Did Jesus satisfy our legal obligation? Did He pay our debt?

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

Legal Process?

In this section we shall examine the prevalent idea that Jesus engaged in a legal transaction to get our freedom. That is, Jesus' death was offered as the legal remedy for the charges against us as sinners.  Here is a representative presentation of this idea: 

Jesus paid for our sins in the sense that He took our sins upon Himself and died with them. He took our place and made a legal payment according to the Law. Payments are made to legal debts. We incur a legal debt to God when we sin because sin is breaking the Law of God (1 John 3:4). Note that it is the LAW that we break–laws like the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 ). Laws have punishments. Laws are legal requirements and boundaries. Therefore, we sin by breaking God’s law when we lie, steal, etc. When we sin, we incur a legal debt to God, and we deserve to be punished. But Jesus, who was God in flesh ( John 1:1, 14), took our sins upon Himself and bore them in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and Jesus died on the cross and paid our penalty, then that is how He paid for our sins.

In this description there is a fundamental premise, that Jesus engaged a legal transaction. Thus the act of redemption legally makes believers not guilty. But no documentation is supplied for this idea. The author biblically documents every ancillary claim he makes, but does not document his central premise.

So, where in the Bible does it say that Jesus paid for our sins, or that legal charges are brought against us as sinners, for which Jesus intervened and got us pronounced "not guilty?" It doesn't. 

This idea of a legal process we think descends from Calvin, who trained to be a lawyer. It did not exist before Calvin. "Not guilty" is a legal determination of western law, that not enough evidence has been presented to convict:

...the prosecution has not proved the defendant guilty of crime.

We need to remember that our idea of legal process is not the same as ancient Israel. So it is wrong to impose a western cultural understanding on a uniquely Hebrew concept.

In the Bible, the sinner does not experience a trial, no evidence is presented, and there is no presumption of innocence or right to confront one's accuser. Rather, our prior lost status is described as condemnation:

Jn. 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already...

That condemnation is is not a legal determination, it is a divine declaration. Condemnation is the default state of the unsaved. That's where the lost start. Everyone who has ever lived or is living now on the planet began as condemned. They are condemned already. We discuss this further here. 

This means that rather than "not guilty," we are declared to be justified:

Ro. 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...

"Justified" is

dikaioó, to judge, declare, pronounce, righteous and therefore acceptable...

Thus God pronounces the saved person as righteous. It is a declaration from the mouth of God. 

It is not a legal process, it is a sacrificial process. We discuss this further here.

The Accuser, But Not in a Courtroom

Yes, there is an accuser, Satan:

Re. 12:10b For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

The Greek word is egkaleó, to come forward as accuser against, bring a charge against... We should note there is no "official" role implied in this word. Satan is not a prosecuting attorney in a legal process who brings charges. We are not part of a courtroom scene. Satan is not provided with prosecutorial evidence. He is not someone's legal representative. In fact, he has no official function at all. He's simply the accuser. 

A variant of this word is also found in the verse, "accuses" (katégoreó, of an extra-judicial accusation...). The tense implies this is happening presently, but the next phrase in the verse tells us he has been hurled down. That word "hurled " is balló, absolutely and in the passive to be violently displaced from a position gained... Satan was aggressively tossed to a low place.

Our knowledge of Greek grammar is admittedly limited, but we would suggest that maybe it should be rendered, who accused them before God day and night. Some renditions of the word are past tense. The reason we say this is it is clear he used to have access to heaven in some way (See Job 1:6), but he's now hurled down. It implies that Satan no longer accuses "our brothers" before the LORD's throne.

Notice that Satan accuses our brothers. But Satan has no reason to accuse those who are already condemned (Jn. 3:18). He wouldn't need to bother. And he doesn't have access to heaven anymore, so Satan and his minions accuse Christians. He tries to heap guilt upon us. He tries to trip us up, to either lure us into sin or to negate our witness. We think he's not in heaven bringing charges to God. Rather, he's cast down, directing his activities right at us.

This must be true because the Bible says no one is bringing charge against us:

Ro. 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Satan cannot bring charge against us, because he no longer has access to God. 

Further, we find in Revelation at the end of time, on the Last Day, that Satan has already been cast into the lake of fire (Re. 20:10) prior to the Great White Throne scene:

Re. 20:10-11 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it...

