One of the most common misconceptions in modern Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself to absolve all of mankind's sins. In fact, nowhere in the Bible does it even say this. While a few broad elements of it are true, the overall notion is far from what fully transpired - and what the long-term effects really were. Most western churches do not preach this, but any Christian who is concerned with their spiritual well-being and afterlife should try to understand what exactly it was that Jesus was trying to achieve.
Christians know the basic story:
Jesus Christ, the son of God, was captured and hung on a cross for crucifixion. While he was up there, he took on all the sins of the world, which upset God but it freed everyone from sin. And then three days later on Easter morning he rose from the dead like nothing happened.
Again, certain elements of that story are true, while others....are a bit stretched. But many details are left out when this story is being taught.
Let's break down what really happened:
Jesus of Nazareth, known to his followers as the Christ and the Messiah, as well as the son of God, was gathering more influence in his travels through his teachings and miracles. This was starting to disturb not only the Romans, who controlled the land at the time, but the Hebrew elders and governors as well. Before long they were after him, and persecuting his followers along the way. Jesus knew he couldn't run forever, and couldn't keep allowing his people to be put in harm's way, so he decided he would turn himself in after the Last Supper. God was not aware of Jesus' plans.
Before the Last Supper, Jesus secretly met with the Devil, and made a deal with him. Jesus offered his soul temporarily to him to do with what he pleased, but after three days he was marching out of there with all of the previously damned souls who were trapped by the Original Sin. Up until that point, every child born was plagued with the Original Sin: the result of Samael tempting Eve eat the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3 and Ecclesiasticus 25:24). Every child, that is, except Mary, who was the Immaculate Conception, and why she was the Earthly mother of Christ. But every other soul born was going straight to Sheol when they died, unless they really found favor with God. Jesus set out to atone that and finally wipe that Original Sin clean once and for all, hence the deal that he made with the Devil. He knew his enemies were closing anyway, and if he had to die then he was going to make it worth it.
When the execution took place, and Jesus Christ hung on the cross dying, God was so disgusted and angry and saddened that he turned from him. This was when Jesus called out the famous words: "My Father! Why have thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). It's important here to also understand that God did not send Jesus to Earth to die. He was meant to restore the Hebrew faith and pave the way for humanity to stay close with God. So Jesus going behind his back was very upsetting, but not even God knew at that point what Jesus had in store.
There is not much record of what actually occurred during those three days, we only know that Christ descended into the Valley of Sheol, announced to the damned souls what the new deal was, and then he presumably gave himself over to the Devil. This event is known as the Harrowing of Hell. On the third day, as he had promised his followers, he rose from the dead, bringing those who were now worthy of Heaven out of Sheol as well. For a period of time, the dead walked the streets in rejoice of being freed from Hell (Matthew 27:53). Because of this act (and because Jesus is his son), he found favor with God again and was allowed to enter Heaven to rule beside him. And because of the deal Jesus had made with the Devil, no more souls would automatically be damned because of the Original Sin.
So when we come back to the point at hand, Jesus did not die for everyone's "sins". He died to negate the one Original Sin, but the deal is that you have to accept Christ as your savior (as in, saving you from that Original Sin) in order to receive the full benefit of that freedom. Any other sins that you accumulate along the way are your own, and that would be a separate private matter that you would have to work out with God when it comes time. To assume that Jesus died to forgive you of all of your sins would be false, in fact there may be things that he doesn't forgive you for. There is no guarantee, there's no rulebook that he plays by. All he did was sacrifice himself to set your slate clean at your birth, beyond that you control your destiny. And only God can forgive, not Jesus, he just is the path to God, so learning by his example and following his teachings is how you eventually get your sins absolved, his death alone can not atone you for everything.
It's important for Christians to grasp the full situation if this is what they choose to base the foundation of their belief upon. Most take for granted the vague story that is presented to them, but when you really take all of the details into account, and realize the gamble that Christ was taking by dealing with the Devil and going behind God's back to give himself to Hell, it creates a much deeper appreciation for the act, as well as a more thorough understanding of one of the religion's key principles. Being a Christian is not an automatic "Get Out of Hell Free" card, one needs to understand what truly happened, why it happened, and what it means for their own spiritual path to righteousness.
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