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We've previously commented on the atonement here, here, and especially, here.
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The atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross stands at the very epicenter of Christianity. It is no exaggeration to say that the cross-work of Christ is the heart of the gospel. When the apostle Paul summarized the gospel he preached, he encapsulated it by speaking of the atonement: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3). The cross is the content of the gospel itself, for “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23). The gospel message by which we are saved is “the word of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18). The eighteenth-century slave-ship captain turned Puritan preacher, John Newton, captured it well when he said, “I advise you by all means to keep close to the atonement. The doctrine of the cross is the sun in the system of truth.”
One way to “keep close” to the atonement is to ensure we understand precisely what happened on the cross. We’re likely familiar with the events of the crucifixion, but the significance of those events is so boundless that it will be the theme of the saints’ praise for eternity (Rev 4–5). Despite this, there has been, historically, and there is, today, great confusion concerning this central and essential doctrine of the Christian faith. We must therefore ask of the text of Scripture, “What really happened on the cross? What is it that Jesus has accomplished in His work of atonement? What is the biblical significance of what our Savior has done on our behalf?”
The cross is not a ransom payment to Satan; the chief captive of hell is in no position to demand ransom payments from God. The cross is not an illustration of God’s general moral government of the world. Still less is the cross God’s declaration of the value and worth of humanity, except as it testifies to the depth of our sinfulness. Neither is the cross merely a cosmic victory of good over evil or a good example for Christians to imitate. Most fundamentally, the cross is a work of penal substitution—the Lord Jesus suffering the penalty for the sins of His people as a substitute for them. In His great love, the Father appointed the Son to stand in our place, to bear our sin, to carry our guilt, to receive our punishment, and thereby to satisfy the righteous wrath of God against us. (We do not agree Jesus was punished. God was never mad at Jesus.
There is a great difference between "bear our sin" and "receive our punishment." Jesus indeed carried our sin, as one might take out the garbage. Col. 2:13-14:
The Lord Jesus is the Suffering Servant who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4), who “bore the sin of many” (Isa 53:12). On the cross, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6), and so “he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11). He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) by taking that sin upon Himself. The Father “made [Jesus] to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor 5:21); our guilt was counted to be His. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13), in our place. “He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross . . . for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24). Simply put, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isa 53:5; cf. also, e.g., Mark 10:45; 2 Cor 8:9; 1 Pet 3:18; Gal 2:20). (The author himself does an excellent job characterizing Jesus' work on the cross. Of course, none of these statements speak to Jesus being punished by God. Yet he leaps to that conclusion...)
Penal substitutionary atonement is woven into the very fabric of God’s revelation from beginning to end, because it is the very heart of the gospel message. (...his very next sentence completely obviates what he just presented.)
But we ought to press further and ask, “What precisely is the character of this substitutionary atonement? What exactly did Christ accomplish on the cross?” Scripture answers with at least five themes, or motifs, of the atonement: (1) it is a work of substitutionary sacrifice, in which the Savior bore the penalty of sin in the place of sinners (1 Pet 2:24); (Let's quote the verse:
God did not punish Him! He was the vehicle upon which our sin was brought to the cross.)
(2) it is a work of propitiation, in which God’s wrath against sinners is fully satisfied and exhausted in the person of their substitute (Rom 3:25); (3) it is a work of reconciliation, in which sinful man’s alienation from God is overcome and peace is made through the blood of the cross (Col 1:20); (4) it is a work of redemption, in which those enslaved to sin are ransomed by the precious blood of the Lamb’s (1 Pet 1:18–19); and (5) it is a work of conquest, in which sin, death, and Satan are defeated by the power of a victorious Savior (Heb 2:14–15). (This is quite correct.)
Each of those five motifs is worthy of our reflection and consideration.
