Best way to explain Jesus' sacrifice

[gmor8802]

Hi all,

I want to put this how I think a non-believer, lax Christian or some different Christians would put it but basically, just want some feedback from you all on how to explain Jesus dying for us.

1. How does Jesus die for us and take the punishment due to us upon himself?
2. How does he save us from sin and death if people still sin and still die?
3. The punishment due to humanity is eternal hellfire but Jesus obviously didn't do that so how did he take upon our punishment upon himself?
4. Jesus had to take this punishment otherwise, God the Father would not be just. If God simply forgave with no sacrifice, that would be unjust because sin needs to be punished.

Thanks in advance all. I have some general ideas but wanted to hear from you all first on best way to answer these points.

Thank you.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

1) He doesn't. This is penal substitutionary atonement, which is not popular in Catholic circles.

[VeryTas]

(Others may want to amend what I say here.) I don't want to address any of your 4 specific points; those have always been a little foreign to me. How about the following as a Catholic viewpoint:
God became man to mercifully forgive our sins, to show that he would suffer and die to have us with him, and to provide the way for us to remain in him, our reverse-Adam. His body and blood, his resurrection, and his ascension are a pledge to us that he is able to raise us up on the last day. For our part in this process, in order to be raised and be with him in the end, we will need to suffer and (yes) die, and to each make up for our own sins.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I'm not sure what you mean by "make up for our own sins."

[VeryTas]

I don't mean forgive our own sins, but having been forgiven through Christ's sacrifice (applied to us especially through the sacraments of baptism, penance, and Eucharist), we still make reparation for them in this life or in purgatory.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Okay. Just checking