5 Attributes of Punishment, pt 1

This is a follow up post to 7 Things Accomplished on Easter.

When Jesus died on the cross, many things took place. There are several explanations in the Bible for Jesus' death, not to be harmonized and condensed, but to be understood as explaining separate aspects of His work. In his book Christian Theology, Millard Erickson lists five different theories of the atonement:

         "The Socinian Theory: The Atonement as Example

         The Moral-Influence Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s Love

         The Governmental Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of Divine Justice

         The Ransom Theory: The Atonement as Victory over the Forces of Sin and Evil

         The Satisfaction Theory: The Atonement as Compensation to the Father"[1]

These various theories should not really be thought of as competing, but as each explaining some different angle of what Jesus did. Like any ;l’ty;ilu;tyo 0o’ljlk metaphor (which they certainly are, nothing like the cross occurs in our experience), they are accurate when used properly, but dangerous when pushed beyond their intended scope.

While I hope to blog in the future about these different aspects of the work of Christ, the angle of explanation which seems to be the easiest to use as a starting point (at least in our culture) is called Penal Substitutionary Atonement. That means that Jesus was given the penalty for my sin, as my substitute, to cover up my guilt before God (to atone/make me at-one with Him).

Legal experts acknowledge 5 purposes for punishment. These are deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution and restoration. To help structure our thoughts, we will see how God's judgment of Jesus addressed each of these reasons. You will see the five theories all present here in some sense, but they do not correspond closely. So let's ask the question: what does the cross actually do?

1.) The Cross Deters

Imagine the cross standing against the darkened sky – the agonized cries of Jesus. How terrible must sin be to earn a penalty like that, where God would have to give up His Son to shame, execution and abandonment? The cross serves as a double deterrent to sin. For the lost, it takes away the opportunity to downplay judgment (Hebrews 10:29); if sin was costly enough for the heir to be punished, what will happen to the rebels?

This deterrent is not limited to the unsaved, but extends to Christians, in a different way. While Christians are not constrained by fear of judgment, they are motivated by something much more positive. Someone may give me a car. If I know nothing about them or what they cost, I may be superficially grateful, but perhaps not deeply moved to protect it. If I recognize that it as a $200,000 luxury sports car, I will probably park in a quarter of a mile away from any other cars, and wrap it in bubble wrap ever night. When I understand the value of something, it is precious to me. When Christians see the cost of forgiveness is the terrible suffering of Jesus, the desire to sin is overcome (1 Peter 1:17-21; 1 Corinthians 6:20). For the believer, the cross is an even more powerful deterrent than it is to the one who is afraid.  

2.) The Cross Incapacitates

Incapacitation can take many forms. Often in our society, incarceration is used to prevent people from committing crimes. Keeping someone in jail (theoretically) keeps them from committing another crime. Historically, exile accomplished the same thing – if someone is out of my country, at least they commit no crimes here. The supreme method of incapacitation is, of course, the death penalty. Those who experience the power of the sword do not err again.

Jesus’ death did not incapacitate Him by any means (it was impossible for death to hold Him – Acts 2:24). Instead, by purchasing the world with His blood, Jesus bought the rights to the title deed to the world (Revelation 5:9-10). It is by this double authority (as Creator and Purchaser of the cosmos) that Jesus seals Satan up for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).

More profound and more permanent still – the cross incapacitates Satan eternally, and even incapacitates death itself (Hebrews 2:14-15; 2 Timothy 1:10). Since the cross takes away our sins - and if God is for us who can be against us? – death itself loses the power to be ultimately victorious. Though Jesus was bound, executed and exiled from His people for a season, His death ultimately binds sin, casts it away from us and  kills it forever.  

Come back for the next part on Monday. 

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[1] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 714.

