It would take an enormous ego to think I can tread new ground on the doctrine of Penal Substitution. More accomplished theologians have written on this topic with greater clarity and insight. The Reformer John Calvin wrote eloquently on the
topic as did the modern English theologian
J.I. Packer. Charles Spurgeon also made the doctrine a
charge to his ministerial students. The doctrine is often accused of being a modern invention with no foundation in church history from the time of the Apostles to the Reformation. This criticism does not consider the multitude of problems the church dealt with in the early Patristic Age. The Patristic Age was rife with error and often came to erroneous, if not heretical conclusions. By the beginning of the 5th Century, the papacy plunged Christendom into a millennium of increasing error and idolatry. Although there were a few wicks of gospel truth left burning during this time, they were not enough to point the masses to Christ. A temperamental Benedictine Monk named Martin Luther was used by God to challenge the status quo. What became known as the Reformation unleashed a torrent of opposition against Rome. The Word of God was now in the hands of the people and the truths that Rome had suppressed were now being proclaimed; first in continental Europe and then in Scotland and England. One of the most consequential of these truths was the teaching that Jesus Christ died to satisfy God’s wrath against sin and to pay
the sin-debt for the Elect. This teaching is better known as Penal Substitution. The word “penal” means “of, relating to, or involving punishment”. Substitution means “the act, process, or result of substituting one thing for another”. Ergo, Penal Substitution teaches that Jesus was punished on behalf of another. Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” Another thread on the Atonement began with a discussion about sin. It is right that this thread starts with the same topic.
One accepted definition of sin by theologians is, “Thoughts, words, or deeds that constitute a deliberate violation of God’s will and law and are thus sinful”. The first example we see of sin is recorded in Genesis 3:6. God expressly commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil under penalty of death (Gen. 2:17). With full knowledge of God’s command, Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. Because of his sin, Adam experienced two types of death. First, Adam’s body began the slow but deliberate march towards decay and physical death (Gen. 5:5). Second, Adam experienced spiritual separation from God. This is what the Apostle Paul refers to as νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις (nekros tois paraptomasin kai tois harmatias), dead in trespasses and sins. This is commonly referred to as being spiritually dead. All those who are outside of Christ are described this way (Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13). Being spiritually dead means that the sinner is in a state of sin and separated from a right relationship with God. A person is a sinner for two reasons. First, they are born into a fallen state because of the sin of Adam (Rom. 5:12). The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith describes it thus, “They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin, and by nature children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free.” This view of the imputation of sin is referred to as the Federal Headship View. Adam was the first human being. He was created without sin. Neither his mind nor his body had experienced the corruption of sin. Adam acted as humanity’s fair and just representative. In his federal capacity, Adam acted on our behalf. When Adam sinned it was as though we sinned through his agency. This is where original sin comes from.
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