Substitutionary Atonement

At the core of Fundamentalist/Modernist controversies was conflict over Creator/Created, supernatural/earthly, and nature of humanity: Was Darwin right that mankind is evolving toward greater good? Or was Orthodox Christianity correct that mankind is intrinsically fallen due to sin?

On the East Coast Harvard (Unitarians) and Yale (Congregationalists) pummeled the Presbyterians at Princeton toward “progress”. On the West Coast the non-denominational BIOLA became a Fundamentalist beachhead against the Congregational drift at Fuller Seminary. In the Midwest, John D. Rockefeller’s wealth resourced University of Chicago liberals to deride the beliefs of A.C. Dixon, a Baptist with ties to D.L. Moody in the US and C.H. Spurgeon in England.

Conflict arose over the idea of believing what man had been told versus progressing toward a new idealism. The modernist espoused ideas that the Fundamentalists couldn’t swallow. The progressives claimed the Bible had errors. Jesus was merely human, and mankind really isn’t that bad.

The modernists desired to promote man and demote God. The Fundamentalists were bent on exalting God and recognizing the sinfulness of man.

Transition: If mankind is not as bad or guilty of sin than we have been told, then what exactly was accomplished when Jesus died on that Cross?

A Virtual Smorgasbord (Proverbs 19:21)

4 Impacts of the Crucifixion

1. Satan (Luke 20:43)

Luke 20:43 (ESV) — until I make your enemies your footstool.” claims Jesus’ enemies would become his footstool)

2. God (1 John 4:10)

1 John 4:10 (ESV) — In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Eph 1:4 – God chose before the foundation of the Earth that humans would be made right in Christ

3. Humanity (Isa 53:5)

Isaiah 53:5 (ESV) — But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

4. You (Titus 3:7)

Titus 3:7 (ESV) — so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

8 Counterfeit ideas

Proverbs 19:21 ESV:2016

21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

The Ransom Theory. In this view, the atonement was payment made by God to Satan, because Satan held mankind in bondage to sin and death.

The Satisfaction Theory.This view of the atonement sets God’s justice or honor against man’s immense sin debt. The satisfaction view is a reaction against the ransom view. Anselm argued that it was not to Satan but to God that man’s sin debt was owed.

Christus Victor argues that “the work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil” (Christus Victor, p. 20). Instead of payment to Satan or to God, the death of Christ is seen as a conquest in a cosmic conflict.

The Scapegoat Theory. In this theory, communal tension that would otherwise erupt in violence is dissipated by redirecting that violence toward a scapegoat.

This theory plays out in the movie The Green Mile. All the ugliness that creates conflict or sadness gets transferred to John Cofey so that others can get along.

The Governmental Theory. In the governmental view, Jesus did not pay a penalty for human sin; instead, at the cross he made a display of God’s displeasure with sin. When we discover how much God is displeased with sin, it is up to us to eliminate our sinful choices.

Theosis. The cross makes theosis possible by its great act of transfiguration from death to life. If death can give way to life, then humanity can give way to deity.

The Moral Influence Theory. In this view, man’s greatest need is not to be reconciled to God; rather, man needs an ultimate moral example, and Christ provides this via his self-giving life and death.

The Solidarity Theory.This view argues that Christ at the cross identified with humanity’s suffering and overcame it. In doing so, he brought humanity into a new way of living according to divine justice. This view most resembles Christus Victor.

1 Biblical Understanding (Hebrews 9:11-15)

Penal Substitution. The word “penal” refers to the divine penalty enacted at the cross. This penalty is more than payment for sin to God (though it is that); it is also the site at which God expended his wrath against human sin. God can be just and the justifier of the ungodly because Christ was our substitute on the cross: he paid sin’s penalty. By his sacrificial death he “cancel[ed] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands” (Col 2:14). Our sin, in this view, is imputed to Christ, and his righteousness is imputed to us.

Today’s Reading informs us that:

Hebrews 9:11–15 ESV:2016

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Jesus’ death is not animal for human, or ordinary human for human, but perfect human for humanity. (v.11)

Jesus’ death is not annual, or until the next sacrament, it is “once for all”. (v.12)

This is why most churches in the protestant tradition display a cross without the body of Christ (unadorned)

Jesus’ death doesn’t only cover sins (as with animal sacrifices), it purifies the human soul (vv.13-14)

Jesus’ death is the promised inheritance (eternal, not everlasting) that redeems from sin. (v.15)

Application

Our thoughts about the crucifixion need to be based upon Scripture, not man’s ideas.