Something to be happy about

NOTE: I may post more than one in a day, but they really are meant to be a daily period of reading and reflection. If I get ahead, it is only to cover future gaps where I am unable to post. I am also playing with format. Please bear with me.
READ: Romans 5
KEY VERSE: Romans 5:21
DEVOTIONAL:
So far in our study of Romans, we have found the need for salvation, the just consequence of sin and faith as the eternal means of salvation. But the focus has always been on sin. Today, we will see that Christians have something to rejoice about.
When we have achieved our salvation and are justified with grace, we have a peace in our relationship with God. This chapter contains two sets of progressions:
Faith -> Grace -> Hope of the Glory of God
And
Tribulation -> Patience -> Experience -> Hope
(If you counted to see which one gives hope first, perhaps you need some more patience.)
And hope maketh not ashamed, because our God will not let us down.
If you are living in tribulation or in happy faith, both come to the hope of God and both of those hopes shall be fulfilled. In this we can rejoice: Whatever happens to us will strengthen us in hope, for those who love God. Even though few men have the love to die for a good man, while we were living in the throes of sin, the perfect Christ died for us and gave us access to the love of God through the Holy Spirit. When Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, they made it possible for all people after to sin. When Jesus died, me made it possible for all people to be free of sin. The free gift of salvation, the gift of grace, is without limit.
All men sinned before the Law of Moses, and only those with faith in the Lord of Hosts will escape judgement. After the law of Moses, people were aware of what their transgression was, but still, only those with faith will escape judgement. When Christ came and fulfilled the Law, we now look back onto his sacrifice and faith saves.
That is something to rejoice about.
QUESTIONS:
(1) Do you wear a smile worthy of the good news? Or does your dark demeanor turn people away from God's happiness?
(2) Does v 21 have a real, personal meaning to you?
(3) The Bible tells us the law is a schoolmaster to show us our sin. Do you avoid learning about your sin and deprive yourself of becoming more Christlike?

Romans 4

READ: Romans 4
DEVOTIONAL:
Even in the pagan powerhouse of Rome, most of the earliest Christian converts were from Judaism. Indeed, Christianity was long considered a sect of Judaism, rather than a unique faith. Side stepping the implications of that here, let us instead understand that Paul's readers were very familiar with the Old Testament and also very familiar with arguments that Christianity was disjoint from the Old Testament and Jewish teachings.
To this end, Paul points to the father of Judaism, Christianity and later Islam: Abraham. Before Abraham received the covenant of the circumcision, his faith was credited to him as imputed righteousness. The salvation of faith existed before circumcision was even known of! His circumcision set him apart from the rest of the world and marked him as God-sealed, his profession of faith, but his salvation was done. Citing another major Old Testament figure, King David, Paul quotes Psalm 32, a psalm about life before and after salvation - not a salvation of works, but of calling on the Lord.
If we allow our works to save us, the faith is meaningless. Salvation is not part-faith, part-works; our efforts to make it that way reveal a hole in our faith which must be filled by like substance. By all biology, Sarai was too old to bear children. If we read the story in Genesis, we see Abraham first laughed in his heart (how could something like this be?), but when he overcame his skepticism it became salvation by imputed righteousness. How beautiful a picture of salvation Abraham truly is! At first, it seems impossible, but then we can unworthily take it up.
The natural consequence of grace is imputed righteousness and the natural consequence of the Law is wrath. Both are valid and the time will come when the wrath of the law shall be fulfilled, but faith will supersede the Law and those who are wrapped in grace will find Christ experienced the wrath meant for them. Those who lacked faith will acquire sight, but too late for redemption. It is by faith that we can now celebrate in Christ's salvation, the same justification Abraham and all of the saints of the Old Testament experienced.
In chapter 5, we get into the life of the saved. If that doesn't describe you, it can, by the simple prayer of faith.
QUESTIONS:
(1) After being saved by grace, through faith, Abraham was circumcised. To seal himself for God. How is circumcision like baptism? How is it different?
(2) Do you try to help God save you by placing your faith in things you have done?
(3) Read v 4 again. Have you ever been guilty of kidding yourself into thinking that Heaven is a debt God has to pay you? Will you repent and return to the simple faith that you will be cared for?