John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I am not the kind of person that you can just say, “Go do this” and I will do it. I need to understand the WHY behind what I am doing so that it makes sense to me. Today is Easter so you might ask yourself, “Why do I need Jesus?” I believe in God; I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit. But what part did Jesus play in all this?

When man first sinned, we were separated from God because of our sin. We were given laws in the Old Testament books of the Bible to follow to bridge that divide. But because we are sinful, we could never follow those laws perfectly. Everyone has lied, everyone has put something (money, success, family) before God, everyone has dishonored their parents, and everyone has had lust in their heart for another person or thing. No matter how hard we try to be good, we sin.  Because of sin, everyone has deserved death – eternal separation from God. The beginning of Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.”

But God does not want us to be separated from him. So, in the Old Testament he gave the people of Israel the ability to atone for their sins through sacrifices. The blood of a lamb could be shed to wipe away their sins. But then they sinned again. So, they would make another sacrifice. But then they sinned again. So, another sacrifice was made. It would never end. So, God sent Jesus. The Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and then he died on the cross to shed his blood for our sins. But he didn’t remain in the grave because God accepted His Lamb’s sacrifice. The rest of Romans 6:23 says, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see, every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived must be punished. That is required. It will either be punished everlastingly by the sinner (you) or that punishment will be borne by the blood of Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection were sufficient to pay for all your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Trust in Jesus. Abandon all the hope you put into your good works and what a great person you are and trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone.

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to save me from eternal punishment. I give my heart to you today. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the courage to tell others about you. Amen.