Why Did Christ Die?

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

This passage is often considered the defining passage of the gospel, stating the great truth that Christ died for our sins, then was buried (thus stressing that His resurrection was a physical resurrection, not just spiritual), and then rose again. As such, it is interesting that verse 1 which introduces it (“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel”) contains the central mention of the more than 100 times the Greek word for “gospel” occurs in the New Testament.

However, it does not say why Christ died for our sins. It was not just to pay for our salvation and make us happy. There are, in fact, numerous references to His substitutionary death which do give us further insight into just why Christ died for us and our salvation.

For example, “He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:15). And consider Galatians 1:4 in which Paul tells us that Christ “gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age.”
   
Peter’s testimony and explanation was that, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24). John said: “He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11).

There are many other verses to the same affect. Christ did not die merely to save our souls, but to empower us to live in a way that would glorify God right here on Earth.