INTRODUCTION.
I would like to welcome everyone to the first "Sunday Class" session. What exactly is this? Simply put, it’s a modern Sunday School—an initiative I felt called to start after encouragement from a few DART members. Each Sunday, my aim is to address a significant topic within the Catholic Church or an ethical question relevant to today’s world. These may include challenges such as homosexuality or transgenderism. As Christians, we are called not to shy away from such matters but to engage them boldly and faithfully.
Let me preface this: I am not perfect. Like all of us, I am flawed and in need of God’s grace. This is a journey, and I ask for your patience as I learn alongside you. Think of this as a pilot episode or a beta test. I am bound to make mistakes, but my imperfections do not diminish the truth I hope to share. I encourage you to correct me charitably if I err and to pose genuine questions in the comments. However, understand I may not respond to argumentative comments. These posts are not meant to debate.
Lastly, I urge everyone to approach this with an open mind and heart. As C.S. Lewis said: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance." If these discussions help resolve obstacles to faith, they could lead you to the most significant decision of your life.
TOPIC.
Today's question is the following: "Why did God send Jesus to die for our sins which only continue to multiply when he could have removed sin once and for all?" This is a brilliant question asked by @Shila. Before addressing it, readers must understand the basic principles of Christianity. For those fairly versed in the faith, feel free to skip to the next section. However, for those who do not know much about Christianity, I encourage you to continue reading here.
God has given humans a "code of conduct" which we are called to follow, a set of rules. For example, He tells us not to murder or steal (Exodus 20:13-15). A sin is deviance from these laws and an offense against God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines sin as the following: "Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."" (CCC 1849). Sin is not just breaking a rule—it is a rupture in our relationship with God, who is the source of life itself. This separation from God naturally results in death, both physical and spiritual. As St. Paul says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23).
As a general rule of thumb, everyone has sinned at one point or another. In Christian theology, Jesus Christ, who is God Himself, chose to take on the punishment Himself to atone for the sins you and I have commited.
ANSWER.
Now that we understand the basic framework of Christianity, we can begin to tackle the question more intimately. To remind all readers, the question posed was "Why did God send Jesus to die for our sins which only continue to multiply when he could have removed sin once and for all?"
There is a fundamental misunderstanding in the question above. We must understand the nature of God. God is infinitely just: "The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he" (Deuteronomy 32:4; cf. Psalm 7:11). Because God is infinitely just, it is against His nature to simply "remove sin" without just consequences. Furthermore, in order to "remove sin once and for all," God would need to remove what makes us different: our free will. It is our free will that enables us to choose to sin or choose to uphold God's commandments. God gave us free will as a result of love. God created us for love, and love cannot exist without freedom. To love God, we must be free to choose Him rather than being forced. God knew that free will would allow for the possibility of sin because humans could misuse their freedom by choosing against Him. This is what happened with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, the alternative—creating beings incapable of moral choice—would negate the possibility of love and virtue. God deemed it better to create beings with the capacity for both great good and great evil than to create beings without the capacity for choice. St. Augustine addressed this when he wrote: "For God judged it better to bring good out of evil than not to permit any evil to exist" (Enchiridion, Chapter 8).
To answer the second part of the question ("Why did God send Jesus to die for our sins?"), we need to understand a crucial concept. The question is framed very ambiguously. Specifically when it states "Why did God send Jesus." I find that this presupposes that Jesus is not God Himself. A better phrasing would be, "Why did God the Father send God the Son to die for our sins?" This delves within the dogma of the Holy Trinity, the teaching that there are three distinct Persons within the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are all God but not each other. In order to preemtively address confusion, allow me to give an analogy to visualize this concept. The Trinity is like the sun: God the Father is like the sun itself, Jesus is like the light that illuminates the sun and creation, and the Holy Spirit is like the heat from the sun which warms and affects creation. However, this analogy could be interpreted to be heretical (Arianism), as it could be said that the light and heat are bi-products or creations from the sun. In the end, all analogies, metaphors, and illustrations break down. There is no 1:1 comparison with a triune God. All analogies fall short because the Trinity is a divine mystery.
Even if you do not understand the Trinity, the one thing to remember while answering this question is that Jesus is God. The reason He came down to die for our sins is quite simple: He did that out of His boundless love for us, desiring to restore the broken relationship between humanity and God, to free us from the bondage of sin and death, and to offer us the gift of eternal communion with Him, reflecting the infinite depth of God’s mercy and the value He places on each soul.
SUMMARY.
In summary, the question "Why did God send Jesus to die for our sins which only continue to multiply when he could have removed sin once and for all?" is ultimately a question about love. God gave us free will out of love, knowing it would make sin possible but also make true love achievable. In His infinite mercy and justice, God did not abandon us to the consequences of sin but entered into our brokenness through Jesus Christ. The Cross is the ultimate expression of divine love—a love so profound that Jesus bore the penalty of sin to restore our relationship with Him. Though sin still exists, God offers us the grace to overcome it, inviting each of us into a loving, eternal communion with Him. He desperately wants this love to be reciprocated, and I invite all readers to reflect on God's infinite love. Even if you were the only person to have ever sinned, He would still sacrifice Himself in order to free you from the penalty of sin.
CLOSING REMARKS.
This marks this end of the first Sunday School. Thanks to all readers for bearing with me until the end. I would appreciate feedback in the comments to understand what I could imrpove on next week. If there are any questions regarding the explenations, feel free to address me in the comments.