Transition: Let’s drill a little deeper into that idea that the death of Christ was a payment for sin to God.

Expiation & Propitiation

Expiation: God’s Holy Justice (Romans 3:26)

Romans 3:26 ESV:2016

26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Righteousness - God is perfect and otherly holy from anything created.

Mercy - yet God is intimately and intricately kind toward that which He created.

Too many people think of God like a buffet, a pizza or a stew, where you can pick off what you don’t like, or stir the pot and serve yourself more of the pieces that you do like. The attributes of God are intertwined like a bisque or a blended soup—each interaction (taste) of the true God includes all of His attributes in combination.

In theology we talk about the simplicity of God. Simplicity in this manner is not “easy to understand”, rather it mean “can’t be divided”. Much like a prime number in Mathematics. I was taught that a Prime number is any number that cannot be divided by another whole number with the result being a whole number. [4 can be divided into 2, 2s, but 3, 5, 7 and so forth can’t be divided into halves, thirds, or quarters that are whole numbers].

God’s Justice is both fully Righteous and fully merciful, it cannot be divided.

For God to forgive sin without expiation (satisfying of righteous demands) would be impossible. He cannot simply turn a blind eye and remain Holy Just.

Propitiation: God’s Gracious Favor (Psalm 65:3)

Psalm 65:3 ESV:2016

3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

A clever acronym for the difference between mercy and grace is: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God chooses to bless His creation with His own riches as no cost to the recipient, but with Christ having paid the full value.

Adoption as Full heirs (Gal 4:1,7) – God doesn’t just set up a “trust fund” that we can access at a later time, He adopts us with full rights as family.

Galatians 4:1-7 (ESV) —...the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything... 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son...so that we might receive adoption as sons.... 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Some have mistakenly pictured the Gospel as the act of God throwing us a life ring so that we can swim to shore, or throwing a life ring with a rope so that as long as we hold on he will pull us to shore. The missing piece of these illustrations is that according to Scripture we are not just drowning in our sins, we are dead in our sins!

Application

Jesus comes to us, lifts us to the deck of the boat, resuscitates us and transports us on a luxurious yacht with a full military escort to our final port.

Transition: I believe the Gospel is a rescue operation! We are saved even if we do not realize the extent to which we are lost. If a drowning swimmer doesn’t convince you of the beauty of the atonement, perhaps a visit to a courtroom may enlighten our understanding.

Crime & Punishment (1 Peter 3:18)

1 Peter 3:18 ESV:2016

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

The Crime - Our Sin (Isa 53:6a)

Isaiah 53:6 (ESV:2016)

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;

As most of us have made special attempts to stay in conditioned air, many of our Ranchers and Cowboys have been preparing to ship cattle. On Facebook Lawrence and Phyllis’ son Garret has become somewhat famous for a photo he took a couple weeks back of the act of Cowboys rounding up strays. While Isaiah spoke in the context of sheep flocks, we are more familiar with cattle herds. There is something instinctive about cattle that make them desire the grass that is NOT in the pasture in front of them. They wander off in pursuit of that which they think will better satisfy or be more comfortable. Brother Ray was even telling me that a few of his head got into a pasture of Bison, and Bison and Beef don’t get along too well with each other. With no evil intent, just following their instinct, livestock wander off. Isaiah says all humans do the same thing!

The Punishment – His Sacrifice (Isa 53:6b-7)

Isaiah goes on to tell, what Paul Harvey would call, the rest of the story...

Isaiah 53:6–7 (ESV:2016)

...the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

A young boy with little education was asked to give his testimony before being baptized. He proceeded to tell the congregation, “Well in my case both Jesus and I did our part. My part was to do the sinning. His part was to do the saving!”

Conclusion:

The crucifixion and resurrection is WAY more than a Spring story of coming out of dormancy; It is more than eggs, chicks and chocolate bunnies; The Christ event is more than a metaphor for the cosmic battle between good and evil.

It is the literal transfer of my sin to a sinless Savior who willingly and with premeditation paid the penalty so that any who would repent and believe could become heirs of God.

We are about to commemorate that event with a meal that was instituted by Christ Himself as bread and wine symbolize His sacrifice.

I invite you to personalize that sacrifice and confess any and all sin that the Spirit brings to your remembrance as we sing:

Song of Response.... “His Mercy is More” Benediction: