Substitutionary atonement is the doctrine that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for the sake of his chosen people; that he was the substitute, taking upon himself the penalty they deserve and giving them his righteousness. As the sacrifice of the passover lamb was a substitute for the people, so Jesus, being the ultimate sacrifice for his people, is called the passover lamb. (1 Corinthians 5:7 – “For Christ our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”)
Substitutionary atonement can be broken down into each of its elements to more clearly see the Biblical support for this position.
ELEMENT 1: CHRIST TAKES UPON HIMSELF THE PUNISHMENT OF THE SIN OF HIS PEOPLE:
Isaiah 53:5 – “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:6 -– “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Matthew 20:28 – “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (See also parallel statement in Mark 10:45)
John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
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.
Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 – “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.”
Hebrews 9:27-28 – “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
1 John 4:10 – “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
ELEMENT II. WE ARE RIGHTEOUS FOR CHRIST’S SAKE
Jeremiah 23:6 – And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteous.”
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.
For reasons I don’t fully understand, many outside of Protestantism (and some within) reject the clear teaching of Scripture on the substitutionary atonement. Particularly they oppose the idea that God’s anger could be on Christ or that Christ’s death satisfies God’s wrath or justice. They also oppose the ideas of Christ as a propitiation for sin and of ransoming his people. All of these things, however, are taught in the Scriptures. Sadly, those who oppose substitutionary atonement (and related doctrines) oppose the very Gospel of Jesus Christ.
CHRIST’S DEATH APPEASED GOD THE FATHER
John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Colossians 1:19-20 – “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Hebrews 9:12-15 “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”
PROPITIATION
Romans 3:25 “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
1 John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
RANSOM
Matthew 20:28 “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1 Timothy 2:6 “who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”