Q: Why Couldn’t God Have Just Forgiven Us Without The Sacrifice Of Jesus?

Editor’s note: The following commentary was adapted from a Quora post by attorney Dan Buttafuoco, the founder of the Historical Bible Society and the author of Consider the Evidence: A Trial Lawyer Examines Eyewitness Testimony in Defense of the Reliability of the New Testament.

Let me start by saying this is a theological answer to Christians or those considering belief in Christ. Some may be offended by this. Nevertheless, it’s what the Bible teaches. It’s “Christianity 101.”

Every Christian knows that Jesus died for our sins and that we receive a pardon for our sins and obtain “right standing before a holy God” based on that supreme sacrifice. This pardon is offered freely to those who believe and is received by faith, trusting that God has provided for our redemption and made a clear path to eternal life.

As Jesus said in John 3:16:

”For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:17 goes on: “for God sent his son into the world, not to condemn the world but that the world, through him, might be saved.”

That’s all the Bible you need to be saved. Easy, right?

This is called “salvation by grace alone, received by faith alone (you need to accept it, believe it and internalize it), through CHRIST ALONE. It’s offensive to some because it’s exclusive. There’s no other way to be saved. As Peter said in Acts, “for there is no other name given under heaven through which we might be saved.”

That’s it! Only Jesus. Nobody else. All other hope is misplaced.
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Now, why this way? Couldn’t God just do whatever he likes? Couldn’t he just forgive us without Jesus leaving his throne over the Universe and being born for the sake of enduring a horrible death at the hands of evil and sinful people?

I believe that God had reasons for creating “grace based salvation,” which is received by faith and placing one’s trust that the work of Jesus Christ in dying on the cross. That’s not an accident.
First, by having someone divine (i.e., Christ) die for the sins of mankind, God was able to satisfy divine justice and preserve His perfect character. He couldn’t very well just “sweep our sins under the rug” because they were destructive (to the planet and to each other) and because they were high treason against Himself. Our sins are “cosmic” in nature in that they are not only against each other but against God himself.

God deserves justice even more than we do. He’s perfect. The ultimate penalty for sin being paid by God himself at great cost to himself is both satisfying justice and delivering mercy. It’s like a dad paying his son’s ticket even though the son is guilty and the dad technically didn’t owe the fine.

Second, by creating redemption and individual salvation as a free gift to the one who places their faith in Jesus Christ He gets to the root of the problem of sin: the heart of mankind. Belief, as any trial lawyer will tell you, is based as much on the attitude of one’s heart (perhaps more so) than any evidence or information that speaks to the mind. This is why we tend to believe WHAT WE WANT TO BELIEVE. That’s true in court (a mother can never convict her son of murder), in life and in our dealings with God. There’s something beyond poignant about God reducing Himself to a baby and giving up Himself to save his wayward creation. It’s attractive only to people who know their own need for a savior and who love God. They appreciate His goodness. This is why Jesus said that the prostitutes and tax collectors would enter the Kingdom of Heaven before the religious hypocrites. That’s still true. It’s the “poor in spirit” who know that something is not quite right inside of them. They see the evil in their own hearts. They are not deceived into thinking they are “good people“ who deserve Heaven. They know they are selfish and rebellious against God. They understand their need and their lack of righteousness. They have a correct opinion of themselves.

Third, it’s so easy to understand that anyone, even a simple-minded person, can receive it. Yet it’s intricate and complicated enough that theologians and philosophers have debated it for centuries. We still are. The idea of God modeling the highest form of morality to save his beloved children from themselves by dying for us is “over the top” with love, goodness and mercy at great cost to the Creator Himself. He didn’t have to do it. He could have just pronounced us all guilty, condemned us all, wiped us all out and started over from scratch. But he didn’t. He actually knew in advance that we would muck it all up and proceeded, anyway! He wanted a creation that could choose Him, not a race of robots.

Fourth, by making it so easy one can really see why Jesus called the rejection of Himself in the face of clear proof of WHO HE WAS the “unpardonable sin.” In other words, every conceivable sin is forgivable EXCEPT the sin of refusing the pardon which God offers in the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Why anyone would fail to consider this, study this, analyze this or treat this lightly is beyond comprehension to me. There are people we all know who don’t even bother to look into whether this might be true. It’s trashed and treated so lightly by those who are lost. You can see it here on Quora. People who know literally nothing about Jesus or the Bible reject it without so much as a second thought. Many ignore it, some revile it and still others mock it. As the Bible says, “their condemnation is just.” And we weep as we observe this and wonder “how could they do this?”

Fifth, theologians state that “God could have pardoned all and we would know only his mercy. He could have pardoned none and we would know only his judgement. He chose to pardon some and judge others (fairly and in accordance with their works, exactly as they insist) so we would know BOTH his mercy and his judgment.” Maybe this is true. I don’t claim to know but it certainly makes sense. We definitely understand the stakes involved much better if there’s real danger and actual jeopardy by resisting God and His entreaties. It’s more real than we even know.

Finally, not only is salvation easy to understand but it’s very easy to RECEIVE. It requires no work at all. This flies in the face of human nature which needs to control the process of whatever is happening. We all want to be in charge and are the “god” of our own little lives. By making salvation based on “grace alone, received through faith alone in Christ alone,” God has eliminated human involvement in terms of working for or towards one’s own redemption [yes, good works are important but they occur AFTERWARDS as proof of salvation. In other words, they are the “FRUIT but not the ROOT” of your salvation]. As a result, we can take utterly no credit for our redemption and salvation. It’s a free gift based on trust in God. This is why Peter said your “faith is more precious than gold.” That’s what connects us to God. It’s mystical and spiritual in nature. It reveals the human heart for what it is. We can’t work for it; we can’t be good enough to “buy” it. We cannot obligate God. We only need to accept it.

All in all, God’s plan of salvation is utterly genius and is good beyond words. All we can really do is be grateful in response to such an amazing plan and for the sacrifice of Jesus who modeled the highest form of love and morality for us.

Hebrews 2:3: the warning still stands: “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT A SALVATION?”