Without Christ's Substitutionary Death, There Could Be No Gospel

[JonC]

"Sin debt" is not an "alternate theory". It is solid Biblical teaching.

No, "sin debt" is an alternative to biblical atonement. It makes too many assumptions (you prove this by the passages you provided... none of them speak of a "sin debt"). You have contextualized the passages through your theory.

This is what I mean by "spiritual knowledge". The work of the Spirit is not discovering what God's words "really" teach but instead it is revealing the words actually given.

By this I mean natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. They can understand words and sentences, but to them Scripture lacks meaning. So they invent theories(like "sin debt", "restoring stolen honor").

This is the supernatural work of the Spirit we see. A Christian holds the bible and reads God's words. And those words have life. The atonement is eloquently simple, yet there is a depth to last several lifetimes. The Christian understands spiritual things, understands God's words.

But the natural man, holding the same text, sees incomplete hints at something not fully expressed. He views "spiritual knowledge" as some secret doctrine or code hidden beneath the text. And he is carried away by that philosophy - whether it is the "sin debt" heresy, baptismal regeneration, restoration of divine honor...etc. Those theories are merely what theorists adopt because they are natural men looking at something they cannot understand.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

A better approach, for those wanting to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, is to set adide what various men think is really taught by the Bible and sinoly believe the biblical text itself.

This is true. I have long since set aside what you think and prefer to believe the Biblical text, which is very simple and straightforward if one reads it without pre-suppositions.
'He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.'
'You [God the Father] have brought Me to the dust of death.'

Penal substitution.