want to save ourselves if we were in the same place as the Cree ladies. But, this brings me to the thought of Jesus. He was sent by His heavenly Father, and chose to come, into a world that was lost in sin.

God hadn't wanted sin to enter the world, but by their own free will, Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit, and that choice changed our world for all generations to come. Sin, selfishness and burdens entered the picture.

Let me be clear in saying that God's desire was for us to have the beautiful Garden of Eden, but humanity was altered when Eve was tempted, and Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. From that moment, we were lost with no hope of rescue in ourselves.

So how do we get free? Jesus steps in as the equalizer between our being lost and our being free. Just like the Cree women were willing to die so that their loved ones could live, Jesus was willing to take on all of our mess-our sins, our hurts, our shame and our failures, even though He was without sin.

If He hadn't chosen to go to the cross, and sacrifice His life, we couldn't be forgiven for everything we've done in our lives. He died so that we could live. He sacrificed His life because His love was so great for everyone He loved. He willingly stood in our place.

First John 4:10 says, "This is real love-not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

Were we worthy of that level of love? No. Did we do anything to merit that kind of sacrifice? No.

But God, in His mercy, sent His Son, Jesus, with the intention of rescue for us. No greater love has ever been shown. No greater sacrifice has been shown than that Jesus left the glory of Heaven to come to Earth as a man and then laid down His life because we needed to be rescued.

Now, we have a choice to make. Do we believe that Jesus dying was worthy of our believing in Him?

If we do, then that means a response is needed on our part. We need to surrender our lives to Jesus. Then, Jesus will help us walk away from the things that keep us bound in life.

We don't need to come as perfect people to Him, He went to the cross even when we were all sinners. But we very much needed a Savior, and still need a Savior.

I'm so thankful that Jesus loved me, even before I loved Him. This is something I treasure and ponder and hold in my heart. I will be forever grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made for me-and for everyone He loved.

Corrie Hill is originally from the Six Nations Reserve in southern Ontario, and the daughter of the gospel music family, The Singing Hills. Currently she is creative coordinator with Tribal Trails TV ministry and lives in Trochu, Alberta.

Frank Ward, Myrna Kopf, Corrie Hill