I Needed Someone Bad To Die For Me

His name was Macmac and we were in the midst of our 5+ hour conversation when he lifted up his shirt and showed me his tattoo on his back. It was a picture of a demon savior dying on the cross. (Picture Below) It was a design he had drawn up for his friend to tat.He was a Christian and so I asked him the meaning of this and he said, “Jesus is good. And because I am bad, Jesus couldn’t have died for me. Good can only die for good. And bad can only die for bad.

So I needed someone bad to die for me. That’s why I put this demon up on this cross.” I was so confused, I had to ask him a few more times to explain it again to make sure I had heard him correctly. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like this before.The Bible actually speaks about this very thing in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, the good died for the bad!

The Bible doesn’t say that the good died for “good” people. In fact, the bible says the opposite when it says, “all have sinned”. Therefore, every single person is “bad”! And if every single person is bad then every single person has that “bad” within them that needs redeeming! So the good didn’t die for the good! The good died for the bad!

Macmac then went on to share that he has been changing his life because he doesn’t want his children to have the same bad habits and sins as he had. He wanted to break the cycle! He then went on to share that he wanted to go back to church but he needed to get his life in order first, BEFORE he went to church.

We have moved again and are currently living in the Philippines on the island of Leyte. Now you may say to yourself, “well yeah, that’s how people think in developing countries like that”. But hold on! I wish I could say that this belief is not true in the more developed countries as well. In my experiences from pastoring in the United States, as well as in my travels across America and in other developed nations around the world, I’ve had too many conversations with people who have told me that “I’ll come back to God when I get my life in order”, or “I’ll come to church when I change my ways”. Or even, “if I go to church, the walls will fall down”.

Now let’s think about these statements for a moment. If you believe that you have to change before you come to God or before you come to church, or that you are so bad that you cannot come to God then what you are really saying is that only a good person can come to a good God! And if this is true, then you believe that a good God only loves, accepts and died for the good! The good only died for the good!

Now although this belief may not be directly taught in our churches, it certainly has been implied! In addition, the message that you have to get your life in order before you come to God or the church is clearly understood by a lot of people in the world. Whether they were told this directly or whether it was implied, the message is still loud and clear!
But the Bible clearly says that while we were yet sinners, in sin and not yet out of sin, Christ loved us and died for us! The good died for the bad! We don’t change and then come to God! We come to God as we are, see His love for us, and then that Love changes us!

The very definition of “grace” means, ‘unmerited favor’ or ‘a blessing that is underserved’. Grace is dying for the bad when they don’t deserve it! Grace is loving the sinner while they are still bad! Grace is blessing the sinner while they are still messing up! This is grace! This is the blessings of God given to all those who don’t deserve it!

Now you may think that these wrong beliefs may only affect our relationship with God! But no, our wrong understanding of God will also negatively affect how we treat our spouses, how we treat our children and how we treat our family, friends and neighbors. And if we are having a hard time getting along with our family, friends and neighbors then that is a sign that our picture of God is off!

You see, if I believe that I have to be good first before I come to God, then I will treat my spouse the same way. I will then expect them to change first and be good first before I treat them nicely! For if they become good, then I can treat them good. But as long as they are bad, then I can treat them bad! Be good and I will bless you, but be bad and there is no grace for you! This unhealthy mindset has wrecked so many marriages and has brought about so much bitterness amongst spouses today!
Also, if we believe we must be good before we come to God we will also treat our children in the same way. If I must be good first before I can be connected with God, then my children need to be good first and do what I want them to do first, before I give them my love and affection. If they don’t do what I say, then I will become angry at them or pull away my affection and connection from them!

We are the representatives of God to our children! Think of the emotional damage that this conditional love does to a child who believes that ‘dad or mom only loves me when I do what they want’! And also think of the “God trauma” that they may experience in believing that ‘God’s love is conditional upon me having to be good first, before I am loved by God’!
As I shared with Macmac, the good news is that the good did die for the bad before the bad changed! The good did love the bad before the bad reformed! And the good did bless the bad even before the bad performed one good thing!

This is the “real” gospel or the “true” ‘good news’! That the good died for the bad! That God sent His son Jesus (who is good) to die for you and me (who are bad)! What a beautiful truth!

And no, the good didn’t die for the good! And you don’t need the bad to die for the bad! All you need to believe is that the good died for the bad! And that Jesus died for you!
I believe that He died for me, the bad! How about you?!

—Keala