Sometimes people describe penal substitution with the picture of a judge who passes the sentence and then takes off his robe and offers to take the punishment he has just handed out. It’s really a confusing illustration because the judge appears in the role of the God the Father at one stage and then assumes the role of the God the Son. However there is another problem in the fact that it doesn’t appear to be just. I might be able to pay a fine for you but surely no fair legal system would allow me to do time for a murder you had committed! How can it be just to punish the innocent for the sin of the guilty? How can it be just for Jesus to pay the penalty that we owe?
Objection 4 'It is unjust to punish an innocent person for the sin of the guilty'
The answer lies in the Biblical theme of participation. Christians are not distantly related to Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. As a result of this union the apostle Paul can write, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20a). When Christ took our punishment on the cross there was a sense in which we were crucified with him. This is because of the real spiritual union between Christ and his people.
This leaves us with another question: ‘Did Christ die in our place so that we would not have to face God’s judgement (substitution), or did we die in Christ so having our guilt dealt with (participation)?’ The answer is both! So in Romans Paul writes both that we died with Christ (6:8) and that we have now been justified by his blood (5:9)--not through our own!
The answer lies in the Biblical theme of participation. Christians are not distantly related to Jesus. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. As a result of this union the apostle Paul can write, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20a). When Christ took our punishment on the cross there was a sense in which we were crucified with him. This is because of the real spiritual union between Christ and his people.
This leaves us with another question: ‘Did Christ die in our place so that we would not have to face God’s judgement (substitution), or did we die in Christ so having our guilt dealt with (participation)?’ The answer is both! So in Romans Paul writes both that we died with Christ (6:8) and that we have now been justified by his blood (5:9)--not through our own!
No comments:
Post a Comment