What’s the Connection?

Scripture uses shorthand statements like “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). To an outsider’s ear that may not make a lot of sense. What does crucifying “Christ” have to do with “our” “sins”? The previous verse indicates that it had to do with saving us from them. So the question tightens up: How can the death of one person connect with saving other people from their ‘sins”?

“Died for our sins” could mean that (a) he would not have had to die if we had not sinned, and that (b) he died to get rid of our sins. How does such a thing work? Sin takes place between an offender against an offended, so what can a third party do that removes an offender’s sins?

Sin separates people, a result we call alienation—being “lost.” Sin’s remedy reunites people, a result we call reconciliation—being “saved.” Repentance by offender and forgiveness by offended should take care of the problem. At least that’s the way it works in our experience with other people; we would expect it to work the same way between people and God since both are persons.

From the standpoint of sheer theory, that might be true, but because he cares about us, he brought a practical component into the process to foster repentance by giving the strongest possible indication of how much he cares about us in our alienated state (Romans 5:7-8). That approach grows out of love, which God considered a stronger motivator than fear as in fear of withdrawn love, deliberate punishment, and permanent hell. He takes the initiative at overcoming the state of affairs that we caused. He sent the Son into the human condition to face the full range of the human experience beginning to end, including temptation (Hebrews 4:15), grief (John 11:35), suffering, and violent death. He endured all of that without sinning and so became the only example of perfect righteousness in the physical realm.

That means the Father could appoint him for us to commit to. That amounts to committing to the Father himself, whose nature, lordship, values, and purpose the Son shares. Identifying with the Son is the positive expression of the offender’s repentance. That is always an offended party’s condition for viewing offenders as now righteous—for forgiving them.

Enduring violent death culminates the appointed Son’s human righteousness. Commitment to him is the Father’s condition for considering us righteous like him. So “Christ died [as the human fully righteous One + our commitment to Christ, + the Father’s considering us righteous like Christ, which equals forgiveness] for our sins.”

These two emblems make another shorthand “statement” about the body broken and the blood shed for the forgiveness for our sins.