Did God have to save us? Let me ask this, if someone was attacking my family would I have to try to save them? That's the wrong kind of question to ask because it is a given that I would do anything I could to save them. Why do we think God is different? Why do we think, "God didn't have to save us" or "we don't deserve to be saved?" If someone you loved were in danger would you think, "They don't deserve to be saved but I'll save them anyway because I love them." Does love think that way at all?
When we think humans are unworthy of salvation we are looking at humanity through the lens of sin, we are determining the value of mankind based on their behaviors. Jesus came to reverse that kind of thinking. That is what the poorly translated phrase "repent & believe" meant, "Change your mind regarding sin trumping God's love. God's love for you trumps your sin! Trust Him!" If we look at humanity through the eyes of Jesus He had no question of, "Do I have to save them Father?" He came to "save the world." Jesus wasn't thinking on the cross, "They sure are unworthy of what I'm doing for them." The love God has for humanity makes them worthy. Love gives worth to that which lacks value. There are objects that we treasure that wouldn't be worth a few bucks if we tried to sell them. When you treasure something that makes it valuable, that makes it worth saving. When you deeply treasure something you'll do whatever it takes to save it.
So stop looking at humanity through the lens of sin, behavior, & performance in regards to doing good & evil. Doing so will also make you devalue people. You cannot imagine how much God loves & values every person to ever live in this world. Jesus took away the sins of the world so sin would not stand in the way of His love & our opportunity to receive it. Look at humanity through the eyes of Jesus where everyone is a treasure valuable enough, worthy enough, & deserving enough to go through the uttermost suffering for to save. Yes, God absolutely had to save us, it was never a question because that's what love does.
We take a verse like, "the wages of sin is death" & say, "See, 1 sin makes you deserve death in God's eyes." Hold on there partner.. that says the wages OF SIN is death, not “the wages OF GOD is death if you sin.” Our shame over ourselves & our distaste for others makes us want to devalue mankind so badly that you rarely ever see even that whole verse quoted, “The wages of sin is death but the free gift OF GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God doesn't want to kill you because of your sin. Sin kills & God wants to give you an everlasting life eternally protected from sin & death. Let me repeat that, God does not want to kill anyone because of their sin. God wants to save everyone from their sin because He loves everyone.
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