Just because He was God and lived on the earth for a period of time didn't really accomplish anything in and of itself. Jesus said many times that He had come into the world for a specific purpose. Do you know what that purpose was?
Let's do a rewind. The one thing that separates man from God is sin. God says the only possible just penalty for sin is death.
That's why Jesus Christ came down to the earth. Because of His tremendous love for us. He personally came to die for the sins we have individually committed. Isaiah 53:5 says "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Our sins are what put Him on the cross. And the punishment - the punishment of death the we deserved - for our well being fell upon Him, and by His death, we are healed, or freed from sin's penalty.
Because He was a holy God, He couldn't just overlook our sin. That would be unjust. Because He loves us so much, He was willing to actually die in your place and take your death penalty.
No one else could have died for you because we each have to pay the death penalty for our sin. Let's say that you and I both got parking tickets for $20. You had no money at all and I only had $20. It would be impossible for me to pay for both of our tickets, since once I had paid for my ticket, I'd be out of money. But, if only you got a ticket, I could use my $20 to pay your ticket. That's just the way it is with Jesus. If He were just a man, He would have to die for His own sin, and would have been no benefit to us because you can only die once. But because Jesus was God and had no sin of His own, He could choose to give His life for us. 1 Peter 3:18 says "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."
All the ways we talked about before to try to reach across to God fall short. But through Jesus Christ, God has reached across to man and has done what man could never do. He gave His life to be the bridge across this eternal separation.
Because God is both loving and holy, the need was to find a solution that would be in keeping with both aspects of His character. To overlook our sin would seem loving, yet certainly not just. But to punish us for our sin would be just, but not seem loving. Both of these came together at the cross.
Let's say you get pulled over for going 65 in a school zone and are instructed to appear in court. When you get there, you are relieved to see that the judge is an old friend. You are thinking that you can just get off with a warning. Well, the judge has another thought. He tells you that even though he loves you, he has been elected and commissioned by the people of the county to uphold the law without partiality. Although you and he are good friends, he still can't let you off without penalty being paid. You must either pay $200, or spend 30 days in jail.
You are shocked by his response and try to plead with him on the basis of your friendship. But he continues to uphold the fact that love cannot overlook justice. Finally, since you don't have any money, you are sentenced to 30 days in jail. As you begin to leave the courtroom, the judge steps down from the bench and approaches you. He pulls out his personal checkbook and writes out a check to the court for $200. You can now take the check and go free. Now the justice of the court was met and the love of your friend was satisfied.
That's exactly what Jesus did. Because He is holy, He can never overlook your sin, and must demand that the just penalty of death be paid. But because of His love, He personally stepped down to the earth to pay your death penalty so you would not have to. Both His love and justice came together and were demonstrated at the cross. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Many people think they have to pay some type of admission price to get into Heaven. They try to make payments to God by being nice to people, going to church, giving money away, etc. But the good news is that we don't have to pay anything. It's a free gift to us because Jesus has already paid for it. There is no way you can earn your way into Heaven. It's a total impossibility. Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." It is Jesus' death on the cross that allows us to bridge this gap.
But who receives this gift, everybody? The Bible says no.
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