Atonement

Atonement has always been a bloody subject – going all the way back to Genesis 3 when God gave Adam and Eve animal skins to cover their nakedness.  Animals died – their blood shed.  Sacrifices occurred very early on – as seen in Genesis 4 with the story of Cain and Abel’s sacrifices.  But further into the story of God’s people Israel, after the Exodus out of Egypt and slavery, God institutes the sacrificial system. The center of the tabernacle, and later the temple was an altar covered with blood.  Imagine how many animals were sacrificed every day for different reasons – how much blood was shed.  Think of the Day of Atonement – that’s a river of blood shed.  You cannot atone for death’s curse without borrowing life from another.  That’s why the people had to bring a spotless, unblemished, pure 1 year old lamb to be sacrificed.  That animal took their place and died to atone for their sins.  And in these sacrifices – the people and the Old Testament looked forward to the Messiah who would save them from all their sins.

Millard J Erickson says that the Old Testament points toward PSA. “The Hebrew word most commonly used in the Old Testament for the various types of atonement is ‘kaphar’ and its derivatives. The word literally means ‘to cover’. One was delivered from punishment by the interposing of something between one’s sin and God. God then saw the atoning sacrifice rather than the sin. The covering of the sin meant that the penalty no longer had to be exacted from the sinner.” [1]

Israel was waiting for a King who would bring them back into God’s presence. But Jesus came to do so much more!  He, the God-Man, is also the Priest – a Priestly King.  He will not only offer the sacrifice – He will also BE the sacrifice.  He makes amends for our sins and mends what is broken in the world.

But let’s back up a bit. Forgiveness. Here’s the facts: God didn’t have to forgive us. He wasn’t told to; He wasn’t forced to. He isn’t required to forgive us – simply because He is completely other! But He did.  What we all deserved is an eternity in hell to suffer God’s righteous judgment.

We owe a debt that’s insurmountable.  We aren’t able to atone for our sins. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were inadequate. In order to absolve the debt we owed – God needed to take the initiative. The only way for forgiveness to be offered to us was for Jesus Christ – the God-Man – to be our substitute and take the wrath of God on himself – the punishment we deserved.  He was the Perfect Lamb of God.  Unspoiled, unblemished, pure.  Sinless.  Jesus went to the cross willingly and obediently.  Luke 24: 25-26 – Jesus is walking and talking with disciples on the road to Emmaus. They expressed deep dismay over Jesus’s death. And Jesus says to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into His glory?”    It was necessary. Christ submitted to the will of His Father.

Since Jesus is God, we can also say that God poured out His wrath on Himself. He took His controlled expression of justice on Himself, as a willing participant; it was a voluntary act of love. Our salvation is a Trinitarian act. God the Father pours out His just wrath on His Son Jesus Christ.  Referring to God the Father, Paul says, “For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

This is what the eternal, infinite God head decided upon prior to the beginning of the world! The Father and the Son work together to accomplish salvation. It’s important to understand that Jesus is not the victim of an angry Father. He knew what was coming in his life on earth. He did all of it willingly for us. John 10:18: “No one takes it {his life} from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”  It’s why He came! John 12: 27-28: “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, I glorify your name!”

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

PSA.  Christ, in his death, offers the perfect sacrifice.  But why penal?

Substitute

How does the New Testament speak of Jesus as our substitute? Let’s start there. It is important to note that the writers of the NT use OT terminology to describe Christ’s substituting work. Let’s look at some Bible passages:

1 Peter 2:24 “‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ “

1 John 2:2 “He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

1 John 4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world in John 1:29.

Romans 8:3 “For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.”  The sin offering was to cover sins committed by the people – an animal took the punishment that the person who came with a lamb deserved.  Jesus is the final sin offering – the final punishment. The final substitute.

