Atonement Part 2

            I last presented that I have long held to Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA) and presented a brief definition of other views. Here I begin by outlining from scripture the issue the various views are attempting to solve so that we can then see how they hold up as solutions to the problem. First a comment on the character of God. We have the following statements in Genesis and Psalms.

²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face. Psalm 89:14 (NKJV)

Genesis 18:25 has long been a comfort to me when I struggle with something regarding Yahweh’s character as I believe the answer to Abraham’s rhetorical question is a resounding Yes! The Judge of all the earth shall do right precisely because His throne is built upon righteousness and justice. Thus, in light of that idea, we look at sin and atonement.   

            In scripture Adam and Eve were given dominion over all of material creation and assigned the responsibility to steward it and basically expand Eden to fill the whole the earth (Gen. 1:26-28). Their subsequent sin affected all of creation given the dominion they possessed, hence the following statements from Paul.

¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Romans 8:19–22 (NKJV)

Sin affected all of creation and needed to be addressed, which beings us back to righteousness and justice being the foundation of Yahweh’s throne. Some have asked why Yahweh couldn’t simply forgive sin and start over. The answer is that to do so would be unjust, the sin had to be atoned for. This is where we find our more modern judicial phrase, ‘Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.’ Another aspect is that Were Yahweh to not deal with sin He would violate His own nature and cease to be just or good. As a result an animal was slain to create a ‘covering’ for Adam and Eve. Their sins were atoned for, covered, by blood being shed. This pattern continued from Genesis 3 right up to the time of Jesus. The blood of the innocent being shed to atone for the sins of the guilty. Paul addresses the history and the solution in Romans.

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 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, Romans 3:23–25 (NKJV)

            Paul presents a few points in this passage. The first is that we are all sinners, no exceptions. Second, we are justified when we place our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. Three that Jesus blood paid the price for our sins and that prior to His sacrifice they were passed over but never fully addressed. We see the necessity and reality of Christ’s sacrifice in the following passages.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4–6 (NKJV)

¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. ¹⁶ Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:13–19 (NKJV)

We see in the above passages that we all died and all need redemption and Isaiah prophesied Jesus ultimate sacrifice to redeem us, summed up in the phrase, ‘And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ This is PSA on display in scripture.

            In my next post I will look at how the other atonement theories relate to scripture and PSA.