If Jesus Didn’t Die For Our Sins, What Did He Die For?
It’s not as clear cut as you think
Ask pretty much any evangelical Christian anywhere why Jesus died on the cross, and they will invariably tell you, “Jesus died to pay the price for our sins,” or words to that effect. It’s an idea that has become so deeply rooted in Christian belief that most Christians automatically assume that it is one of the foundations of the Christian faith, passed down from generation to generation.
So, it might surprise you to learn that for much of Christian history, Christians didn’t hold this view.
As a former evangelical, I was shocked when I learned that Jesus’s death might have been for something other than the forgiveness of sins. I mean, from the time I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I had that “truth” drummed into me in Sunday School, then youth group, and then, from the Bible-thumping preacher in the pulpit.
But, as it turns out, there are a whole bunch of different theological perspectives, ALL supported to some degree by Scripture, on what the death of Christ actually achieved. And the idea that Jesus died for our sins was not the most prominent one for most of Christian history. So, what are the other theories? I’m glad you asked.
