Jesus and Atonement. What is Sin Really? A Prophetic Think Tank
The God of the bible actively dispenses wrath/retribution for sin. Cites Hanbakkuk 1:13, Romans 12:19, Psalms 2, Rev 6:17.
- Habakkuk 1:3: Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. “This is a “picture of a God who is of purer eyes than to behold evil.”
- Romans 12:19: Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. “A god who in fact pours out wrath upon the world of sinners.”
- Psalms 2:1-12: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. This is “a God who has the rebel nations in derision, who speaks unto them in his wrath,” etc.”
- Revelation 6:17: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? The article states that this is the “proclaiming the great day of his wrath to come.”
The God of the bible actively poured out wrath/retribution upon Christ. Cites Isa 53
- Isaiah 53:1: Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? Et al. “The Father was well pleased to crush the Son because our sin was upon him.”
The God of the bible actively poured out retribution upon Christ in the sinners stead. Cites 2Cor 5:21
- 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ”So then, if God actively and willingly crushed Christ, and if he did so because of the sins which were upon him, and if he is indeed a God who deals in retribution, and in fact is too pure not to deal in wrath and retribution, then any model of the atonement which does not embrace a penal aspect fails to do justice to the character of God as we find it revealed in his word.”
On the law
The law demanded a curse. Gen 2:17, Deu 27:26, James 2:10, Titus 1:2.
- Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. “The first law given in the garden, the breaking of which issued in a curse, as God had in fact promised.”
- Deuteronomy 27:26: Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.
- James 2:10: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. “We find without exception that the law demands a curse and that the exaction of this curse is contingent upon the very word and solemn promise of God.”
- Titus 1:2: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; (God cannot lie).
Christ became the curse of the law. Gal 3.
“The law did indeed curse those who had failed to obey it, asserted unequivocally that Christ was made a curse for us.”
Christ became the curse of the law for us. 1Pe 2:22, Heb 4:15.
- 1 Peter 2:22: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Quote of Isaiah 53.
- Hebrews 4:15: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
“The only theory of the atonement which takes into account the necessity of the law’s curse being dealt out (a necessity grounded in the solemn promise of God), and which takes into account the fact that the curse of the law was dealt to Christ, who underwent the curse, even death, as that first threat of transgression demanded, and furthermore, who did this in our place, is a theory which accepts the idea of penal substitution.”
The Sacrificial System
The sacrificial system was instituted by the sovereign command of God. Lev 1:1
- Leviticus 1:1: “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying…”
The sacrificial system taught that God could not be approached apart from innocent, substitutionary blood being shed for the sinner. Lev 19:2, Lev 4:35
- Leviticus 19:2: Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. ”This substitutionary blood had appeased the wrath of God. This is all because, as God’s people, Israel was required to be holy as I am holy (Leviticus 19:2). And in the absence of that required holiness, substitutionary retribution was necessary.”
- Leviticus 4:35: And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him. “It was only when sins penalty (death) had been exacted by substitution that the priest could make atonement for his sin that he has committed; and [thus] it shall be forgiven him.”
The sacrificial animals foreshadowed the self-sacrifice of Christ, the only sufficient substitute. Heb 9:18-28
- Hebrews 9:18-28.
Conclusion:
“The sum of this is that the whole sacrificial system enjoined upon Israel bears witness to the fact that, unless the penalty of transgressing the law is exacted upon a flawless substitute, then there can be no forgiveness or reconciliation. And Christ is the only perfect substitute, as true man and wholly without sin.”
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