How did Jesus pay for sin if he's not spending eternity in Hell?

The Penalty for sin:

The scriptures are clear that the person who dies without Christ will spend eternity in Hell. This happens for because all of mankind is sinful.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

That sin is inherited from our Adamic nature.

Romans 5:12 NKJV

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

The wages of that sin is death

Romans 6:23 NKJV

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

Physical death is a result of the curse, but the book of Revelation tells us that there is a second death beyond the physical for those who die apart from Christ.

Revelation 20:10–15 NKJV

10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

SO the penalty for all of mankind, who do not come to Christ for salvation is physical death and an eternity spent in hell.

So, the idea behind this question would be appropriate if Jesus was indeed just a man.

Jesus the God-Man.

The reason that Jesus did not have to spend an eternity in hell atoning for the sins of mankind is because he was not “just a man”\, he was both “fully God and fully man.” The God-Man.

As the second part of the trinity (Which is a doctrine we will be discussing in the coming weeks) took on flesh and lived among mankind, in the form of a man for roughly 33 1/3 years. But, he was unlike any other man ever born. While he had a physical body, His nature was that of God- holy, infinite and pure.

John 1:1–3 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:14 NKJV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

These verses tells us that Jesus is the eternal “Word of God” and as such He is “co-eternal” and “co-equal” with the Father. They also tell us that he took on human flesh and “dwelt” (tabernacled or tented, NIV- Made his home).

Paul tells us:

Colossians 2:9 NKJV

9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

If Jesus were just a man or only a man (with sin of His own), then His death wouldn’t/couldn't atone for His own sin, much less the sins of another. But, he wasn’t just a man; He is God in human flesh. This means then:

As a man, he can identify with men. Yet as a perfectly sinless man, he can atone for the sins of mankind.

As God, he can fully satisfy the wrath of God that our sins have incurred.

Sin against an perfectly holy and infinite God and therefor must be paid infinitely. That is why payment for our sin must be infinite.

There are only two options for infinite payment:

A finite creature (man) must pay for his sin for an infinite amount of time. (Eternity in Hell)

Or an infinite Being (Jesus) must pay for it once for all men for all time.

Only a divine Being could withstand the infinite wrath of a holy God against our sin. It requires an equally infinite Being as a substitute for mankind to satisfy God’s wrath. Jesus, as the God-man, is the only possible Savior.

Two key doctrines in relation to this:

There are two key terms as it relates to Jesus dying in our place and the benefit he achieved on out behlaf. Those two words are:

Propitiation

Expiation

Propitiation

This means that the death of Christ appeased or satisfied the wrath of God toward man thereby providing the way for sinful man to then be reconciled to God.

In the New Testament, the act of propitiation always refers to the work of God and not the sacrifices or gifts offered by man.

Hebrews 2:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

The word propitiation is used in several verses to explain what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross.

Romans 3:24–25 NKJV

24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

The only way for God’s wrath against sinful man to be appeased and for us to be reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

1 John 2:2 NKJV

2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Jesus’ propitiation on the cross is the only thing that can turn away God’s divine condemnation of sin.

Expiation (or Atonement)

Simply means- To cover sin and/or to cleanse sin. Reflects the idea that the negative and degrading effects of our in are removed through the grace of God by Christ.

This word does not appear in scripture but is used to describe the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

The work of Christ on the cross for us—the sin of all those who would ever believe in Christ was cancelled. That cancellation is eternal in its consequence, even though sin is still present in the temporal sense.

This means that we as believers are delivered from the penalty and power of sin, but not the presence of it.

Justification is the term for being delivered from the penalty of sin. This is a one-time act wherein the sinner is justified and made holy and righteous in the eyes of God who exchanged our sinful natures for the righteousness of Christ at the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Sanctification is the ongoing process whereby believers are delivered from the power of sin in their lives and are enabled by the new nature to resist and turn away from it.

Glorification is when we are removed from the very presence of sin, which will only occur once we leave this world and are in heaven.

Our justification, sanctification and glorification—are only made possible through the expiation or cancellation of sin.

Conclusion:

Aren’t you glad for the forgiveness we have in Christ and the gift of Salvation?