The Penal Substitution Theory

   The “Penal Substitution” is a theological term based on the premise that Christ took our place because of man lacking the ability to produce deeds worthy of repentance and be reconciled to God through Christ. We might hear such terms as:

• Vicarious

• Christ was our substitute

• Satisfaction

• Paid in full

• Christ was punished for our sins

• Christ took our place

   Such terms are not scriptural. The teaching that Jesus paid for our sins or that he was punished and our substitute etc., is Post-Reformation theology. The bible does not teach penal substitution, nor are such terms found in the bible. Again, this theory says that Jesus took our place on the cross and suffered the guilt and punishment that should belong to us, that he became a curse in our place and experienced God’s wrath.

   If Jesus, by dying on the cross removed God’s wrath against sin, “took our punishment” for sin upon himself, “became guilty with our guilt,” “satisfied divine justice,” “paid it all” because he “took our place,” then no one should be held accountable for their behavior before God since their “substitution” (Christ) did it all 2000 years ago. Let us put it this way. If a person is found guilty and has a jail sentence but a friend offers to do the time in jail in his place, then the person who actually did the crime cannot be punished or condemned because the friend took the punishment for him. Furthermore, if Jesus took our place or was our substitute, and since he died for all men, how did he physically die in the place of all men? IF Jesus physically died in our place, then Christians should not physically die since Jesus took our place. This is not what Jesus did.

   There are many theories of the atonement. For that matter, the word atonement was invented many centuries later by Tyndale (“at-one-ment”) to translate the same Greek word that is also translated “reconciliation.” Reconciliation simply means a return to favor.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18

God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:19

Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Heb. 2:17

   Living a clean pure life is the message throughout scripture. Given the unclean state of personal conduct by most professing Christians, it is no wonder the average person outside the church has a difficult time believing that the purpose of Christ’s gospel includes a radical moral transformation. The focus of purity and righteousness is given lip service but never practical application to their own life. Why? Because the mission became a “substitution” instead of “example.” The message of practical living (righteous living) is no longer set by the example of Christ to be followed so that his followers may receive the “gift” of life, which is a life of immortality in the kingdom of God to come. Instead, practical living has taken a back seat to the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and all kinds of theories about the atonement. The Messiah said unequivocally:

But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Matt. 9:13)

   This truth is taken from Hosea 6:6 that states fully:

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

   This reveals the primary principle of God’s word that to obey is better than sacrifice, so strive to enter the narrow gate and “go and sin no more” (Luke 13:24; John 8:11).

   Jesus never renounced sacrifices, but he did criticize the Pharisees and Sadducees because they were so preoccupied with the “outward” cleanliness that they neglected inward purity (Mark 7:1-23; Matt. 23:25-38). Even the Scribe who confronted Jesus knew that loving one’s neighbor was more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33-34).

   Some will say that God does delight in sacrifices and burnt offerings as seen in Psalms 51:16-19:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar. (Psalms 51:16-19).

   The context of this passage shows a corrective to the sacrificial worship that they accompanied. It is a broken spirit and contrite heart that God desires.

   The sacrificial system was useless without moral virtues. As seen in Mic. 6:8, the superiority stressed was that of justice, mercy, and walk humbly with God. These prophets did not deny that God required service from His people but insisted that they were neglecting the one kind of service which God demanded, the end of oppression of the poor, loving kindness, and justice. Until moral virtues were active in their life, then God delighted in their sacrifices. Why? Because obedience to God is better than sacrifice.

   The early believers never separated the deeds of faith from the act of repentance because they clearly understood the nature of reconciliation. They did not give lip service. They did not speak of some mysterious transfer that took place. The restoration of favor is determined on the condition of repentance and believing the Gospel.

   We are also taught that faith involves believing in or trusting in the love of God for us. Many vile sinners out there believe God loves them. They all believe in (or trusting in) the love of God for them. Does this change their immoral behavior? No. The biblical fact is that faith is synonymous with obedience. A person can believe all he wants about how much God loves him, but real faith is a work. It is a work of righteousness. It is obedience to the truth (1 Peter 1:22). Faith is not just a mental assent, it involves being “faithful” to God and Christ. Anyone can “believe in” or “trust in,” but only those who obey are in Christ (Acts 5:32; Heb. 5:9). It is a faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6) and purifies the heart (Acts 15:9) by being obedient (1 Peter 1:22).