Penal Substitution

Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’”  This may be one of the central verses for penal substitutionary atonement.  We – who broke God’s law, who disobeyed Him, who hated Him- were recipients of curses from the Old Testament.  In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 God lays out the blessings and curses for Israel based on whether they obeyed Him or disobeyed Him.  Depending on the translation, the word “punish” does occur several times. Those curses were punishments.  Not consequences.  Punishment.  You could argue discipline instead of punishment, yet the fact remains, the people will experience severe chastisement for disobeying Yahweh.  In Hebrews 9, the concept of penal substitutionary atonement is discussed within the picture of the OT sacrificial system, where an innocent animal was offered in sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. 

Caroline Smiley says, “Once we have been cursed with death (in Adam), the only way out is by borrowing the life of another.”  [2] Thus the whole sacrificial system of the OT was fulfilled by Christ on our behalf.

The NT affirms that Christ’s death was a substitutionary ransom.  Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Erickson explains that the concept of “ransom” implies a substitute and payment. “The word “Lutron” (ransom) with its cognates is used nearly 140x in the Septuagint, usually with the thought of deliverance from some sort of bondage in exchange for the payment of compensation or the offering of a substitute.”  Christ himself said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Our substitute! And this ransom – what Christ did for us, he declared “It is finished” on the cross.  Although we don’t really say that the ransom was paid to God the Father, we know that the penalty for sin was paid by Christ and received and accepted by God the Father. It was God’s wrath that was dealt with at the cross.

Jesus Christ died for you and me as our substitute.  For our sin he died. This is what’s normally called “The Great Exchange.”  We give Christ our sin….and he, amazingly, gives us his righteousness! “The word ‘justification’ (Greek dikaiosis) is a legal term, referring to being declared judicially not guilty.” [3]] What does Paul write in Romans 8:1?  Memorize this! “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Say it again. There is NO CONDEMNATION for those in Christ Jesus – through faith! Great Exchange? How about Magnificent, Stupendous, Utterly Amazing Exchange?

There are two technical terms that describe PSA.

Expiation: taking the guilt (of sin) away from someone; the work of making right a wrong.

Propitiation: turning away of God’s wrath by the sacrifice Christ offered – the satisfactory payment.

Propitiation

It is good to just parse out propitiation.  Romans 3:25 says “…Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”  Grudem states, “propitiation….a word that means “a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath to the end and in so doing changes God’s wrath toward us into favor.” [4]

Christ does both. He takes away God’s wrath from us through an “acceptable” sacrifice and thus takes away our guilt. Propitiation was the sacrificial system of the OT, but the guilt was not taken away – hence they had to sacrifice again and again and again! Through Christ’s work we receive both.

Those who are opposed to PSA usually say this: “Why would a good, loving God have to take out His wrath on His creation?”  Some will say that “PSA is the idea that the Father unleashed His wrath on Christ on the cross to satisfy His need for blood for forgiveness.”  They will argue that God didn’t punish Christ – that our death, and thus Jesus’s death – was a consequence of our disobedience.  When Adam sinned and death came into the world, death wasn’t punishment but was a consequence.  They interpret Genesis 2:17 “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”, that death is not a punishment – after all, God didn’t say He would kill Adam when he eats the fruit – God didn’t say that He would punish Adam, only that he will die.  It’s a result of Adam’s action, not a punishment inflicted by God.

So, we can ask “Is death a punishment or a consequence of Adam’s sin?”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death is a penalty or the “wages” we earned and that is deserved for sin! 

Answer?  It’s both. God’s justice necessitated a punishment for the sin committed and death serves as that just consequence.  Death is the punishment.

‘Why would a good, loving God have to take out His wrath on His creation?”

We need to answer this question first: Who is God?  Pure, Righteous, Just, Holy, Holy, Holy. Next: Who are we?  Sinners.  We forget!  We look at sin and punishment from a purely human perspective, instead of in light of God’s holiness. We want to underestimate our sin, call them blunders and mistakes.   We forget that sin is abhorrent to our transcendent, totally other, infinite God. That his justice demands punishment.  That’s why.  And when you consider why God would do that – doesn’t it make you bow down in complete awe and fear of Him?  Doesn’t your heart swell to contemplate that the Father sent His eternal Son whom He loved with an infinite and perfect love to suffer, to take the punishment we deserved?  He knew we couldn’t take His wrath. We would be obliterated. But Jesus – as God Himself – He could withstand it, and he did.  He bore the wrath I deserved.

