PSA...Found this on X today

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I was surprised to find this on the forum X enjoy

Josh Barzon

1. What PSA Means Penal Substitution means that Christ bears the penalty we deserve (penal) in our place (substitution), effecting atonement with God. It doesn’t cancel other atonement motifs (victory, example, ransom); it grounds them. Without Christ taking our sin, we have no salvation. And all of the church echos this loudly as you will see below

 

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2. Roots in the Old Testament (c. 15th–5th c. BC) • Exodus 12: 13 – “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you.” • Leviticus 17: 11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood… to make atonement for your souls.” • Leviticus 16: 22 – “The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area.” • Isaiah 53: 5–6 – “He was pierced for our transgressions… the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” • Also: The Day of Atonement; Isaac’s Substitute; Passover Lamb; Bronze Serpent; and more.

 

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3. Jesus’ Own Words (AD 30–33) • Mark 10: 45 – “The Son of Man came… to give his life as a ransom for many.” • Matthew 26: 28 – “…this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” • John 10: 11 – “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” • Luke 22: 37 – “…this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’”

 

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4. The Apostles (AD 40s– 90s) • Romans 3: 25–26 – “…whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith… so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” • Romans 4: 25 – “…who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” • Galatians 3: 13 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” • 2 Corinthians 5: 21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” • 1 Peter 2: 24 – “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” • 1 Peter 3: 18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…”

 

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5. Early Church Fathers (2nd–5th c.) • Nicene Creed (AD 325) – “…who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven… was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried…” • Epistle to Diognetus (2nd c.) – “O sweet exchange, the righteousness of One justifies many sinners!” • Athanasius – The Word offered His body “in place of all, suffering for all.” • Chrysostom (on Gal 3: 13) – Christ “became a curse… and relieved us of ours.” • Augustine (On the Trinity) – “He took upon Himself our punishment without taking upon Himself our guilt, and by accepting the likeness of sinful flesh, He destroyed sin.”

 

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6. Early Medieval Church (5th–11th c.) • Leo the Great – “The sinless blood was shed to pay the debt of sinners.” • Gregory the Great – Christ “took upon Himself the punishment… not on His own account.” • Ambrose of Milan – “He took our death upon Himself, that He might destroy it in Himself.” • Isidore of Seville – “Christ, innocent, suffered the punishment due to sinners.” • The “Agnus Dei” Prayer – “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”

 

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7. High & Late Medieval Scholasticism (11th–15th c.) • Anselm – Only the God-Man can make satisfaction for us. • Thomas Aquinas – Christ “delivered us… by way of satisfaction,” truly “satisfied for us.” • Bernard of Clairvaux – “What He did not owe, He paid; what we owed, He canceled.” • Peter Lombard – Christ “offered Himself to God for us, paying what we could not.”

 

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8. The Reformation (16th–17th c.) • Luther – Christ “was made a curse for us.” (On Gal 3) • Calvin – “Guilt… was transferred to the Son of God.” (Institutes) • Thirty-Nine Articles XXXI – “…perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction…” • Westminster Confession – By His obedience and sacrifice, Christ “fully satisfied the justice of His Father.” • Heidelberg Catechism Q37 – “That… He bore the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race.” • William Tyndale – “Christ is our righteousness, redemption, satisfaction, … he became sin for us, and we are made the righteousness of God by him.”

 

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9. The Evangelical Age (18th–19th c.) • Jonathan Edwards – Christ “suffered the penalty of the law in the stead of sinners.” • Charles Spurgeon – “If our Lord’s bearing our sin for us is not the gospel, I have no gospel to preach.” • Andrew Fuller – “The death of Christ was vicarious, penal, and satisfactory.” • John Wesley – “The Son of God has bought me with his blood; he has satisfied for my sins; he has borne my punishment, and purchased for me the kingdom of heaven.” • George Whitefield – “The great God… laid on him the iniquity of us all, and Christ by his death made full, perfect, and sufficient satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.” • B. B. Warfield – “He substituted Himself for us under the penalty of sin; He took our place, bore our guilt, and by His atoning death made satisfaction to the justice of God for us.”

 

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10. Modern Witness (20th–21st c.) • Martin Lloyd Jones - “It is therefore, quite fitting to say that no-one really begins to understand the love of God and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ who does not believe the substitutionary and penal doctrine of the Atonement.” • J.I. Packer - “The penalty due to me for my sins, whatever it was, was paid for me by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in his death on the cross.” • John Piper - “For if God did not punish his Son in my place, I am not saved from my greatest peril, the wrath of God” • John Stott – “The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God; the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.” • R. C. Sproul – “Imputation is real. God really laid our sins on Christ, and He, in turn, gave His righteousness to us.” • John MacArthur - “If you don’t understand the doctrine of penal substitution, you don’t know why Christ died. • James White - Consider for a moment how precious it is that the Christian can say, ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ This is a personal atonement, personal substitution. We revel in the awesome love of our Savior who loved us as individuals and gave Himself up for us. For me! Me, the hate‑filled sinner who spurned Him and His love!”
https://x.com/JoshuaBarzon/status/1955632391097081901/photo/1

 

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Conclusion Even though it may be “cool” right now to downplay or deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement, Scripture and history speak with one voice: Christ bore our penalty in our place to satisfy God’s justice and secure our salvation. From the Law and prophets to the words of Jesus and the apostles, from the early church to the Reformers and modern preachers, PSA has been proclaimed as a core truth of the gospel. To abandon it is to hollow out the cross; to hold it is to stand in the stream of biblical, historic, and saving faith. Sources: The Bible