Christ Died for Our Sins

The Good News · Article 4 of 10 · 2026-10-26 · Key passages: 1 Corinthians 15:3; Isaiah 53:5–6; Mark 10:45. Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.

Short on time, or studying in a group? Read the study guide →

What we confess.

To us there is “one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.” (1 Corinthians 8:6). Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31), who “has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2). He “died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3), was buried, and “was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:4). “God has made him both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), and “This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back” (Acts 1:11).

An official of the queen of the Ethiopians had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 8:27). On his way home, on the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah (Acts 8:26–30). He was reading this:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

— Acts 8:32–33

He asked Philip a question many readers of that passage still ask: “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?” (Acts 8:34). Luke gives the answer: “Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.” (Acts 8:35).

Article 3 showed that the Christ had to suffer and rise. This article asks why. Paul delivered it to the church “first of all”: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). We take that line one part at a time: according to the Scriptures, what Jesus said his death was for, why God gave him, and what his one offering did. This article speaks of sin, death and judgment, soberly. It ends where Scripture ends, in hope. Some readers were taught that they must keep proving themselves worthy of forgiveness. Some fear that they have sinned too much. We ask you to read what the text says, and to check every word.

Read These First

  • Acts 8:26–35: Philip and the Ethiopian read Isaiah.
  • Isaiah 52:13–53:12: the servant who bore the sins of many.
  • Mark 10:32–45: Jesus tells the Twelve why he came.
  • Romans 5:6–11: God shows his love while we were sinners.
  • Hebrews 10:1–18: one offering, once for all.
  • 1 Peter 2:21–25: he bore our sins in his body.

Christ Died for Our Sins, as the Scriptures Said

What the text says. Isaiah describes a servant of God whom people despised: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease.” (Isaiah 53:3). Then the speakers confess why he suffered:

But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

— Isaiah 53:5–6

He did not resist: “As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7). He was innocent: “he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9). Yet he was “stricken for the disobedience of my people” (Isaiah 53:8). The chapter ends, “he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12). It also says, “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied.” (Isaiah 53:11). Passages: Isaiah 52:13–15; 53:1–12.

Jesus applied words of this chapter to himself on the night he was betrayed: “For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’” (Luke 22:37). After he rose, he said, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46–47). Peter wrote of Christ, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.” (1 Peter 2:24). He adds, “For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25). Passages: Luke 24:25–27, 44–45; 1 Peter 2:21–23.

What we conclude. Paul does not list which Scriptures he means in 1 Corinthians 15:3. Jesus, Philip and Peter all apply Isaiah 53 to Jesus, a canonical connection by quotation (Luke 22:37; Acts 8:32–35; 1 Peter 2:22–25). Our conclusion is that the Scriptures Paul means include Isaiah 53. That chapter says plainly what the servant’s suffering was for: our transgressions, our iniquities, the sins of many (Isaiah 53:5, 12). Our conclusion is that for our sins is not a later idea laid over the cross, but what the prophet wrote in the chapter Jesus quoted of himself (Luke 22:37).

The strongest objection. Many Jewish readers hold that the servant of Isaiah is the people of Israel, not the Messiah. Isaiah himself names the servant:

He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

— Isaiah 49:3

Isaiah says the same elsewhere: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,” (Isaiah 41:8). Again: “Remember these things, Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant.” (Isaiah 44:21). As they argue it, Isaiah 53 pictures the nation, despised and crushed among the nations, and later vindicated. The chapter follows straight on from “Kings will shut their mouths at him” (Isaiah 52:15). So, they say, the speakers who confess “we didn’t respect him” (Isaiah 53:3) are those kings. They confess that Israel suffered because of the nations’ sins, and my people in Isaiah 53:8 is the speakers’ own people. On this reading the servant also suffers for others, but the servant is the nation, not one man.

