For those who accept the biblical account of Jesus’s life as true, the most important thing is deciding how to respond to the Saviour’s act of offering His life. What does it mean to accept Jesus’s sacrifice? How does it apply to us? How does it become part of our lives?
A few years ago, I listened in amazement to the story of a middle-aged woman with hemiplegia. She had learned that while she was in hospital following her stroke, someone had donated blood for her several times. After being discharged and still using a cane, she went out to find the donor, who turned out to be a former elite athlete. With tears in her eyes, she asked him, “Why did you do this for me?” His only answer was that, upon hearing about her case, he simply felt compelled to help.
Is there a connection between this kind of impulse and the essence of Christianity—the sacrifice of Jesus?
Self-interest? Fear? What else?
People generally tend to be sceptical when faced with an offer, especially when it is free. God bore an enormous cost to offer something to people for free (“…freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”—Romans 3:24): the life of His Son in exchange for human freedom[1]. However, for the average person, accustomed to exchanges based on self-interest or fear, the existence of an exchange based on different terms is harder to grasp. On what basis does humanity receive Jesus’s sacrifice?
A common yet mistaken initial reaction to Jesus’s Paschal sacrifice is to want to pay something in return for what is offered. Many feel they are offering something in return by changing their sinful lives. This exchange implies a self-interested transaction. We pay something and hope to receive salvation in return.
Then, there is fear. Fear can be a powerful driving force, causing a person to act out of fear of the consequences—the loss of salvation and the prospect of hell are powerful motivations. However, this is wrong because a relationship based on fear cannot last, nor can it bring mutual satisfaction or joy.
So what brings mutual joy for both mankind and God? If He gave Himself out of love, the only fitting response to His sacrifice is also out of love.
Therefore, a person’s attitude towards Jesus’s sacrifice is shaped by their perception of God. In order to respond appropriately to God’s sacrifice, we need to understand how the Bible truly portrays God. God did everything for our sake, selflessly and out of a sincere desire to help us, not to make us feel obligated. This driving force is called love (1 John 4:8–9). When we view God and His actions in the light of the Bible, the only correct motivational force within our inner mechanism is activated—selfless love[2].
The inner staircase: when you descend to… ascend
What does it mean for a person to receive Jesus’s sacrifice? The simplest answer is that they accept that Jesus gave His life for them, in their place[3] and because of them (Isaiah 53:5)[4]. This is the moment when a person accepts Jesus as Saviour. But is it possible for the experience that follows acceptance to be measured in any way? What is a Christian like after such an experience?
During one of His discussions with the disciples, Jesus told them about the importance of self-denial and humility (Matthew 16:24) as a test of discipleship. He revisits this theme on the last evening He spends with the disciples at the Last Supper before His crucifixion (John 13). In other words, before the crucifixion, the basin—as a symbol of self-denial—cannot be avoided. Jesus emphasises that what He did in the upper room must be done before partaking in His sacrifice symbolically (John 13:15), because any spiritual path of the Christian involving a shortcut to heaven will lead nowhere.
Why do we often miss the essence of Jesus’s sacrifice? Because before a person can ascend to the benefits of a new spiritual experience, they must descend and renounce the old “benefits” of selfishness and perhaps even old relationships. This is not comfortable because remaining in the old paradigm requires less effort than change demands; there is no middle ground. From a moral standpoint, neutrality is a myth (Matthew 6:24)[5]. Doing what He says means accepting Christ as Lord, not just as Saviour (Acts 5:31; Romans 10:9)[6], and agreeing to live according to His counsel. When the motive for the relationship is love, submitting one’s personal will to God’s counsel is not insurmountable.
When finding a solution brings an outpouring of joy, a person is able to do things they hadn’t initially considered, which now stem from a different nature and spirit (Galatians 5:22–25). Then, a person moves from merely doing what was commanded to the next level, where they do more than the minimum perceived as necessary out of pleasure. This is how the surprises that Jesus alluded to at the Last Supper become possible. The Bible teaches us to love ourselves but to serve others—this is truly surprising.
Between the authentic and the false
There is a test that reveals the transition from self-denial, which is the common end of a way of being, to a new way of relating to things, people, and God. Before the Last Supper, Jesus gives His disciples a command: “Love one another, just as I have loved you…” (John 13:34). This love was to be the outward proof that they were His disciples (verse 35) and the sole inner driving force for change: “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).
“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).
In this context, the direct relationship between us and God means that good deeds are good if they are selfless. Yet while some do them to “stay on the list”, others have come to ask not to be on the list at all, out of selfless love. Moses and Jesus are symbols of those who offer themselves for the sake of another. This is why the songs of Moses and Jesus the Lamb will be sung by those who are saved (Revelation 15:3). When a person does everything so that others may prosper, Someone else ensures that they are also on the final list (1 John 3:16-17).
When a person accepts Jesus’s sacrifice in their relationship with others, they actually accept a change in the quality of those relationships. After Peter affirms his love for Jesus (John 21), Jesus asks him to extend this love to others.
Thus, it is clear that declarations of love for God are of equal value to the most insignificant relationships we have with others.
Furthermore, love becomes the driving force in proclaiming the good news about the One who chose to exchange life—and especially death—with the sinner. Jesus’s disciples were to go out into the whole world, and they could not convince people of the Gospel’s transformative power by the sword but by the power of inner change made possible through the Spirit’s love within a person (Romans 5:5).
In good times and bad
For those who have understood and accepted this change, their relationship with God is clear and compelling. They follow the example they saw initially, which gave them the impetus to be different: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16). God’s love is not conditional and is therefore not limited to the saints. While it is easy to love someone who brings you flowers, how can you love someone who puts you on the cross?
When faced with Jesus’s sacrifice, humanity must resist the temptation to pay a price for it or to earn God’s favour. In any case, not even good deeds could amount to valid payment: “…all…are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6, emphasis added). Nor is compliance out of fear a viable solution, as it nullifies joy. The only valid response is love. We respond out of love to the supreme act of sacrifice made for the same reason: love.
To ensure that this change does not remain merely in the realm of grand words, we must pursue renewal through humility and live out the practical aspects—that is, the fruits of love (Galatians 5:22–23). Beyond any religious ritual, a practical Christian life is measured by visible signs which either validate or refute the fact that His sacrifice has become “ours”.
Therefore, we should love as Jesus loved, even in difficult circumstances—like the loving mother who wakes up at night for her baby. Concepts and expressions such as “I don’t feel,” “I can’t,” or even “I’m not built to love” can no longer be part of the vocabulary of someone who has grasped the essence of Jesus’s sacrifice. The model exists, has proven itself, and has been replicated. And it works…
Florin Iacob is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.