Dakota Community Church
February 14, 2010
Pierced for Our Transgressions:
Understanding Substitutionary Atonement
The reality of Christ’s atoning death on the cross is at the very heart of Christian faith.
This truth has come under fire as of late by many who find ideas like the “punishment of sin” or the “wrath of God” to be unhelpful or even offensive, and certainly archaic.
The idea that God would require this sort of a bloody sacrifice for sin in many minds lowers God to a position somewhere below what he requires of his followers – namely; forgiving enemies rather than seeking vengeance.
Why would God require us to forgive while He himself enforces justice?
Answer: Only God who knows the heart and is omniscient is capable of justice; thus we who do not have all pertinent information must leave justice to Him.
1 Corinthians 15:1-6
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
The gospel by which we are saved is that Christ died FOR OUR sins, was buried, and raised to life again.
Romans 1:16-17
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
The gospel (Christ’s death for our sins, burial, and resurrection) is the power of God for salvation.
In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed by faith from start to finish.
This idea of Christ dying in our place, for our sins to satisfy the wrath of God is known as the substitutionary atonement. Substitutionary for obvious reasons, atonement requires a little more definition.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word is “kaphar” and means to cover over, expiate (make amends), wipe away, placate (appease), or to cancel.
In the New Testament the Greek word is “hiloskomai” and means to propitiate (to make favorably inclined), expiate (make amends), or conciliate.
The key thought is to cover over in God’s eyes or to wipe away.
Let’s look at the word in action in the New Testament:
Luke 18:9-14
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy (“hiloskomai 2433”) on me, a sinner.’
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Hebrews 2:14-18
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement (“hiloskomai 2433”) for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Why do we believe in substitutionary atonement?
1. God’s justice demands it
God cannot simply overlook sin.
These first two points were perfectly illustrated in our Wednesday Bible study where one person expressed the idea that death on a cross seemed a little extreme as a punishment for their sin and another expressed the reverse that it seemed hard to believe that that was all that was required of them. (Faith that is)
We do not understand the seriousness of bringing sin into the perfectly holy, perfectly righteous realm of God. We do not see the harm that is done in that rebellion. I have said it before – sin is the droplet of pee in the picture of lemonade, it is the tiny mouse pooh in the chocolate brownie, it is the spit of the disgruntled cook on the steak that is sent back to the kitchen.
Sin takes the pure, holy, and perfect and renders it tainted, unclean, broken and useless.
Isaiah 45:19-22
18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “ I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
Zephaniah 3:1-5
1 Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
2 She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the LORD, she does not draw near to her God.
3 Her officials are roaring lions, her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning.
4 Her prophets are arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.
5 The LORD within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.
It is important to know that God is just, we need the assurance that He is not conspiring against us, playing a series of cosmic jokes on humanity.
Numbers 23:19
19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
1 Samuel 15:27-29
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."
2. Human depravity necessitates it
In our fallen state there is nothing we can do to redeem ourselves, even if at times we desire to do good we still fall far short and we habitually rebel against God and any call to submit to Him.
Psalm 51:5
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Romans 3:10-12
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
We know right from wrong, the law is written on our hearts, when a child is pushed down he will scream of the injustice and then turn around a minute later and push down a smaller child. When two pieces of cake are offered the first to choose will take the bigger piece and the other knows that it is wrong of that first one to be selfish, but will do the same if the offer is reversed.
3. Old Testament sacrificial system foretells it
Leviticus 1:3-4
3 “‘if the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
Isaiah 53:5-6
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all
Plus the New Testament tells us that these Old Testament sacrifices were about Christ.
1 Corinthians 5:7
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
4. John the Baptist announced it
John 1:29-31
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, ’A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
5. Jesus claimed to fulfill it
Luke 22:37
37It is written: ’And he was numbered with the transgressors’[b]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."
[b] = Isaiah 53:12
Mark 10:45
45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
6. The apostles proclaimed it everywhere
1 John 2:1-2
1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Romans 3:22-26
22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
7. Our communion re-enforces it
Luke 22:19-20
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
