Who did God owe a debt to? (hopefully Christians answer)?

Question

I am constantly told that jesus died and paid a "blood debt" for our sins. Who the hell was owed this debt? Why couldn't God just go "hey, i'm the almighty, everyone is forgiven"? Why the ritual. seems kind of barbaric and unneccesary. I realize that man needs symbolism. But why does God need it? BTW, not trying to be offensive. I truly have never understood this.

Ok...Please people don't give me retarded answers like "read the bible" if you don't know stfu and let someone who is genuinely trying to help answer. i have read the bible many times over and it is not addressed at all. Ty to all who have tried even though so far i must say that no answer is hitting me as saying anything other than rhetoric that imo does not really answer my question.

these are getting better. THANK YOU to those who are providing serious questions. There are actually three answers so far I would like to give "best answer" too but i will wait to give others a chanced to take a crack at it.

Answer 1

Well I think it's a fair question. My answer is, I don't know. I don't know why God decreed that the blood of Jesus Christ had to be spent to save us. In the Old Testament, of course, it was the blood of lambs and goats that were sacrificed. Interestingly enough though....Jesus was described as the "final" sacrifice, that there would be no more.

You ask, why does God not say, okay everyone is forgiven. Well, think about that statement for a minute. You do realize that not everyone wishes to be forgiven? Just spending sometime in Yahoo Answers will show you there are plenty of people who mock God, who say they do not sin, etc. Why would God's forgiveness extend to those who don't even care?

As to why it is, I'm not sure. But I am grateful that by the death of His son on the cross, I can be righteous because I believe in Him. If I don't understand the complete reason why....I do understand that God is a God of His word...and I am saved by my faith in His son.

Answer 2

God owes nothing...owing is a human concept. And Jesus did not die for our sins, since sin is a man-concept as well...this was an interpretation of an event that was not truth, although the author(s) did think so at the time. It was a way of explaining that which they did not understand. Alot of the symbology of the Bible is this.

When reading literatures such as the Bible, you have to understand the history of the times, the way people "saw" things, the vocabulary, & many concepts were derived by the powers that were. Take what you need & feel as positive to you, and leave the rest...over-analyzing only begets confusion & misunderstanding.

Answer 3

I Hope this helps!
It wasn't God who owed any debt; it was US! Every human owes a big debt, and it's one that we can never actually pay ourselves... so Jesus (who is God) was sent/came to pay the debt for us...
As for why He didn't just go: "hey, i'm the almighty, everyone is forgiven?"... it's because He's perfectly Just, too, and perfect justice means that all debts must be paid for.

So here's hopefully a good way to think of it.
"There was a man who was a judge at a courthouse. Every day he judged the cases that came in with no problems, until one day his own son was brought in. His son had been caught drunk driving, and the father had to judge his crime. The normal punishment for drunk driving was a fine of $300, but he knew the son did not have that kind of money. He didn't know what to do. He said to himself, 'If I let my son off the hook, everyone will think it's a bad judgement, because I was too lenient and didn't follow the law. But if I charge my son the fine, everyone will say that's a bad judgement, because it will seem that I do not love him, to make him pay this fine that he can't afford.'
So here is what the father/judge did: He judged his son to be guilty, and set the fine at $300, then he reached into his own pocket, and wrote a check for $300, to pay for his son's fine."

And that is what God did for us. We all owe a huge debt because of our sin that we cannot pay, so God judged us to be guilty and set the fine (death and hell). But then He went and paid that fine for us (Christ's death on the cross). All we need to do is accept it.

I hope that helps you out. ^_^ Email if you have any questions!

Answer 4

To properly understand the answers to your questions, you first must have an accurate understanding of who God & Jesus themselves say that they are. This first article will help along those lines:

Is Jesus Christ God? :
~ Who Is Jesus Christ?
~ Who Is "the Only True God"?
~ "Those Who Are Called 'Gods' "
~ What "the Only True God" Promises
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2005/4/22/article_01.htm

After reading the above articles, if you still have questions about the need for Christ's ransom sacrifice, the following article is all about that:

Is There Any Hope of Salvation?
~ Jesus Saves - How?
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2001/11/15/article_01.htm

For more information, you can visit a Kingdom Hall, or write or fill out the "Contact Us" form on ...

Answer 5

Hi in deep thought,

i appreciate the sincerity of your asking. God is owed the debt and i think part of the sacrifices in the OT was a reminder that man can not work there way to God. So many today are trying to work there way to God- people say if you're "good" then you go to heaven-- but who determines good or bad, except the one who is truly good- God Himself.

Not sure why he chose to not do as you suggested "Hey I'm the almight, everyone is forgiven." One reason is because not everyone chooses to accept His forgiveness. While His heart is to forgive everyone not everyone wants or sees the need for God's forgiveness.