Our answer. Isaiah does call the nation God’s servant (Isaiah 41:8; 44:21). But two verses after Isaiah 49:3, the servant called Israel is given a work for the nation: “Yahweh, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, says to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him” (Isaiah 49:5). Isaiah does not name the speakers of Isaiah 53:1–6. But in the verses just before, God calls Israel his people: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there” (Isaiah 52:4). The servant was “stricken for the disobedience of my people” (Isaiah 53:8). He is innocent: “he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9). Of the nation Isaiah says, “Your lips have spoken lies.” (Isaiah 59:3). Of the servant Israel he says, “Who is blind, but my servant?” (Isaiah 42:19). He confesses of Jacob and Israel, “Didn’t Yahweh, he against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in his ways, and they disobeyed his law.” (Isaiah 42:24). Our conclusion is that the servant of Isaiah 53 is one who suffers for God’s people Israel, and not the nation itself: he is innocent where Isaiah calls the nation guilty, and he is stricken for the disobedience of God’s people. That reading is the one the New Testament gives. Jesus said of its words “He was counted with transgressors” (Luke 22:37) that they “must still be fulfilled in me” (Luke 22:37), and Philip, asked whom the prophet meant, “preached to him about Jesus.” (Acts 8:35). We invite readers to read Isaiah 42:18–25, 49:1–7, 52:4–6, 52:13–53:12 and 59:1–3 whole, and to weigh them for themselves.

Jesus Gave His Life as a Ransom, Willingly

What the text says. Jesus told his disciples ahead of time. “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31). On the road up to Jerusalem he said it again (Mark 10:32–34). Then James and John asked for the seats at his right and left in his glory (Mark 10:35–37). Jesus told the Twelve that the great among them must be servants (Mark 10:42–44). He gave the reason:

For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

— Mark 10:45

On the night before he died, he gave them the cup and said, “for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28). Of the bread he said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19). Passages: Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.

He went to the cross by his own choice. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11). “No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.” (John 10:18). In Gethsemane he prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire.” (Mark 14:36). Paul writes of “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20). Passages: John 10:14–17; 12:27; Galatians 1:4; 1 Timothy 2:5–6.

What we conclude. Jesus himself said what his death was for: a ransom for many, and blood poured out for the remission of sins (Mark 10:45; Matthew 26:28). He laid his life down; no one took it from him (John 10:18). He asked that the cup be removed, and then chose his Father’s will (Mark 14:36). Our conclusion is that the cross was not a defeat that overtook Jesus against his will. He gave himself, in obedience to his Father, for others.

Scripture says what the ransom frees us from: Christ gave himself “that he might redeem us from all iniquity” (Titus 2:14). Peter says, “you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ,” (1 Peter 1:18–19). Passages: Galatians 3:13; Revelation 5:9.

The strongest objection. Some readers ask why a death was needed at all. God forgave freely before the cross. He says, “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6). David prayed:

For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.

— Psalm 51:16–17

God says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25). Ezekiel says, “But if the wicked turns from all his sins that he has committed, and keeps all my statutes, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die.” (Ezekiel 18:21). “None of his transgressions that he has committed will be remembered against him.” (Ezekiel 18:22). Jesus told of a tax collector who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13), and “went down to his house justified” (Luke 18:14). As they argue it, a God who forgives the contrite does not need a death. The cross was a crime of “lawless men” (Acts 2:23), which God later reversed by raising Jesus.

Our answer. Jesus himself quoted Hosea: “But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’” (Matthew 9:13). The same Gospel records him saying that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28). So the one who taught mercy above sacrifice also said he came to give his life. Peter’s sentence on the lawless men begins with God’s purpose: “him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;” (Acts 2:23). The psalm the objection quotes ends, “Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings.” (Psalm 51:19). Isaiah says of the servant, “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring.” (Isaiah 53:10).

Paul speaks of the sins committed before the cross. God sent Christ Jesus “to be an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance” (Romans 3:25). Hebrews says his death “has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Hebrews also quotes another psalm, one that says God did not desire sacrifices: “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn’t desire, neither had pleasure in them” (Hebrews 10:8). It goes on: “then he has said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He takes away the first, that he may establish the second, by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:9–10). Our conclusion is that Scripture does not set God’s free forgiveness, of which Isaiah 43:25 and Ezekiel 18:22 speak, against the cross. Paul ties God’s passing over of prior sins to Christ’s death (Romans 3:25). Paul says no more about it here, and we do not add to what he says.