   One of the central themes throughout scripture is the need for repentance. Jesus did not sway from this message:

I have not come to call righteous people, but sinners, to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

   Peter said:

God sent his chosen Son to you first, because God wanted to bless you and make each one of you turn away from your sins. (Acts 3:26)

   How does Christ turn us away from our sins? I believe Christ taught by example and how obedience is possible by following in his footsteps.

   1Peter 2:21 tells us:

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

   Under the substitution theory, most of professing Christian’s attitude towards God still produces rebellion and outright disobedience to Him. In addition, while living in willful rebellion, man still expects God’s forgiveness to cover his transgressions while his heart is full of guile while blaming his sinful deeds on some internal source (“sinful nature”) which he cannot control. When one continues to live in willful rebellion, it is easy to observe that the underlying problem was that there was no intention of purifying himself of all his sinful behavior in the first place. This is what the substitution theory has produced. The substitution teaching gives the professing Christian the perfect excuse to support his inability to do what is right instead of taking responsibility for his own sinful conduct. What this theory does, which is the tradition of man, “made void the word of God” (Matt. 15:6).

   God has never required a substitution (replacement) for man’s sins or a penal payment. I do not see this in the scriptures at all. Rather, I see where God calls all sinners to repentance and faithfulness proven by deeds. (The scriptural evidence of this truth is overwhelming!) From the very beginning, the only pardon from willful and deliberate sin was repentance.

   Another thing I find interesting is the absence of any sacrifice that was sufficient to atone for deliberate moral sins in the Old Testament. The penalty for such disobedience in the Old Testament was physical death. The following shows there was no prescribed sacrifice for the following sins under the Old Covenant, only the death penalty:

• Murder – Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:12-14, 20,23; Lev. 24:17,21; Num. 35:16-34; Deut. 19.

• Smiting Parents- Ex. 21:15.

• Kidnapping – Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7.

• Cursing Parents – Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9.

• Negligence with animals that kill – Ex. 21:28-32.

• Witchcraft – Ex. 22:18.

• Bestiality – (sexual intercourse with an animal) Ex. 22:19; Lev. 18:23-29; 20:15,16. Lev. 20:15,16

• Idolatry – Ex. 22:20; Deut. 17:2-7.

• Adultery (including sexual intercourse with father’s wife, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law) Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-30.

• Working on the Sabbath – Ex. 35:2.

• Incest – Lev. 18:6-29; 20:11-22.

• Consecration of children to idols – Lev. 20:1-5.

• Sodomy/Homosexuality – Lev. 20:13.

• Whoredom – Lev. 21:9; Deut. 22:21,22.

• Sorcery Lev. 20:27

• Blasphemy – Lev. 24:11-16.

• False prophecy – Deut. 13:1-18; 18:20.

• Leading men away from God – Deut. 13:6-18.

• Stubbornness, rebellious, glutton drunken sons – Deut. 21:18-23.

• False dreams and visions – Deut. 13:1-18.

• Rape Duet. 22:25

   Under the sacrificial system of Moses, there was no atonement for willful moral sins. These are the “sin unto death” (1John 5:16) that meant disqualification from the coming Kingdom. (See also such passages as 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21, etc.) Only God’s merciful kindness could spare individuals from eternal loss for these sins IF they take the opportunity of what God has granted them, repentance (Acts 11:18). God did not change this eternal concept by sending Jesus to be a replacement for the sins of mankind. God still requires full and clean repentance to receive remission of sins, otherwise, the wages of sin is still death (Rom. 6:23), which has eternal consequences. When it comes to the sins of mankind, there is no negotiation, no replacement, no payment, and no substitution.

   The understanding is that the only solution throughout scripture is the necessity of repentance, to turn from our evil ways. A classic example is in the case of David. David had murdered and committed adultery. These sins were punishable by physical death (not by obtaining forgiveness by sacrificing an animal), but David pleaded with God and depended upon God’s mercy and kindness by going to Him in repentance. Out of love and mercy, God forgave David. God showed him mercy rather than death and David’s relationship with God was restored. No one had to be punished, there was no payment, there was no blood shed, and there was no substitute.

