Penal Substitutionary Atonement Essential to the Gospel?

[aribell]

Penal Substitutionary Atonement: Adam sinned, and mankind fell through him. God, being a just God, can't just let us "get away" with our sin and forgive us, so there needs to be punishment. In order to satisfy His wrath, God poured it all out on His innocent Son, Christ, instead of on us. He was the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

Do you consider this view to be essential to the Gospel, meaning this particular articulation of Christ's sacrifice? If not, what do you think is an alternative view of the Cross and our redemption?

 

[Laela]

I think it goes beyond 'doctrine'

I firmly believe in Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jesus' death was a part of the covenant God struck with Man, when Abraham showed faith by offering his son as a lamb. God, in turn, offered Jesus as a lamb, so Man wouldn't have to suffer death/punishment to atone for his sins and transgressions. This blood covenant stems from Abraham and extends to his seed (those who become a part of this covenant by accepting Jesus). When Jesus said "It is Finished" on the cross, this was to say this covenant was sealed.

It is up to Man to choose Jesus in life or face punishment in the hereafter for rejecting Jesus. So yes, the Blood of Jesus, shed on the cross will atone us of all our sins. Everyday, every time we repent.

I don't believe in any alternative to this.

 

[aribell]

There's more diversity on this point within Christian history, tradition, and doctrine than I think we realize sometimes.

Isaiah 53:5
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

Jesus suffering for our sin doesn't have to mean that God's wrath was satisfied by punishing Him and making Him suffer instead of us. The Gospel can and has also been articulated something like this:

By sending Christ to earth as a man, the Father condemned Christ to death, the condemnation of man due to his sinful rebellion against God. Perfect God stepped into fallen world and subjected Himself to its wickedness and suffered the wages of sin (death), which were not His to suffer.

However, it was not His suffering which appeased God, but rather His righteousness and perfect obedience. He lived the perfect life that I could not live. He was wholly faithful and wholly obedient, and His death on the Cross perfected His obedience as a man, as there is no greater or fuller obedience that one can offer God besides the submission of one's entire life to Him--unto death. Jesus had to die in order to redeem man because in order to redeem man He had to live fallen man's life to the fullest and to the end, which includes death. Instead of avoiding it, instead of seeking His own will, He lived it, suffered it, and triumphed over it, the grave not being able to hold Him because of His perfect righteousness.

As a believer in Christ, I am not found righteous because Jesus was punished instead of me, but rather because just as I fell in the first Adam, in Christ the second Adam, I will be made whole. We can become part of the second Adam (Christ) by uniting ourselves to Him in faith. We as believers become His by acknowledging that our lives do not please God and that only Christ was able to please Him fully. Therefore, we look to Him, believe on Him, hide ourselves in Him, and await His coming again, when we will be raised to reign with Him, as His Bride, His Body, having been enveloped into Himself.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Penal Substitutionary Atonement: Adam sinned, and mankind fell through him. God, being a just God, can't just let us "get away" with our sin and forgive us, so there needs to be punishment. In order to satisfy His wrath, God poured it all out on His innocent Son, Christ, instead of on us. He was the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

Do you consider this view to be essential to the Gospel, meaning this particular articulation of Christ's sacrifice? If not, what do you think is an alternative view of the Cross and our redemption?

Yes, I believe it is essential. It is the truth that oftentimes people forget. Jesus took on himself what was due to us. Our punishment. It goes far beyond just the physical cross. We often see the cross and think, Jesus got up there, it was a dramatic and it was done.

He was INNOCENT. He hadn't done anything to wrong anyone during his whole life. He was punished by death and torment because of what we did, do, and will continue to do for eternity---sin. He was the perfect sacrifice. We can look at the historical aspect of sacrifice. It is the blood of the animal that was previously important for sacrificing. The blood is where the life is, it was shed to "cover" the sin.

Jesus's blood not only covers those who believe on him, but is actually washes the sin away so that God doesn't see it in us when we are like his son and followers and doers of His will. He sees the blood, the sacrifice. The purity of Christ.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I think it goes beyond 'doctrine'

I firmly believe in Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jesus' death was a part of the covenant God struck with Man, when Abraham showed faith by offering his son as a lamb. God, in turn, offered Jesus as a lamb, so Man wouldn't have to suffer death/punishment to atone for his sins and transgressions. This blood covenant stems from Abraham and extends to his seed (those who become a part of this covenant by accepting Jesus). When Jesus said "It is Finished" on the cross, this was to say this covenant was sealed.

It is up to Man to choose Jesus in life or face punishment in the hereafter for rejecting Jesus. So yes, the Blood of Jesus, shed on the cross will atone us of all our sins. Everyday, every time we repent.

I don't believe in any alternative to this.

It is a choice that we have to make. God's wrath is not upon those who believe in His son. But he still has wrath waiting for those who don't chose to believe. It is a choice. A sacrifice that we each must make to believe or not to believe and to follow or not to follow Christ's example and God's Word.