Pause. In Mark 10:45, what does Jesus say he came to do? (See Jesus Gave His Life as a Ransom, Willingly.)

God Showed His Love: Christ Died for Us While We Were Sinners

What the text says. Paul writes:

For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

— Romans 5:6–8

“For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10). John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). First John says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). Paul writes, “He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Passages: Romans 5:9, 11; 1 John 4:9.

The reconciling is God’s own work: “But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Paul goes on, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Then: “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Paul writes plainly of our need: “for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). Passages: 2 Corinthians 5:14–15, 20; Romans 3:24; 5:12.

What we conclude. Scripture names God as the one who gave his Son, out of love, while we were still sinners and enemies (Romans 5:8, 10; John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). It names God as the one who reconciled us to himself through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18–19). Our conclusion is that the Father and the Son are of one purpose in the cross: the Father loved and gave, and the Son loved and gave himself (Romans 8:32; Galatians 2:20). Our conclusion is also that no one has to become good first: Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

The strongest objection. Some readers say this would be unjust. As they read it, God’s own law forbids punishing one person for another’s sin:

The soul who sins, he shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

— Ezekiel 18:20

The law says, “Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16). Proverbs says, “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.” (Proverbs 17:15). As they argue it, a righteous judge does not let an innocent man suffer for the guilty, and does not declare the guilty righteous. So, they say, Christ cannot have borne our sins, and God cannot justify sinners because of his death.

Our answer. Paul speaks to this question of justice. God sent Christ to be an atoning sacrifice “to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time, that he might himself be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26). In the next chapter Paul says that God “justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). Paul says plainly both that God is just and that he justifies. He names Christ’s atoning sacrifice as the way both are true (Romans 3:25–26).

Ezekiel 18 answers a proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezekiel 18:2). Its rule is how God judges each person: “The soul who sins, he shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4). Moses told the people, “Now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.” (Exodus 32:30). He prayed, “please blot me out of your book which you have written” (Exodus 32:32). Yahweh answered, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.” (Exodus 32:33). Yet in Isaiah, God himself speaks of his servant: “My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11). Moses made his offer on his own (Exodus 32:30–32). Of the servant Isaiah says, “Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus laid down his life by his own choice, and said, “I received this commandment from my Father.” (John 10:18). Paul writes, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Our conclusion is that Ezekiel 18 sets the rule by which God judges each person for his own ways. Our conclusion is also that Isaiah 53 speaks of what God himself appointed for his righteous servant, which that rule does not address. Paul gives God’s purpose: “that he might himself be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26). We say what these verses say, and stop there (Deuteronomy 29:29).

He Offered One Sacrifice for Sins Forever

What the text says. The law says of the blood: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.” (Leviticus 17:11). Hebrews says, “According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22). It also says, “For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4). John the Baptizer saw Jesus coming and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Passages: Leviticus 16:21–22; Hebrews 10:1–3.

Hebrews sets the priests’ daily offerings beside Christ’s one offering:

Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God, from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

— Hebrews 10:11–14

Christ did not have to offer himself again and again: “But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26). God’s promise of the new covenant ends, “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.” (Hebrews 10:17). Then: “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:18). First John says, “But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7). Peter preached, “All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43). Passages: Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 14, 28; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 13:38–39.

What we conclude. Hebrews says plainly that Christ’s offering was one, and forever (Hebrews 10:12, 14). It says that where sins are forgiven, “there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:18). Our conclusion is that no further offering for sin is needed to add to it. Forgiveness is received through him by everyone who believes (Acts 10:43). Scripture speaks of his death in more than one way: a ransom, a sacrifice, bearing sins, reconciling, redeeming, and defeating him who had the power of death (Mark 10:45; Hebrews 10:12; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:14). We hold them all as Scripture gives them, without setting one against another. How a person receives the forgiveness is the subject of Article 7, and why it cannot be earned is the subject of Article 8.

The strongest objection. Some readers, especially those taught to fear that they have gone too far, point to a hard warning in the same chapter:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.

