All
orthodox theories of the atonement fall into three or four main categories
(depending on how sharply you separate moral influence from the example theory),
and the four arms of the cross supplies a handy model for remembering them:
The
cross is aimed:
1.
Downward, toward Satan: The early church emphasized this Christus Victor aspect
of the cross, which said Jesus died to defeat Satan, who held the power of sin
and death (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8).
Colossians
2:9-15New Living Translation (NLT)
9
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.[a] 10 So you also
are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler
and authority.
11
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical
procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your
sinful nature.[b] 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.
And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power
of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet
cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14
He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing
it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed[c] the spiritual rulers and
authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Hebrews
2:14-18New Living Translation (NLT)
14
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also
became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by
dying could he break the power of the devil, who had[a] the power of death. 15
Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to
the fear of dying.
16
We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the
descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in
every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,[b] so that he could be our
merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice
that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone
through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
1
John 3:4-10New Living Translation (NLT)
4
Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of
God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin
in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who
keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
7
Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is
right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But
when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has
been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works
of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a
practice of sinning, because God’s life[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on
sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are
children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live
righteously and does not love other believers[b] does not belong to God.
2.
Upward, toward God: Popularized by Anselm and Calvin, penal substitution
explained that Jesus satisfied the Father's wrath by bearing our penalty in our
place (Romans 3:25-26; Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).
Romans
3:23-26New Living Translation (NLT)
23
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that
we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the
penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.
People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his
life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he
held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was
looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God
did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and
he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Galatians
3:10-14 New Living Translation (NLT)
10
But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his
curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey
all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”[a] 11 So it is
clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the
Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[b] 12
This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is
through obeying the law that a person has life.”[c]
13
But Christ has rescued us from the curse
pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the
curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is
everyone who is hung on a tree.”[d] 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has
blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we
who are believers might receive the promised[e] Holy Spirit through faith.
2
Corinthians 5:17-21English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ
reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that
is, in Christ God was reconciling[b] the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We
implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God.
1
John 2:1-2English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
Christ
Our Advocate
2
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1
John 4:9-15English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son
into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 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. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us
and his love is perfected in us.
13
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of
his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be
the Saviour of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of
God, God abides in him, and he in God.
3.
Sideways, toward us: Abelard, a contemporary of Anselm, said the cross provides
a moral influence by showing us how much God loves us (1 John 3:16; 4:7-12;
Romans 5:8). Socinians and liberal Christians said the cross is merely a human
Jesus providing a moral example that inspires us to love and trust God. Though
Socinians and liberals wrongly deny Jesus' deity, they rightly note that on the
cross Jesus "suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you might
follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21). The moral influence and example
theory differ on whether the action on the cross is moving from God to us or
from us to God, but they agree that its effect is on the human person rather
than on God or the devil.
1
John 3:4-10 & 16 English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
4
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practises lawlessness; sin is
lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is
no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on
sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive
you. Whoever practises righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been
sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy
the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for
God's[a] seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been
born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are
the children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of
God, nor is the one who does not love his brother….
16
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brothers.
1
John 4:7-12New Living Translation (NLT)
Loving
One Another
7
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.
Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not
love does not know God, for God is love.
9
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world
so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that
we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away
our sins.
11
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and
his love is brought to full expression in us.
Romans
5:6-11New Living Translation (NLT)
6
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for
us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright
person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is
especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die
for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in
God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s
condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of
his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the
life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship
with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
1
Peter 2:21-25 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Christ
Is Our Example
21
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin,
nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 [a]and while being reviled, He did
not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept
entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself [b]bore our
sins in His body on the [c]cross, so that we might die to [d]sin and live to
righteousness; for by His [e]wounds you were healed. 25 For you were
continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and
[f]Guardian of your souls.
D. Theories of the atonement
1. The ransom theory. (Origen, 185-254). This view,
sometimes termed the military theory, argues that Christ paid a ransom to Satan
for the deliverance of those who were his rightful captives. This position has
been called the patristic theory inasmuch as it was held in one form or another
by a number of the Early Church Fathers.
2. The satisfaction theory (Anselm,
1033-1109). This view maintained that Christ’s death provided full satisfaction
for our sins and that His merit was more than equal to any obligation which man
could possibly incur toward God. Christ’s death was centrally conceived of as
His voluntary discharge of man’s obligation to God.
3. The moral influence theory (Abelard,
1079-1142). This view maintained that the life and death of Christ was the
supreme revelation of God’s love calculated to awaken in man a reciprocal love
and gratitude. The response of love is then taken to be the basis both of
justification and the forgiveness of sin.
4. The example theory (Socinus,
1539-1604). This view maintained that Christ’s death effected reconciliation by
affording motives and encouragement to man to repent and believe. Christ’s
power to save is based on the import of His teaching and the influence of His
example. Christ’s death was simply that of a noble martyr.
5. The governmental theory (Grotius,
1583-1645). This view maintained that Christ’s death is an exhibition of divine
regard for the law though He did not suffer its precise penalty; God graciously
accepted His suffering as a substitute for the penalty. The atonement is viewed
as a satisfaction, not to any internal principle of the divine nature, but to
the necessities of government.
6. The dramatic theory (Gustaf
Aulén, 1879). This view maintains the essence of Christ’s work is to be seen in
terms of man’s liberation from the tyrants of sin, death, wrath and the devil.
Aulén maintains that this was the view of the early Fathers, subsequently lost
by Anselm and medieval scholasticism but recaptured by Martin Luther.
7. The penal substitution theory (Calvin,
1509-1564). This view maintains that Christ’s death must be seen centrally in
terms of the forensic category of penal substitution. Penal substitution is
central to the Biblical teaching of atonement (Isa 53:5, 6; Rom 5:6).
All the theories defined above have elements of truth but none of them
taken by itself provides a totally adequate explanation of the atonement.
Christ by His death did make full satisfaction for our sins; He did by His
death seek to evoke the love and gratitude of the believer, but not as a basis
of acceptance before God. He did provide an example for believers to follow
(Matt 16:24; 1 Pet 2:21-23). Most significantly however, He provided a
substitute for us.
The
fact that all of these theories have biblical support leads some to suggest
they must be equally important. They say that none is more primary than
another, but each supplies an equally significant reason for the cross.
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