Therefore, there will be no accuser at the Great White Throne judgment either. And in fact, we have come to believe that no one will be judged here. We will explain.

What About the Judge?

The apostle continues writing:

Re. 20:12-15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

When we read this carefully, we see that the judgment is not of the righteous vs. unrighteous, but rather of every person's works (1Pe. 1:17, 2Co. 5:10), words (Mt. 12:36), and secret thoughts (Ro. 2:16). Notice there is no judgment concerning the person being thrown into the lake of fire. That matter is determined by simply consulting the book of life to see whose names are there. Remember, the unsaved are condemned already. So of course their names are not found in the book of life.

There is only one thing that occurs when someone is saved as it applies to judgment: Your name gets written into the book of life. Before salvation, no one's name was there. After salvation, their names are added.

There is no verse in the NT that says that people will be judged. This is a substantial claim of great import. We don't make it casually. But every NT verse we read with the word "judge" or "judgment" does not contain the idea that God judges or will judge the person. Only our works will be judged. 

We find confirmation of that here:

1Co. 3:11-15 For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

We find it strange indeed that given all the exposition of the Bible by various teachers over the years and centuries that the idea that God will judge the individual person is so prevalent, given what the Bible itself says. We used to believe as such, because pastors and teachers believe it also. We think we have discovered our error and are in the process of rethinking our beliefs.

There are Other Judges

Because in our view the judgment is a judgment of deeds and not people themselves, we now look to see who judges these deeds. It seems that the Father declines to judge:

Jn. 5:22, 27-30 Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son... 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

28 Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out — those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear...

But Jesus also declines to judge:

Jn. 8:15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no-one.

Jn. 12:47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 

We think these statements, often viewed with puzzlement, are made clear by our previous assertion that people are not and will not be judged. Neither the Father nor the Son are inclined to judge, even though both the Son (Jn. 8:16, Ac. 10:42) and the Father (Jn. 8:50, Ac. 17:31, Ro. 3:6) have authority to judge. And they may well proceed to judge if they choose. 

They are both described as executing judgment:

2Ti. 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom...

But then we find these verses:

1Co. 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? 

Jude 14-15 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone...

Re. 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.

The judgment, we believe, will be done by the saints, His holy ones. They will be given authority to judge the world. In this scenario we come to the conclusion that the actual judgment of men's works will be executed by the saints as authorized by and in the presence of the Father and the Son. 

So the saints judge men's works. They determine what reward each saint receives (1Co. 3:14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.) 

We leave it to others to determine if our speculations are valid. Because we are engaged in Rethink, every assumption of doctrine is in play, in our view. We cannot and must not react with "but that's not what I've been taught!" What we have been taught must always be scrutinized in light of what the Bible itself teaches.

What about a Transaction or Exchange?

We next need to consider if Jesus' sacrificial death involved some sort of exchange of value. John MacArthur puts it this way: 

When Christ died on the cross, He paid the ransom. Now, just to clarify something I didn’t say, the ransom was paid to God. Some people think Jesus paid a price to Satan. No, He paid the price to God. The one who destroys both soul and body in hell is not Satan. The one who destroys soul and body in hell is God, the Judge is God. God has been offended. God’s Law has been violated. The sinner’s culpability is related to God. God’s justice has to be satisfied; Christ offers the sacrifice that satisfies the justice of God. And therefore, the sinner’s need is satisfied in the sacrifice of Christ which becomes the redemption price or the ransom price paid to God so that His justice is satisfied and the righteousness of God can come down from heaven to the sinner. So, the sinner’s need is satisfied. 

Dr. MacArthur is expounding upon Ro. 3:25:

God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished —

This explanation raises more questions than it answers. Was Jesus really engaged in an exchange akin to a financial transaction? Did Jesus really die to satisfy God's justice? Was Jesus' death really to satisfy our need? Dr. MacArthur's subject verse does not imply any of this. 

And, he does not document any of his claims. It is interesting as we read the transcription of his sermon we find he never discusses his premise, he simply assumes it and moves on. Since he did not explain, we are pressed to find out for ourselves. 

We first note that Jesus's death is the greater reality pictured in the OT animal sacrifices. This is known as typology. Jesus death was a picture of the OT sacrificial animals. Where those sacrifices simply covered over sin, Jesus' death completely wiped them away. His sacrifice is completely efficacious.