— Hebrews 10:26–27

Hebrews gives a like warning earlier: “For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” (Hebrews 6:4–6). As some read it, any deliberate sin after a person comes to know the truth puts that person beyond the reach of Christ’s sacrifice. One offering means one chance, and those who fail it are lost.

Our answer. Three verses later, Hebrews describes the one it warns: the one “who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29). The warning speaks of turning away from the one sacrifice and treating it as unholy. Hebrews has just said, “there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:18). Our conclusion is that there remains no more a sacrifice means there is no other sacrifice to turn to. Our conclusion is also that it does not mean that Christ’s sacrifice stops covering believers who sin and come back. Hebrews 6 gives its own reason: “seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.” (Hebrews 6:6). Our conclusion is that both warnings speak of treating the Son of God with contempt, not of a believer who sins and confesses it (Hebrews 6:6; 10:29). The warning is real: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31). To believers who sin, First John says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). “My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.” (1 John 2:1). A few verses earlier, Hebrews speaks of “boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19), and says, “let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). And it ends the warning with confidence: “But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:39). Hebrews says the same after its first warning: “But, beloved, we are persuaded of better things for you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we speak like this.” (Hebrews 6:9). We invite readers to read Hebrews 6:1–12 and 10:19–39 whole.

Pause. What does Hebrews 10:18 say about offerings for sin, where sins are forgiven? (See He Offered One Sacrifice for Sins Forever.)

Questions Answered

These questions touch this article. Each is answered from Scripture and labeled. The Statement of Faith, section 15, gives the same answers.

Whether a true believer can fall away for good. Our conclusion: a true believer can turn away from Christ in unbelief and be lost. No one and nothing outside can take a believer who keeps trusting him.

Hebrews says to brothers: “Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;” (Hebrews 3:12).

Read the other way: John 10:27–29; 1 John 2:19; Philippians 1:6; John 6:39; Romans 8:39; 1 Peter 1:5. Confidence: Solid. The warnings are written to believers in plain words; the promises speak of outside force and of sheep that follow.

Whether the lost suffer forever or are destroyed. Our conclusion: the lost are destroyed in the second death, a final end. The punishment is eternal because its result never ends.

Jesus said: “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matthew 10:28).

Read the other way: Matthew 25:46; Revelation 14:11; 20:10; Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:48. Confidence: Solid. Destroy, death and destruction are plain; Revelation 14:11 and 20:10 are vision language, answered above.

Whether salvation depends on these questions. Our conclusion: salvation depends on believing the good news about Jesus and remaining in his teaching. It does not depend on settling every question in this document.

Jesus said: “I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24).

Read the other way: John 8:24; 1 John 2:23; Galatians 1:9. Confidence: Solid. John 8:24 and 2 John 9 name what is required; Romans 14:1 shows that not every question divides.

“The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Where We Stand

Scripture says

  • Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
  • The servant of Isaiah 53 was pierced for our transgressions and bore the sins of many, and Jesus said that its words “He was counted with transgressors” (Luke 22:37) must be fulfilled in him (Isaiah 53:5, 12).
  • Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many, and his blood of the new covenant was poured out for many for the remission of sins (Mark 10:45; Matthew 26:28).
  • No one took Jesus’ life from him; he laid it down by himself (John 10:18).
  • God showed his love in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8; John 3:16; 1 John 4:10).
  • God reconciled us to himself through Christ, and sent Christ to be an atoning sacrifice to demonstrate his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:18–19; Romans 3:25–26).
  • Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and where sins are forgiven there is no more offering for sin (Hebrews 10:12, 18).
  • Everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43).

We conclude

  • Our conclusion: the Scriptures Paul means in 1 Corinthians 15:3 include Isaiah 53 (Luke 22:37; Acts 8:32–35; 1 Peter 2:22–25).
  • Our conclusion: the servant of Isaiah 53 is one who suffers for God’s people Israel, and not the nation itself (Isaiah 49:5; 52:4; 53:8–9; 42:19; 59:3).
  • Our conclusion: the cross was not a defeat that overtook Jesus against his will; he gave himself, in obedience to his Father, for others (John 10:18; Mark 14:36).
  • Our conclusion: the Father and the Son are of one purpose in the cross: the Father loved and gave, and the Son loved and gave himself (Romans 8:32; Galatians 2:20).
  • Our conclusion: no further offering for sin is needed to add to Christ’s one offering (Hebrews 10:12–18).
  • Our conclusion: the warnings of Hebrews 6:4–6 and 10:26 speak of treating the Son of God with contempt, not of believers who sin and come back (Hebrews 6:6; 10:29; 1 John 1:9; 2:1).