1. Sacrifice
First, Scripture characterizes the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ as a sacrifice (e.g., Eph 5:2; Heb 9:26). This imagery draws from the Old Testament’s prescriptions for Israel’s sacrificial worship to God under the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Heb. 9:23), outlined most thoroughly in the Book of Leviticus. As Leviticus begins, the tabernacle has been completed, and the glory of God has come and filled the tabernacle, signifying that the spiritual presence of Yahweh is now dwelling in the midst of His people (cite Lev?Exod 40:34–38). The presence of God, then, becomes a key theme in Leviticus, as the phrase “before the Lord” or “in the presence of the Lord” appears fifty-nine times. Further, Leviticus teaches that this God who is present is also holy; the terms holy and holiness appear 150 times, more frequently than any other book. Thus, Leviticus answers the question: “How can the holy presence of God dwell in the midst of a sinful people?” The answer God gives is that sinners are to make sacrifices to the Lord that will atone for their sin and render them acceptable in his presence. The worshiper “shall offer [his sacrifice] at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf” (Lev. 1:3–4). Immediately we are confronted with penal substitutionary atonement by sacrifice. (Hmm. Where does the author get "penal?" The concept is foreign to the whole presentation. The sacrificial animals were not punished!)
The pinnacle of the sacrificial system was the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement. Once a year, the high priest of Israel was to enter the holy of holies into God’s presence in order to “make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel” (Lev 16:17). He was to offer two goats, one to be sacrificed to God and the other to bear the sins of the people and be banished from the Lord’s presence (Lev 16:8–10). The blood of the sacrificial goat was to be sprinkled on the mercy seat, the place where atonement was made (Lev 16:15). With regard to the scapegoat, “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness” (Lev 16:21–22). (The word "carry" is נָשָׂא, nasah, to lift, carry, take. The goat is not guilty. It's not being punished. It simply bears [carries] Israel's sin outside the camp.)
By laying his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confessing all Israel’s sins over it, the high priest symbolized that God had reckoned the sin and guilt of the people to be transferred to the goat. (Were does Scripture say that guilt was transferred to the goat?)
Instead of bearing their own iniquity and being banished from the holy presence of God, Israel’s sin was imputed to a substitute. The innocent scapegoat bears the sin, and guilt, and punishment of the people and is banished in their place. (Where does the Scripture say the sins of the people were imputed? None of this is in the text. The goat carries the sins away!)
By sprinkling the sacrificial blood of one substitute on the mercy seat, and by virtue of the imputation of sin to a second substitute, Israel’s sins are atoned for and the people are released from punishment. ("Impute" is an unfortunate understanding. The word does not appear in the text. It misleads us into thinking that goat was a part of some sort of legal transaction, which isn't the case.
In the legal world, "impute" means to attach to a person responsibility (and therefore financial liability) for acts or injuries to another...
In Ro. 4:8 the KJV reads, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. The Greek word is λογίζομαι which is I reckon, count, charge with; reason, decide, conclude; think, suppose.
The parallel passage is Ps. 32:2 in the KJV:
There is a great difference between "bear our sin" and "receive our punishment." Jesus indeed carried our sin, as one might take out the garbage. Col. 2:13-14:
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."Took it away" is the Greek word αἴρω which is I raise, lift up, take away, remove. Jesus literally carried our sins like a bundle on His shoulders to the cross. There is absolutely no hint that God punished Jesus in any way. God was never mad at Jesus.)
The Lord Jesus is the Suffering Servant who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4), who “bore the sin of many” (Isa 53:12). On the cross, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6), and so “he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11). He is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) by taking that sin upon Himself. The Father “made [Jesus] to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor 5:21); our guilt was counted to be His. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13), in our place. “He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross . . . for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24). Simply put, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace” (Isa 53:5; cf. also, e.g., Mark 10:45; 2 Cor 8:9; 1 Pet 3:18; Gal 2:20). (The author himself does an excellent job characterizing Jesus' work on the cross. Of course, none of these statements speak to Jesus being punished by God. Yet he leaps to that conclusion...)
Penal substitutionary atonement is woven into the very fabric of God’s revelation from beginning to end, because it is the very heart of the gospel message. (...his very next sentence completely obviates what he just presented.)