   We can also go back to the story of Jonah. In the city of Nineveh people were doing much evil and God was going to destroy them. Jonah said these few words to the people:

Another forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown! (Jonah 3:4)

   The people believed God. And when the word reached the king of Nineveh he proclaimed a fast and said:

But cover man and beast with sackcloth. Let them cry out to God with urgency. Let each one turn from his evil way and from the violence in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent, and turn back from his burning anger, so that we may not perish. When God saw their deeds—that they turned from their wicked ways—God relented from the calamity that He said He would do to them, and did not do it. (Jonah 3:8-10)

   Nowhere are these Gentiles commanded to convert to Judaism, there was nothing about God commanding sacrifices before He would forgive them. Rather, God saw their works, i.e., they turned from their evil ways and God changed His mind.

   Charles Stanley, an OSAS advocate, says:

How can I lose Christ’s payment for my sin? Can God declare me “guilty” after he has declared me “not guilty?”

   He also states:

When Christ died, which of your sins did he die for? Which sins were you forgiven of when you trusted him as Savior? If the sins you commit after becoming a Christian can annul your relationship with the Savior, clearly those sins were not covered at Calvary.

   Scriptural truth teaches that past sins are forgiven at the moment of repentance and believing the gospel (Acts 20:21, 26:20; 2 Peter 1:9). However, this penal theory has led to the belief that all future sins are automatically forgiven as well. This leads us to the doctrine of unconditional eternal security rather than salvation being conditional as scripture tells us. If there was an actual “payment,” then, in reality, it is irrevocable and we must accept Universalism. All must be acquitted!

   Let us now take a look at some words found in the bible where people might get the idea that they describe payment:

• Propitiation

• Reconciliation

• Justification

• Redemption

• Being brought near, putting away sin, suffering, dying for sin, ransom, and offering oneself up.

   None of these words means “payment”. Again, nowhere does the bible say Jesus was punished or that there was a payment or substitution. For a person to be punished, he must be guilty to deserve that punishment.

   Many will say that we are “bought” with a price and are a “purchased” possession and that we are “redeemed” and there was a “ransom.” All this is true, but it does not prove that Jesus was punished or that there was a “payment for sins.” We know that many military men who served our country died during the war. We hear how they “paid the price” and about the “cost of freedom.” Most definitely, there was a cost and there was a price, but it was not an actual payment. One does not see “payment” in the scriptures, it can only be assumed if read into the passage.

   What about Isaiah 53:4?

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

   Many look at that as though it means Jesus had to suffer punishment for our sins. They read the penal system into the passage. We should read it without preconceived bias, for when we do, we will see that the passage does not explicitly or indirectly imply the Messiah was going to be punished. Note:

Yet WE did esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted…” (v.4)

   They were looking at this from a human perspective. It is not saying that God was striking, smiting, and afflicting His own Son. It is how the people perceived it. Jesus was not experiencing the wrath of God, as some would say. In addition, the passage has nothing to do with God’s wrath as a retributive payment for sins which satisfies God. For that matter, there is nothing in the whole chapter about God’s wrath. God did not order an execution of an innocent servant. This would be accusing God of injustice.

   Many translations in Isa. 53:5 reads as, “he was wounded for our transgressions,” which gives the people the idea that Christ died as a substitute and paid a penalty to God for us. However, there is a huge difference between the words “for” and “because of.” I believe the TLV states correctly:

But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities.

   The NET states as well:

He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins.” Isaiah 53:5

   Context determines the correct meaning. The chastisement of verse 5 is defined by verse 4 (human perspective) and verse 8.

   Verse 8 reads:

He was led away after an unjust trial—but who even cared?

   The NRSV states:

By a perversion of justice he was taken away.

   Would we accuse God of ordering a perversion of justice? The Hebrew preposition translated “for” is “min,” meaning “from” or “out of” or “because of.” It was because of the unjust trial and sinful actions that the obedient servant was tortured and murdered (see Acts 7:52; James 5:6).

   What about chastisement? People often think of chastisement as punishment. Chastisement carries the idea of discipline and correction (further explained in chapter 23). If someone were to bear the chastisement for me, it does not mean the person is being punished. Punishment requires guilt. Christ was not punished and was not guilty.

   There are a couple of problems if we want to say Jesus had to pay or was punished for our sins. First, it cancels out forgiveness. How? First, if Jesus had to pay the debt for sin, then there was no true forgiveness. If a debt was paid then it was not cancelled. In Matthew chapter 18, we see where a debt was cancelled without anyone having to make a payment or punished. If God needed someone to “pay the price” for sin, then, in reality, sin is not truly forgiven. In the penal substitution, it has simply been transferred to someone else who happens to be an innocent person.

