The Absurdity of Christianity

Chuck said . . . "I would like to ask you a couple of relevant questions pertaining to the 'sacrifice' of Jesus and it's purpose. Please logically explain why an omnipotent, omniscient, and omni benevolent God would need to sacrifice Himself (as Jesus) to Himself (God) in order to forgive man of sins against Him (God)? The entire premise seems totally absurd."

Chuck, I appreciate the way you said that the sacrifice of the cross seems absurd. It does. The Bible is in agreement with you: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). There’s good reason that it seems absurd.

Imagine if I said to you, "Chuck, I just sold my house, my car, and used all my savings to pay a fine for you." You would understandably think that I am rather weird. My paying a fine for you, when you don’t think you have done anything wrong, is absurd.

But if I put it this way it may make more sense: "Chuck, angry police officers showed up with a warrant for your arrest. They have video of you going 80 MPH through an area set aside for a blind children’s convention. There were clear warning signs everywhere saying that 15 MPH was the maximum speed. You are in big trouble. Add to that, the fact that just ten minutes prior to that happening, they stopped you for drunk driving and confiscated your driver’s license. You were in serious trouble with the law. The judge was furious, and handed down a massive fine. He said that if you couldn’t pay it, you were going to be thrown in prison for a very long time. I knew you didn’t have any money, so I sold my house, my car, and I used all my savings to pay that fine. You are free to go."

The reason you think the fine being paid for you 2,000 years ago is absurd, is because you don’t realize that you have seriously broken the moral Law (the Ten Commandments) and you are in big trouble (see 1 John 3:4). In your drunken atheistic stupor you have ignored the clear warning signs of your violated conscience, and you have sped with reckless abandon into sin. All the while, the video has been rolling. God is omnipresent and omniscient. He has seen your lust (see Matthew 5:27-28, fornication, lies, anger, blasphemy and rebellion. He sees your thought-life, and the darkness as if it were pure light (see Psalm 139:1-12). To say that He is angry at you is a massive understatement. His wrath abides on you (see John 3:36). You are His enemy (see James 4:4). Every time you sin against His Law, you are storing up His wrath (see Romans 2:5). Not believing that fact won’t change a thing.

You could try and trivialize your crimes, but before you do, think of this. If I lied to my dog, it wouldn’t be a big deal. If I was caught in a lie to my wife, I may have to spend the night on the couch. If I lied to my boss, I may lose my job. If I lied to a Supreme Court Judge, I will spend a long time in prison. Even though it’s the same crime, the penalty increases according to the importance of the one to whom I am lying.

All sin is against Almighty God (see Psalm 51:1-4). It is His Law that you have violated with your lust, lying, stealing, hated, fornication, and your blasphemy, etc. You are as guilty as sin, and what’s more you cannot justify (make things right) yourself.

So, how can your fine be paid? How about you offer all the gold, all the diamonds, or all the oil in the world? That won’t work. It all belongs to God anyway. You have nothing to offer God as a payment. Nothing.

Think of the ancient Aztecs. They could see that they had angered their dozens of god (the evident suffering, disease, and death), so they would try and appease them with a "payment." They would take the most precious thing they had--a handsome youth, or a beautiful virgin, and they would sacrifice them on a bloody altar to try and make atonement. However, the Bible says that any sacrifice we make is an abomination to God. He strictly forbids human sacrifice. You may remember that He tested Abraham's love for Him by telling him to offer his only son. As he was about to sacrifice Isaac, God stopped him and then He provided the sacrifice. This was a foreshadow of God sacrificing His only-begotten Son for the sin of the world).

Besides being a murderous act, human sacrifice offers tainted sinful blood. It would be like me offering a judge drug money to pay your fine.

So what is precious enough to pay your fine and justify you so that you are free from the wrath of God’s Law? Here’s were the sacrifice makes sense.

As I have said, God Himself provided the sacrifice. Jesus was morally perfect. His blood wasn’t tainted with sin like yours and mine -- " . . . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19). When He was on that terrible cross, He was paying the fine for the Law that you and I violated (what love is that!).

Most people don't know that Jesus of Nazareth was Almighty God in human form. God prepared a body for Himself and filled that body as a hand fills a glove (see John 1:1, Colossians 1:15-16, 1 Timothy 3:16). The Creator was in Christ "reconciling the world to Himself."

One of the last things Jesus uttered on the cross was, "It is finished!" The better Greek rendering is (English is inadequate), "The debt has been paid!" That now means that God can legally dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence and let you live forever.

This was confirmed by the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead. It was God saying, "Humanity can now be justified."

This is why religious works (giving money to charities, praying five times a day, lying on beds on nails, or sitting on hard pews) cannot justify us. God will not be bribed (see Ephesians 2:8-9). The only thing that can save us from damnation (the just punishment for our sins) is the grace of God (unmerited favor--mercy from the judge), and that comes through repentance and faith (trust) alone in Jesus.

Some may ask why God didn't just simply forgive us. This is because He is bound by His own holy character. The Bible tells us that His Law is perfect, holy, just, and good. We are also told that God is perfect, holy, just, and good. So, we cannot separate God from His Law. It is His very essence. Scripture calls Him "the habitation of justice," and perfect justice demands retribution. That wrath-filled retribution fell on the Savior. If you refuse to repent, it will fall on you. Jesus warned that it would "grind to powder." When something is ground to powder, a thorough job is done. The Law will search out every sinful thought, word, and deed.

So there you have it. God loved you so much that He provided a sacrifice to save you from death and Hell. Call upon Him today, and He will save you. You have His immutable promise:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

P.s. If it still seems absurd, read the last sentence through slowly, and try and figure out why.