But we ought to press further and ask, “What precisely is the character of this substitutionary atonement? What exactly did Christ accomplish on the cross?” Scripture answers with at least five themes, or motifs, of the atonement: (1) it is a work of substitutionary sacrifice, in which the Savior bore the penalty of sin in the place of sinners (1 Pet 2:24); (Let's quote the verse:
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.The Greek word for "bore" is ἀναφέρω, which is I carry up, lead up, (b) I offer up (on a high altar) as a sacrifice, offer up to God on high.
God did not punish Him! He was the vehicle upon which our sin was brought to the cross.)
(2) it is a work of propitiation, in which God’s wrath against sinners is fully satisfied and exhausted in the person of their substitute (Rom 3:25); (3) it is a work of reconciliation, in which sinful man’s alienation from God is overcome and peace is made through the blood of the cross (Col 1:20); (4) it is a work of redemption, in which those enslaved to sin are ransomed by the precious blood of the Lamb’s (1 Pet 1:18–19); and (5) it is a work of conquest, in which sin, death, and Satan are defeated by the power of a victorious Savior (Heb 2:14–15). (This is quite correct.)
Each of those five motifs is worthy of our reflection and consideration.
1. Sacrifice
First, Scripture characterizes the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ as a sacrifice (e.g., Eph 5:2; Heb 9:26). This imagery draws from the Old Testament’s prescriptions for Israel’s sacrificial worship to God under the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Heb. 9:23), outlined most thoroughly in the Book of Leviticus. As Leviticus begins, the tabernacle has been completed, and the glory of God has come and filled the tabernacle, signifying that the spiritual presence of Yahweh is now dwelling in the midst of His people (cite Lev?Exod 40:34–38). The presence of God, then, becomes a key theme in Leviticus, as the phrase “before the Lord” or “in the presence of the Lord” appears fifty-nine times. Further, Leviticus teaches that this God who is present is also holy; the terms holy and holiness appear 150 times, more frequently than any other book. Thus, Leviticus answers the question: “How can the holy presence of God dwell in the midst of a sinful people?” The answer God gives is that sinners are to make sacrifices to the Lord that will atone for their sin and render them acceptable in his presence. The worshiper “shall offer [his sacrifice] at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf” (Lev. 1:3–4). Immediately we are confronted with penal substitutionary atonement by sacrifice. (Hmm. Where does the author get "penal?" The concept is foreign to the whole presentation. The sacrificial animals were not punished!)
The pinnacle of the sacrificial system was the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement. Once a year, the high priest of Israel was to enter the holy of holies into God’s presence in order to “make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel” (Lev 16:17). He was to offer two goats, one to be sacrificed to God and the other to bear the sins of the people and be banished from the Lord’s presence (Lev 16:8–10). The blood of the sacrificial goat was to be sprinkled on the mercy seat, the place where atonement was made (Lev 16:15). With regard to the scapegoat, “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness” (Lev 16:21–22). (The word "carry" is נָשָׂא, nasah, to lift, carry, take. The goat is not guilty. It's not being punished. It simply bears [carries] Israel's sin outside the camp.)
By laying his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confessing all Israel’s sins over it, the high priest symbolized that God had reckoned the sin and guilt of the people to be transferred to the goat. (Were does Scripture say that guilt was transferred to the goat?)
Instead of bearing their own iniquity and being banished from the holy presence of God, Israel’s sin was imputed to a substitute. The innocent scapegoat bears the sin, and guilt, and punishment of the people and is banished in their place. (Where does the Scripture say the sins of the people were imputed? None of this is in the text. The goat carries the sins away!)
By sprinkling the sacrificial blood of one substitute on the mercy seat, and by virtue of the imputation of sin to a second substitute, Israel’s sins are atoned for and the people are released from punishment. ("Impute" is an unfortunate understanding. The word does not appear in the text. It misleads us into thinking that goat was a part of some sort of legal transaction, which isn't the case.
In the legal world, "impute" means to attach to a person responsibility (and therefore financial liability) for acts or injuries to another...
In Ro. 4:8 the KJV reads, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. The Greek word is λογίζομαι which is I reckon, count, charge with; reason, decide, conclude; think, suppose.