   Let us use the analogy of borrowing money. You owe me five hundred dollars. I tell you that you do not need to repay me as long as I am paid in full by one of your relatives. Did I really forgive your debt? It is obvious I have not cancelled the debt but only allowed someone else to repay it for you. Likewise, penal substitution suggests that God will forgive sins so long as there is punishment in full. Yet that is not free forgiveness. It is simply transferring punishment to an innocent person. Is this really what God has done?

   Contrary to popular belief, in Israel’s sacrificial customs, there was no basis for a transfer of punishment. God has made it clear that a person cannot be punished for the crime of another:

Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deut. 24:16; Ezk. 18:20)

   Secondly, the penal substitution system also cancels out God’s mercy and grace. God’s mercy is withholding judgment which is due to me. Grace and mercy are like two heads of the same coin. The mercy of God is favor, goodwill, and lovingkindness. God is very merciful towards sinners. However, His mercy does not do away with the sinner’s need for moral change. His mercy extends an invitation to the sinner to be reconciled with Him.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved… (Eph. 2:4-5)

   If Jesus had to be punished for the sins of the world, this does not show the mercy⁴⁴ of God since He demands that every sin be punished, and salvation cannot be of grace because the cause of salvation is by the merit of payment.

    The penal substitution teaching is immensely opposite from the biblical picture of a loving God who forgives repentant sinners freely and graciously.

   Throughout scripture, forgiveness of sins was always available and obtainable:

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

   The penal code conclusion is that if there had to be an absolute payment at Calvary and it brought a legal satisfaction because our sins were supposedly transferred to Christ on the cross, then all mankind are always free from all obligation and punishment. Since all sins were paid for at Calvary, everyone must be saved! Again, this leads to Universalism.

    Nowhere is Jesus ever mentioned as having to take the place of another and have to endure punishment imposed upon him for the crime of another. The bible repeatedly tells us that Christ suffered.⁴⁵ The man who suffers for the benefit of others is a martyr, not a convict.

   Biblical disciples viewed Jesus as a martyr. He was not just a martyr but was the martyr though the word was not yet invented. However, many years later when John wrote the Book of Revelation we see:

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, [μα ρτυς martus, martyr] and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. (Rev. 1:5)

   In the Foxe’s Book of Martyrs it states:

The dreadful martyrdoms we shall now describe arose from the persecution was its blessed Founder Himself, who was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, condemned under Pontius Pilate, and crucified on Calvary.⁴⁶

 Did God Require Human Sacrifices?

    Here is another problem. Did God ever require humans to be sacrificed? Scripture states:

When the LORD your God has cut off before you the nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have dispossessed them and live in their land, take care that you are not snared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you: do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same.’ You must not do the same for the LORD your God, because every abhorrent thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. (Deut: 12:29-31)

Because the people have forsaken me, and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah have known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, and gone on building the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it enter my mind; therefore the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter. (Jer. 19:4-6. See also Ps. 106:37-38 and Ezek. 16:20)

   It is apparent that God hates human sacrifices. It was so abhorrent to God that it did not even enter His mind! I find it hard to believe that God the Father wanted His Son, a human being, who was always faithful, to be a human sacrifice when He is against such sacrifices.

   The scriptures do speak of Christ as a sacrifice for us (Eph. 5:2), but people think in terms that Christ had to be slaughtered in order for sins to be forgiven when throughout scriptures God has always forgiven a person’s sin when they came to Him in repentance as required by Him.

   Rather than seeing Jesus as a human sacrifice that had to be punished and slaughtered, does not scripture show us that Christ was a living sacrifice as in sacrificial service to God, as he taught us to be? It is a symbol of holiness. The wages of sin is death and always will be unless a person repents and lives for God. When we are reconciled to God, we are not reconciled through punishment, but rather by repenting and living a pure life, as Jesus taught and set the example.

 Jesus Did Not Satisfy God’s Wrath

   A hymn you might hear sung in churches goes as follows:

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

   This hymn is not biblically sound. As mentioned earlier, nowhere does it say that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God. So many times we hear that Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath - that God's wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross. If we read God’s word more carefully, we will find that scripture never says Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath.