We have noted elswehere that Jesus was not punished for our sins, because the OT sacrificial animals were not punished. Jesus was not regarded as guilty, because the OT sacrificial animals were not regarded as guilty. Jesus did not take our place, because the OT sacrificial animals did not take the place of Israel.

Continuing the typology, Jesus was not part of an exchange of commensurate value, because the OT sacrificial animals were not regarded as an exchange of commensurate value. Rather, the spilling of blood is the "cleansing agent" in operation:

He. 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

So that we clearly understand, Jesus' death was not a transaction or exchange in the sense we would typically understand it. It is not a like a financial process, it is a sacrificial process. . 

What is the Ransom?

Both the OT and the NT use the word "ransom" in a number of places. 

OT

Ho. 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? 

"Ransom" is padah, deliver, by any means, ransom, that are to be, let be redeemed, rescue, surely... 

"Redeem" is gaal, 3 redeem, with God as subject implying personal relationship, chiefly in poetry: — a. individuals, from death ...

Ps. 49:7-9 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him — 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough — 9 that he should live on for ever and not see decay.

"Redeem:" Also padah

"Ransom:" kopher, the price of a life

It seems that deliverance or rescue, particularly from death, is the OT concept. A price is paid or an action is taken to effect release from captivity or a death sentence.

NT

We find that the word is applied specifically to Jesus' work on the cross:

He. 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. 

Ransom is apolutrósis, everywhere in the N. T. metaphorically, viz. deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of a holy God and the merited penalty of sin...

We can see that this word is focused on the deliverance rather than the mechanism. Another verse:

1Ti. 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time.

Here, "ransom" is antilutron, a full ransom, referring to Christ paying the complete purchase-price to secure our freedom (redemption) – i.e. Christ exchanging His eternal righteousness for our sin (cf. Ro 3:26; 2 Cor 5:21). 

We see that the wordage of this definition closely matches Dr. MacArthur's description. Another verse:

Mk. 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Here, ransom is lutron, used in the NT of the ultimate "liberty-price" – the blood of Christ which purchases (ransoms) believers, freeing them from all slavery (bondage) to sin. Here again is the idea of deliverance from bondage.

Another verse:

1Co. 6:19b-20 You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 

"Bought" agorázō ("acquire by purchasing") stresses transfer – i.e. where something becomes another's belonging (possession). In salvation-contexts, agorázō is not redeeming ("buying back"), but rather focuses on how the believer now belongs to the Lord as His unique possession (J. Thayer). Indeed, Christ purchases all the privileges and responsibilities that go with belonging to Him (being in Christ). 

"Price" is timḗ (from tiō, "accord honor, pay respect") – properly, perceived value; worth (literally, "price") especially as perceived honor – i.e. what has value in the eyes of the beholder; (figuratively) the value (weight, honor) willingly assigned to something. 

This is fascinating. When we combine the two words it conjures a picture of a transfer of possession (agorázō) because of a perceived value or honor assigned to us (timḗ). That is, He gave His life because of the value He assigned to us, transferring ownership to Him. It therefore seems that price is not a price in the sense we would typically understand it, but rather the action of deliverance. 

The value assigned to us corresponds to the inestimable value of His blood. But it seems clear that Jesus did not pay our debt so much as he provided a value for value exchange as He determines value.

But even that fails to fully capture the nuance of the sacrifice. 

Some might think that the comparison is disproportionate, that the priceless blood is worth much more than the object of the sacrifice. But we disagree. As we saw, the Giver determines the value of what is being obtained (timḗ). So Jesus decided that value and made the sacrifice. 

Conclusion

His blood is the agent of deliverance, the avenue, the means by which we are saved. In the same way the OT animals were sacrificed, so was Jesus. There is no legal arrangement to satisfy a process of justice as we would understand it; similarly, there was no financial transactional values assigned in the way we would do so.

This was not a legal transaction.

This was not a financial-like transaction.

This was a sacrificial transaction.

We think these and other paradigms (like the idea Jesus' death was substitutionary) are flawed understandings and should be abandoned. Like so many things of the faith, it is not possible, let alone necessary, to compartmentalize our redemption into a neat little framework. Our infinite, glorious God is way beyond that.