The parallel passage is Ps. 32:2 in the KJV:
חָשַׁב is the Hebrew word, which means "considered."Blessed [is] the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit [there is] no guile.
So the legal meaning of impute is to make someone responsible for someone else's debt or obligation, while the Greek and Hebrew words mean to reckon or consider. The difference in meaning is subtle. Jesus was not imputed with our sin. He did not become guilty. Rather, God viewed Jesus as having carried our sin as a burden bearer, "reckoning" Him to be the sacrificial lamb.
Again, Jesus did not bear the wrath of God, He bore the weight of sin as a burden to the cross.)
The only other picture of Old Testament sacrifice that rivals the Day of Atonement in Israel is the Passover sacrifice. As the Lord was about to send the tenth plague upon Egypt, He promised to kill every firstborn child and animal throughout the land. And though Israel had been spared from the first nine plagues, they were not automatically spared from the tenth, because they had fallen into idolatry and worshiped the gods of Egypt (cf. Ezek 20:8). In order to be spared from God’s wrath, He required each family to kill an unblemished lamb and to put its blood on the doorposts of the house (Exod 12:13). The Passover lamb died as a substitute for the firstborn children of Israel. The wrath of God was turned away by the blood of a spotless lamb slain in their place. Yahweh forgave Israel’s sins by a substitutionary sacrifice (Exod 12:27). (Aaand, the lamb was not punished.)
Both the Levitical sacrifices as epitomized in the Day of Atonement and the rite of the Passover vividly picture the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Passover meal was the setting of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples, when He instituted the New Covenant, declaring that His body would be broken for them, and that the cup poured out for them was “the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). At this Passover meal, Christ declared that the breaking of His body and the pouring out of His blood would be the fulfillment of the Passover. He is, as John the Baptist heralded, “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), whose “precious blood . . . as of a lamb unblemished and spotless” redeems God’s people (1 Pet 1:18–19), “for Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7). Just as the blood of the slain lamb protected Israel from the execution of God’s judgment, so also does the blood of the slain Lamb, Jesus, protect His people from the Father’s wrath against their sin. (Again, the lamb was not punished for Israel's sin, it bore the sin.)
Jesus is also the fulfillment of the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system. While God graciously allowed Himself to be temporarily satisfied by Israel’s sacrifices, those sacrifices were never truly final or perfectly efficacious (Heb 9:9; 10:1, 4). (Exactly. Atonement means to "cover over," which is not the removing of sin, but the hiding of sin from God's sight.)
That is why there had to be a greater, perfect sacrifice that would put away sin once for all: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, He entered then through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb 9:11–12). The parallel imagery is astounding. Just as the high priest entered beyond the veil into the most holy place, so also Christ is the “great high priest who has passed through the heavens” (Heb 4:14) and entered beyond the veil of the heavenly tabernacle into the very presence of God Himself. While the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial goat on the mercy seat to make atonement, the Lord Jesus sprinkled His own blood. And inasmuch as His blood is infinitely more valuable than that of goats and calves—inasmuch as His blood speaks better than the blood of Abel (Heb 12:24)—He secured an eternal redemption.Our great Mediator and Substitute is the fulfillment of both the high priest and the sacrifice. He is both offerer and offering, for “He offered Himself” (Heb 9:14). (The superior work of Jesus' sacrifice REMOVED sin completely. He did not "cover over" sin.)
Not only this, but Jesus is also the fulfillment of the mercy seat. The high priest was commanded to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, where God’s holy presence was uniquely manifest for fellowship with Israel (Exod 25:22; Lev 16:2) This is a holy place that cannot be entered except under the strictest of circumstances by the most qualified in the nation. And yet the apostle Paul declares that God displayed Jesus “as a propitiation by his blood” (Rom 3:25). And that word “propitiation” is actually the word for propitiatory—the Greek word that translates the Hebrew term for the mercy seat in the holy of holies. Just as the mercy seat was the place where atonement was made and God’s wrath against sin was averted, so now is Jesus the place where atonement is made and God’s wrath against sin is averted. The Lord Jesus Christ is the high priest who offers, the sacrifice that is offered, and the mercy seat upon which the sacrifice is offered! (The important distinction is that Jesus' death washes us completely clean. Propitiation is not synonymous with atonement.)