   In Matthew we read:

But answering, Jesus said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup which I am about to drink, and to be baptized with the baptism with which I am to be baptized? They said to Him, We are able. And He said to them, Indeed you shall drink My cup, and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized; (Matt. 20:22-23)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; (Rom. 1:18)

   God’s wrath is storing up against those who will not repent:

But because of your stubborn and unrepentant heart you are reserving wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.  (Rom. 2:5)

   The wrath of God will come upon those who are disobedient.

So put to death your worldly impulses: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. (Col. 3:6)

 God Did Not Forsake Jesus On The Cross

   When Jesus was on the cross he cried:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)

   Most people are taught that God turned his back on his Son while on the cross because God could not look at sin since the sins of mankind were “transferred” (which we know is not true) to him. This is interesting considering the fact that God sees sin every day!

There are a couple of things to note here:

1. This is the first time Jesus calls his Father “God.” If Jesus is God, he cannot be crying out to himself.

2. Jesus did not make an assertion that God had forsaken him. Jesus is asking a question.

   The question from Jesus was a direct quote from the prophetic Psalm 22, where in the very first verse the psalmist asks, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" In Psalm 22, David was writing about how he felt at the time, but this vivid description applies even more to Jesus at the time of his crucifixion. In the same Psalm, it says in verse 24:

For he does not despise nor detest the afflicted person; he does not hide his face from him, but he hears him when he cries out to him.

   God did not hide His face from Jesus as he hung on the cross. To the contrary, He listened when Jesus cried out to Him.

   Jesus was never left alone by the Father. In fact, just twelve hours before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples:

Listen, the time is coming, indeed it has already come, when you will be scattered, each of you to his own home, and you will leave me all by myself. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32)

   How many of us have occasionally felt like God has abandoned us even though we have done nothing wrong? Why would it be any different with Jesus? As an innocent person, he had been tortured more than any of us could even imagine, and under such horrible conditions, it is no wonder he cried out to God.

   Nowhere in scripture is it taught that God was satisfied by punishing (penalizing) Jesus in the place of sinners (substitution) so that God can justly forgive the sins of mankind. The Penal Substitution theory did not raise its head until around the 11^th century by a man named Anselm. It is the commonly held belief among Protestantism today.

 What Did Christ Do?

   So you may be asking what is the true view of the atonement. First we must remember that the word “atonement” was invented many centuries later by Tyndale (“at-one-ment”) to translate the same Greek word that is also translated “reconciliation.”

   The bible says Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). In the ancient world, a ransom was paid in order to secure the release of a captive. A price could be paid to buy a slave’s freedom or to release a hostage. This is similar to kidnappers who demand a ransom to release its hostage.

   Some may believe that the devil is the person to whom Christ paid the ransom; however, Satan would be the winner because the one who receives the ransom payment is the one whose goals have been met. However, there was no ransom paid to the devil. There was no payment at all. Scripture clearly tells us that Satan was defeated by Jesus because Jesus defeated the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Not to mention that Satan was in no position to demand a ransom.

   The ransom has to do with the victorious life Jesus lived. Because of Jesus’ life of obedience to the Father, Jesus proved that it was possible to obey God which many claim is impossible to do. Jesus set the example in a sinful world. The bible says:

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of YHWH was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

   There was no punishment, no satisfaction, no payment or transaction taking place to the devil, nor to God, and no human blood sacrifice in order to free man from the bondage of sin.

   Then how did Christ destroy the works of the devil? Christ destroyed the works of the devil by his obedient life to the Father and therefore, anyone believing the gospel of the kingdom Jesus preached and by following the example Jesus set forth, he is able to free mankind from the corrupting influence of sin. I would call this destroying the works of the devil.

   The story of Jesus is likened to the parable of the landowner (Mark 12:1-9) who, in the end, finally sent his son to recover what was rightfully his and his son was killed. The death was not a sacrifice, it was a murder.

   From the apostles and through the first thousand years, the life of Christ was taught as ransom where man can be redeemed from the corrupting influence of sin by sharing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus who defeated the works of the devil. It has nothing to do with God magically taking over someone’s life who say it is impossible to obey God, and try to find every excuse and teaching not to obey.

Through the Messiah, God was reconciling the world to himself…” (2 Cor. 5:18,19).