In Order to Save Us, Jesus Had to Live a Perfect Life

Section 4: Jesus

Week 3: Jesus Came to Live and Die to Save Us from Sin

Day 2: In Order to Save Us, Jesus Had to Live a Perfect Life

Romans 5:18-19

Jesus’ death was essential to our salvation, but so was the rest of his life. He lived his whole life in obedience to the Father. That life of obedience was crucial. To see why, imagine the following situation.

You’re on Amazon’s website and you find a Thingumabob. And this is no ordinary Thingumabob. This is the brand-new Thingumabob 3 with all the latest options. If anything in this world could bring joy to your life, it would be the Thingumabob 3 (until the Thingamabob 4 comes out anyway). You’ve got to have it. And here’s the good news… it’s on sale for just $10. What a great price! That infomercial last night said you could have it for just three easy payments of $19.99. This is a way better price.

The problem is, you don’t have $10 and you cut up your credit cards after maxing them out to purchase the Thingamabob 2. What needs to happen for you to be able to buy the Thingamabob 3? You need someone to put $10 into your account. Unless someone transfers some money to your account, you’re out of luck.

We’re in a similar position when it comes to salvation. We need to be righteous in order to gain eternal life. The problem is: we aren’t righteous. That’s where Jesus’ life comes into play. He perfectly obeyed God in all he did. Because he served as our representative, God was able to take his righteousness and credit it to our accounts.

That means Jesus’ life was just as essential to our salvation as his death. We need his righteousness in much the same way you need someone to give you the $10 in the above example. Only instead of a Thingumabob 3, Jesus gave us something of infinitely greater value—eternal life.

Reflection Questions:

When you think of Jesus, do you focus more on his life or his death? Why? Do you think one is more important than the other? Why? Jesus lived a perfect life in order to give us his righteousness. How does that make you feel?

Challenge:

Pay attention to your life today. If there is a time when you feel like you are doing well on your own, or if there is a time when you beat yourself up because you didn’t do well, remind yourself that we stand only on Jesus’ righteousness, not our own.