And still further, He is also the fulfillment of the scapegoat. Just as the high priest confessed Israel’s sins over the head of the scapegoat, such that their sins were laid on the goat, so also has the Father “caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa 53:6). The Father imputed to Jesus every sin of every person who would ever believe (2 Cor 5:21), (This is probably a better use of "imputed" than previously. In a sense, the responsibility of sin was imputed to Jesus. The KJV renders this verse
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.But the NIV reads
God made him who had no sin to be sin [Or be a sin offering] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.γινώσκω is translated "knew," which is the same word translated "union" in Mt. 1:25:
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.Positionally, Jesus became sin but was never sinful. He was unacquainted with the personal experience of sin as a virgin is unacquainted with sex. He had no union with sin. So his total innocence of sin made him the spotless lamb. Thus, His sacrifice washed away our sin completely.
But once again we assert that the Father did not punish Jesus.)
so that it can truly be said that “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24). As the midday sun is shrouded in darkness, the Father is, as it were, laying his hands on the head of the Son, and confessing over Him the sins of His people. And as a result of bearing their sin, like the scapegoat the Son is banished from the presence of the Father, leaving him to suffer outside the gate (Heb 13:12), and to experience the terrifying abandonment of His Father, leaving Him to cry out those wretched words: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Did The Father really abandon Jesus? We don't think so, from the plain testimony of Psalm 22, which Jesus was quoting. We think Jesus was not lamenting, He was actually referring to the whole psalm. Since Bible verse weren't numbered back then, the way to reference a passage was to quote the first sentence of it.
Jesus was not saying He was forsaken, he was referencing this psalm for its content. This is a significant Psalm, full of messianic prophecies. We believe Jesus cited this Psalm to declare at that very moment that all the prophecies of Psalm 22 were being fulfilled right before their eyes.
Then there's the matter of Psalm 22:24:
For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.The very Psalm that is being used to suggest Jesus was abandoned later contradicts the assertion. God the Father did NOT hide His face from Jesus.)
God the Son—from eternity the apple of His Father’s eye, His ever-present companion, in whom His soul was always well-pleased—was forsaken by the Father, as He laid upon Christ the iniquity of us all, and abandoned Him to bear the unleashed fury of Almighty God in the place of His people. ("The unleashed fury?" What? Where does this come from? It's not in the Bible.)
“Outside the camp,” away from the presence of the Lord and of His people, was where the carcasses of the sacrifices were to be disposed (Lev 4:12; Heb 13:11), where the leper was isolated to bear his shame (Lev 13:46), where the blasphemer was stoned (Lev 24:14, 23). It is to that place of shame and of isolation that the Son of God was banished, so that we guilty, treasonous, sinful sons and daughters of Adam might be welcomed into the holy presence of God. (We have trouble with this statement. The scapegoat is a symbol of sin being taken out of the camp. The scapegoat carries the sin away. There's no sense of punishment of the scapegoat.
We find it interesting that Hebrews 13:12-13 tells us to go to Jesus where He was supposedly abandoned:
He. 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.The Greek word for "bore" is φέρω, which means I carry, bear, bring; I conduct, lead; perhaps: I make publicly known. Isn't in noteworthy that we also are to bear this disgrace? It seems like we are to meet Him at the cross and die there with Him. That is, we participate in His death so as to receive life.)
Dear sinner, if the Son of God has humbled Himself to such a place of degradation and shame, will you not humble yourself before His cross? Dear reader, if you are without Christ, humble yourself and come to Him who has died for sinners. Turn from your sins and put your trust in the precious blood of this spotless Lamb slain for your salvation.
2. Propitiation
A second motif Scripture employs to describe the atonement is propitiation. Christ’s death is not only a sacrifice, but a propitiatory sacrifice. (Actually, the word "atonement" is not found in the NT. That is a word more appropriately rendered "propitiation." As we mentioned, the two words are not synonymous.)
