Substitutionary atonement
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Substitutionary atonement is a doctrine in Christian theology which states that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, as a substitute for sinners. It stresses the vicarious nature of the crucifixion being "for us" and representational Christ representing humanity through the Incarnation.
The word atonement is a theological term that is used to describe the substitutionary work of Christ. The word occurs in the KJV in Romans 5:11 and has the basic meaning of reconciliation. The word often is used in the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew words kipper and kippurim, which mean “propitiation” or “expiation.” The word atonement encompasses Christ’s work of redemption on behalf of his people. The center of Christ’s work, the main event to which the whole Old Testament pointed and to which the whole New Testament expounded, was Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Christ’s death is the very heart of the Christian faith. It is the central theme of Scripture.[1]
A distinction must be made between substitutionary atonement (Christ suffers for us), and penal substitution (Christ punished instead of us) which is a subset of substitutionary atonement. Both affirm the substitutionary and vicarious nature of the atonement, but penal substitution offers a specific explanation as to what the suffering is for: punishment.
Nearly all of the Church Fathers, including Justin Martyr, Athanasius and Augustine incorporate substitutionary atonement into their understanding of the cross. However, the specific interpretation as to what this suffering for sinners meant differed to some extent. It is widely held that the early Church Fathers, including Athanasius and Augustine, taught that through Christ's vicarious suffering in humanity's place, he overcame and liberated humanity from sin, death, and the devil.[2] Thus, while the idea of substitutionary atonement is present in nearly all atonement theories, some argue that the specific idea of satisfaction and penal substitution are later developments in the Latin church and in Calvinism.[3]
It can be said that nearly all branches of the Christian faith embrace substitutionary atonement, while differing in their larger atonement theories. The Eastern Orthodox Church incorporates substitutionary atonement as one (relatively minor) element of a single doctrine of the Cross and Resurrection, the Catholic church incorporates it into Aquinas' Satisfaction doctrine rooted in the idea of penance, and Evangelical Protestants interpret it largely in terms of penal substitution.[2]
Key Bible texts
- Isaiah 53:4-6, 10, 11 - "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. 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 [...] It was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin [...] By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities." (RSV)
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (RSV)
- Galatians 3:10, 13 - "All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.' [...] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us - for it is written, 'Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree'" (RSV)
- 1 Peter 2:24 - "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."(RSV)
- 1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (RSV)
References
- ^ Schwertley, Brian M. "The Atonement of Jesus Christ." http://www.reformed.com/pub/atonement.htm
- ^ a b "Doctrine of the Atonement." Catholic Encyclopedia." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02055a.htm
- ^ Johnson Alan F., and Robert E. Webber. What Christians Believe: A Biblical and Historical Summary. Zondervan, 1993, pp. 261-263.
See also
- Atonement main article for all Christian Atonement theories
- penal substitution a specific form of Substitutionary atonement
External links
- Substitution in Suffering by John Miley (Arminian/Methodist)
- Penal Substitution by Greg Bahnsen (Calvinist/Reformed)
- Nonviolent Atonement and the Victory of Christ Nonviolent Atonement by Brad Jersak (Orthodox / Anabaptist)