Hope

Paul asks the questions a troubled conscience asks, and answers them:

Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

— Romans 8:33–34

“Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Of those in the new covenant God says, “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.” (Hebrews 10:17).

First John speaks to every believer who has sinned again: “If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:1–2).

Living It Out

These are applications, offered as invitations.

  • Try reading Isaiah 52:13–53:12 slowly, and then Luke 22:37 and 1 Peter 2:21–25 beside it.
  • When you feel you must become good enough first, you might read Romans 5:6–8 again: Christ died for the ungodly.
  • When you have sinned, you might bring it to God with 1 John 1:9 in mind, and not hide it.
  • Jesus asked his disciples to eat the bread “in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Consider what he asked them to remember.
  • Paul says that Christ “died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15). You might ask what living for him would look like this week.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What passage was the Ethiopian reading, and what did Philip preach to him from it? (See the opening.)
  2. In Isaiah 53, for whose transgressions was the servant pierced? (See Christ Died for Our Sins, as the Scriptures Said.)
  3. What did Jesus say about his own life in John 10:18, and how does his prayer in Mark 14:36 fit with it? (See Jesus Gave His Life as a Ransom, Willingly.)
  4. According to Romans 5:8, how did God show his love, and when? (See God Showed His Love.)
  5. Whom does the warning of Hebrews 10:26–29 describe, and what does 1 John 2:1 say to a believer who sins? (See the objection under He Offered One Sacrifice for Sins Forever.)
  6. What does it mean for you that God says he will remember your sins no more? (See Hope.)

Check It Yourself

  • Opening: Acts 8:26–35; 1 Corinthians 15:3.
  • According to the Scriptures: Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Luke 22:37; 24:25–27, 44–47; 1 Peter 2:21–25; Isaiah 41:8; 44:21; 49:1–7; 52:4–6, 15; 42:18–25; 59:1–3.
  • A ransom, willingly: Mark 8:31; 10:32–45; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:22–25, 36; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 10:11, 14–18; 12:27; Galatians 1:4; 2:20; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Galatians 3:13; Revelation 5:9; Hosea 6:6; Psalm 51:16–19; Isaiah 43:25; Ezekiel 18:21–23; Luke 18:13–14; Acts 2:23; Matthew 9:13; 20:28; Isaiah 53:10; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:15; 10:8–10.
  • God’s love: Romans 5:6–11; John 3:16; 1 John 4:9–10; Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:14–21; Romans 3:23–26; 6:23; 5:12; Ezekiel 18:2–4, 20, 30; Exodus 32:30–33; Deuteronomy 24:16; Isaiah 53:6, 11; Proverbs 17:15; Romans 4:5; John 10:17–18; Isaiah 53:12.
  • One sacrifice: Leviticus 17:11; 16:21–22; 5:11–13; Hebrews 9:12, 14, 22, 26, 28; 10:1–18; 7:27; John 1:29; 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 10:43; 13:38–39; Hebrews 10:19–39; 6:1–12; 2:14; 1 John 1:9; 2:1.
  • Answered: Statement of Faith, section 15; Hebrews 3:12; Matthew 10:28; John 8:24; Deuteronomy 29:29.
  • Hope: Romans 8:33–34; 5:1; Hebrews 10:17; 1 John 2:1–2.

Next

Next in The Good News: Raised and Made Lord and Christ. Did God raise Jesus bodily from the dead, and what did he make him?

Previous article: Jesus Is the Christ, the Son of God, Come in the Flesh
Next article: Raised and Made Lord and Christ
Study guide: Study Guide: Christ Died for Our Sins
Series: All 10 articles in The Good News

© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/04-christ-died-for-our-sins/
Quoting and Sharing