Jesus the Bible tells us shows us who God is. And so in His Sacrifice on the Cross - we see a selfless, sacrificial, turn the other cheek love that Christians are supposed to display. (This is important since many shun Christians because of their "fire and brimstone" approach to sharing about God's love.

God has chosen to reveal Himself through Christ and He is chosen to tell us who Christ is through the Bible. God is a perfectly good God but also a perfectly just God and the penalty of sin is death- and so Jesus had to die on the cross to pay for man's sins, and man has the freedom to receive God's love or reject it.

Hope that helps, feel free to email me if anything was unclear or if there are any additional questions i can help with...

[e-mail]

Answer 6

Well, He paid OUR penalty. Look put it this way. God doesn't want a bunch of robots so He made man and woman with free choice. God wants those who WANT to serve Him. But we are sinners. What is sin? Well, Paul said he had not known sin but by the law (10 commandments)
If you have lied or stolen, you have broken God's law. Now, if you break societies law, there is a penalty to pay if you are guilty. Now, the 10 commandments are IMPOSSIBLE to keep! And you HAVE broken them. Now you must face a Holy God on judgment day as a breaker of His law. You are guilty.
But , God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross shedding His blood (without the shedding of blood there is no remission) this death on the cross PAID our penalty that we would have to pay ... HELL...
See God wanted to show His love for the world by coming in the flesh and dying for the sin of the world to pay our debt so we could live eternally with Him. He could just say"ALL FORGIVEN" but then the atheists would whine because they have free will and maybe they don't WANT to go be with God. So God said, "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved" and "repent, or ye shall all likewise perish" and "for the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life througfh Jesus Christ our Lord"
also NOTE: This is for all those religions out there that say you must DO something to get to heaven... the Bible calls eternal life a GIFT from God. What is a Gift?? It is FREE!!! If I offer to give you something then ask for money for it, or ask for GOOD WORKS for it... is it a gift?? NO. the good works COME because of the GIFT not the other way around. Salvation is free to all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in their heart what He did on the cross, in the grave and now in heaven and confess Him.
Sorry, for those who want a more detailed explanation, email me. But I am in a rush here, I don't even have time to spell check

Answer 7

He did not owe us anything, that's part of the miricle of grace! Jesus is said to have paid a blood debt because He was the sin offering, the Lamb without blemish.

The thing is, God CAN NOT be with sin. That's why we needed a sin offering to wipe away our sins once and for all.

Answer 8

ok...
READ THIS:
The Bible says that we (everyone) was "born is sin, and shaped in iniquity" (Psalm 51). Because Adam, the first man, sinned, death came into the world, because God said, that if you eat of the fruit from the tree which I said not to, you will surely die. That wasn't just for Adam, that was for everyone.

But because God loved us so much, He gave man a second chance, by sending Jesus into the world (also known as the second Adam) to "make right" per say, what Adam did wrong.

Jesus was God in human form. But you see, He had to be in human form, because blood had to be shed, for the repayment of our sins. That's what Jesus came to do. To "repay" the debt that WE unfortunately owe, because of what Adam did. Jesus took the pain and the suffering and the beatings and the death, that WE were supposed to get for every sin that we commit today.
But because Jesus knew that we were not going to be perfect, and He knew we would make mistakes, even us Christians, God decided to send Him to pay for the sins of the world.

It may seem complex, or unfortunate, but when we realize that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for me so that I, or my spirit man, my soul, wouldn't have to die, you realize that that is an awesome thing!
God works in mysterious ways, and that He has promised all of us everlasting life. And that's the end result, so whatever we go thru now, shouldn't matter, but that we get our hearts right so that we can live forever with Him.

God tells us in 2 Peter 3:9
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise; but is longsuffering (patient) to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

God Bless.

Answer 9

When we commit a 'crime' or sin, it's only a matter of time that we have to pay for it. Sin, or separation from God's plans with plans of our own all come from selfishness, the same way it happened with Lucifer in heaven.
The wages of sin is death, and we are 'paid' by the adversary for listening and acting on the whispers or words of the adversary. It took innocent blood for redemption, the early sacrifices pointing to a greater sacrifice that was to come.
Even though these 'innocents' lost their temporary life here, which seems tragic if you look at it from an earthly point of view, the eternal life of these innocents have gone into eternity justified.
We were the ones in debt, or out of fellowship with God. Since sin began on heaven and not on earth, Jesus had to take His own innocent royal blood to the alter in heaven (Heb 9:12), to remove the 'barrier' that set us apart, so that we may go boldly to the throne of grace, and have a relationship with Him, 'sitting in heavenly places' with Him.
He gave us all the great gift of free will, but all God wanted was for us to be with Him, and He gave His Son to prove it.

Answer 10

The debt was one that we owed to God on account of our sins.

Because God is just, He can't merely turn a blind eye to our sins. There is therefore a debt we incur because of our sins that must be paid. Jesus died to pay that debt for those who would accept His sacrifice by faith in His atoning death and resurrection.