Misc Questions Relating to Salvation

Why does Christianity teach that Christ has paid the penalty for our sins? Isn't this unfair since one should be accountable for his actions and not rely solely on another person to save him.

There was a story about a young woman who was caught for speeding. She was brought to court where the judge pronounced a fine of $100. After that, the judge did a surprising thing. He got down from his chair and walked down to pay the fine. You see, the judge was the girl's father. But being a judge, he has to be just and pronounce the sentence. But because he loves his daughter, he is willing to take the punishment himself.

No one listening to this story would think that it is unfair for a father to pay for his daughter's fine. The fine has to be paid and it is perfectly normal for a loving parent to want to help out his child if it is within his capacity.

Why does Christianity teach that salvation is a gift and yet it requires us to do one thing, that is believe?

The fact that salvation is a gift itself requires some kind of believe. Supposing I give you a watch. Will the watch ever become yours until you believe that I am serious about giving you the watch and not joking. If you do not believe that I am serious, you would probably walk away without having received the watch.

Or imagine that a prison warden tell a prisoner one day that he is free to go. Will the prisoner ever be free unless he is willing to believe the warden and walk out that door. If he does not believe, he will forever be in that cell even though the warden has unlocked the door. Similarly, we are prisoners of our own sin and even though Jesus has set us free, we need to believe before that freedom can be ours.

What happens to babies who have died?

See Study on “Original Sin