Detractors of PSA will also pit propitiation and expiation against each other.  They say that PSA ONLY allows for propitiation.  The Greek is “hilasterion” which means “to make favorable”.  Grudem translates the Greek verb as “hilaskomai” and the noun “hilasmos”. They equate it to placating or appeasing the deity. And true. Three Scriptures (Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10) that speak of propitiation give the sense of “a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God – and thereby makes God propitious (or favorable) toward us.” [5] This simply means that Jesus bore the wrath of  God against sin.  Those who deny PSA suggest that expiation doesn’t fit with PSA.  Expiation implies a cleansing and removal of sin.  That Christ’s work was to (only) lovingly redeem us and restore humanity. But it’s not an either/or situation.  It’s a both/and.  We need for Christ to turn God’s wrath away from us to himself to pay the debt we owed AND be cleansed of the guilt we had.  Both together is how Christ redeemed and restored us.  It is with utter and perfect love that he did this.  It wasn’t a coercive act of the Father – it was a planned upon, mutually agreed upon solution to the horror of sin. 

PSA is the central work of Christ on the cross. Grudem says, “…it is the heart of the doctrine of the atonement. It means that there is an eternal, unchangeable requirement in the holiness and justice of God that sin be paid for.” [6] Atonement itself is multifaceted, like a diamond is.  There are many different angles to our salvation.  Remember that the definition for atonement is “the work Christ did in his life and death to earn our salvation.” Many of the other theories of the atonement are facets of it.  Christ obeyed where Adam sinned.  Christ succeeded where Adam failed. He restored what was lost. Our sins are an affront to the honor and dignity of God because He is totally other, thus Christ substituted to satisfy or correct God’s honor being defiled.  Jesus is our perfect example of how to obey God – and yes, we are to be imitators.   But why would Jesus have to go through all that suffering if the atonement was only about learning perfect obedience from his sacrifice? 

In these other theories that sound more palatable than punishment, there is an over-emphasis on God’s love while minimizing His justice and holiness.  We’re told that our main problem is our view of God as a fearful God, not our sins. Nothing in God’s nature needs payment for our sin – He loves us unconditionally, right? On the cross, Jesus did show us the full extent of God’s love.  But the content of that love was penal substitution.  There was a purpose to Christ’s death on the cross that was about more than love.  Jesus dealt with God’s wrath on that cross.  “Penal substitution captures the heart of the atonement, for we see in the atoning sacrifice of Christ both the love and justice of God.” [7]

PSA shows us who we are by nature: sinners. Our core condition is total depravity. We were dead in our sins. We are sinners in need of repentance and salvation. And thanks be to God for the grace and mercy He extended to us through Christ’s atoning work on the cross!  Grace and mercy that gives us undeserved forgiveness. Grace and mercy that sees our sin imputed to Christ, and his righteousness imputed to us. Grace and mercy to know that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Hallelujah!

Grace and Peace!

[1]          Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology: Second Edition; taken from the website “Evidence                Unseen.com, author James Rochford.

[2]          Caroline Smiley, course “Knowing Christ: Atonement”, through Proclaim Collective

[3]          Rochford, James; article “Defending Penal Substitutionary Atonement” on the website “EvidenceUnseen.com.

[4]          Grudem, Wayne: Systematic Theology, pp. 575

[5]          Grudem, Wayne: Systematic Theology, pp. 575

[6]          Grudem, Wayne: Systematic Theology, pp. 575

[7]          Schreiner, Thomas: Substitutionary Atonement – An Essay,  The Gospel Coalition

Other resources:

Penal Substitutionary Atonement Theory – A Sad Substitute; liveorthodoxy.com

The Evil That Stuns Heaven – article by John Piper

Substitutionary Atonement – An Essay by Thomas Schreiner; The Gospel Coalition

The Problem Isn’t Hell – It’s Our Understanding of Justice; substack “Crook and Psalter”