The word propitiation just means appeasement or satisfaction. (The Greek word ἱλασμός is typically translated "propitiation," although some translations [like the NIV] translates it "atonement." We believe that this is incorrect. Propitiation COMPLETELY satisfies God's wrath, whereas the Hebrew "atonement" [כָּפַר] means "to cover over.")
And when applied to the atonement, it communicates that by receiving in Himself the full exercise of the Father’s wrath against the sins of His people, the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied the Father’s righteous anger, and thus turned away His wrath from us who, were it not for our Substitute, were bound to suffer under that wrath for ourselves. (No, He carried away the wrath... to the cross.)
(...)
God Himself has satisfied His own wrath against sin by sprinkling the blood of the spotless Lamb upon the mercy seat of the heavenly altar (cf. Heb. 9:11–15, 23–24). He has punished the sins of His people in a Substitute, and therefore, in unspeakable grace, His wrath has been turned away from us. (No, No, NO! He did not punish Jesus!)
How essential this concept of propitiation is to a proper understanding of what happened on the cross! (Ironically, the author has continued the improper understanding.)
How essential this concept of propitiation is to a proper understanding of what happened on the cross! (Ironically, the author has continued the improper understanding.)
To deny that the atonement was fundamentally a propitiation is to deny that God’s wrath is aroused against sin, or that it must be appeased for man to be granted salvation. (Indeed, the atonement of the OT turned away God's wrath, but only by covering over sin. Propitiation is fundamentally different. We deny that Jesus atoned for sin as unbiblical. Jesus propitiated, he did not atone.)
But such a denial does violence to the full breadth of biblical revelation. The small sample of texts which we have considered has demonstrated that clearly. Whether it is idolatry in Exodus 32, sexual immorality in Numbers 25, grumbling against the leaders in Numbers 16, or any sin committed by any man, God’s response to human sin is to be justly stirred to holy fury. Because God is holy, righteous, and good, He must punish sin in wrath. And that is why propitiation is so precious. Because Christ’s cross-work is a propitiation, the atonement is a wrath-bearing sacrifice. Sin will not be overlooked; God’s forgiveness does not mean that He just sweeps sin under the rug. He would never so violate His own holiness. He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Exod 34:7). The Holy One of Israel will ever and always punish sin in one of two places: sin will be punished in the sinner in hell, or it will be punished in Christ the Substitute on the cross.
Conclusion
Dear reader, behold the glory of the cross. If you are in Christ, every ounce of the unmixed fury that God would have visited upon you in the eternal torments of hell was fully poured out on this Substitute in those three terrible hours on Calvary. (No, the wrath was carried away.)
Because of that, there is no longer any wrath left for you. God is propitious toward His people, because our sin has been paid for and our punishment has been borne. And so we sing with the saints and angels in heaven in Revelation 5: “Worthy are You, . . . for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation! . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
(...)
But such a denial does violence to the full breadth of biblical revelation. The small sample of texts which we have considered has demonstrated that clearly. Whether it is idolatry in Exodus 32, sexual immorality in Numbers 25, grumbling against the leaders in Numbers 16, or any sin committed by any man, God’s response to human sin is to be justly stirred to holy fury. Because God is holy, righteous, and good, He must punish sin in wrath. And that is why propitiation is so precious. Because Christ’s cross-work is a propitiation, the atonement is a wrath-bearing sacrifice. Sin will not be overlooked; God’s forgiveness does not mean that He just sweeps sin under the rug. He would never so violate His own holiness. He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Exod 34:7). The Holy One of Israel will ever and always punish sin in one of two places: sin will be punished in the sinner in hell, or it will be punished in Christ the Substitute on the cross.
Conclusion
Dear reader, behold the glory of the cross. If you are in Christ, every ounce of the unmixed fury that God would have visited upon you in the eternal torments of hell was fully poured out on this Substitute in those three terrible hours on Calvary. (No, the wrath was carried away.)
Because of that, there is no longer any wrath left for you. God is propitious toward His people, because our sin has been paid for and our punishment has been borne. And so we sing with the saints and angels in heaven in Revelation 5: “Worthy are You, . . . for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation! . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
(...)
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