Armchair Theologian

Believe it or not there are actually a lot of people who outright deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement.  Though anyone reading my blog is familiar with the concept not everyone is familiar with the term so here is the definition from Theopedia.

“Penal substitutionary atonement refers to the doctrine that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His own holy standard.” – Theopedia

Before studying this topic I highly recommend that the reader take a look at one of my earlier posts on the Holiness, Wrath, and Love of God.  This will give you the theological framework and foundation necessary for the Penal Substitutionary Atonement to make any sense.  And when people attack it, I find that their primary flaw is a failure of properly understanding those three doctrines and how they fit together.

I have analyzed the various arguments that I can find by those who deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement.  My discernment is that they use one of three approaches:

1. Historical Approach
2. Philosophical Approach
3. Biblical Approach

That being the case I am going to present my findings of each and then demonstrate my view and why.  The reader may be the judge, please leave a comment if you feel I have missed something important.

This is the most common argument.  The author will usually assert that the Penal Substitution doctrine doesn’t exist at all in the early church.  I have very consistently found that deniers will first present that Christus Victor was the dominant view for the first thousand years of Christianity and then concluded that it must be the only correct view.  This is based largely on the work of Gustaf Aulén’s book, Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Atonement.

The flaw with this approach is the assumption of exclusivity that goes along with it.  Just because God accomplished victory over the Devil in the atonement doesn’t mean that this is the only thing he did.

“11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:; 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.; 13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Col 2:11-17 KJV

Above is just one proof-text out of many regarding Christ crushing the head of the snake (Gen 3:15).  This is true, in the incarnation his infant feet crushed the head of Satan as if the Devil didn’t even matter.  This is because he doesn’t matter and Christ is the victor.  My issues are when people say this is the ONLY thing that Christ accomplished on the cross, and that Penal Substitution didn’t exist in the early Church.  It most certainly did, it has existed as a doctrine throughout the history of the Church, we just didn’t give it a clear name until later that’s all.  Similarly, the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the first century writings of the Apostles and in Patristic writings, we just didn’t have a nice fancy theological word for it until later.

The fact is that the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement is as old as the hills.  Both Christus Victor and Penal Substitution are ancient and true Biblical Doctrines at the same time.  The teaching that pits them against each other is a false dichotomy.  Review a sample of Ante Nicene Church fathers below and see for yourself.

Each quote is individually cited, but if you want my source for locating them all together you can find that HERE.

“Because of the love he felt for us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave his blood for us by the will of God, his body for our bodies, and his soul for our souls.”  Clement, First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 49, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, 10 vols. (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, 1994) 1:18.

 “Now, He suffered all these things for our sakes, that we might be saved.” Ignatius, Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans 2, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:87.

“For to this end the Lord endured to deliver up His flesh to corruption, that we might be sanctified through the remission of sins, which is effected by His blood of sprinkling. For it is written concerning Him, partly with reference to Israel, and partly to us; and [the Scripture] saith thus: “He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities: with His stripes we are healed. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb which is dumb before its shearer.” Epistle of Barnabas 5, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:139

“Moreover, when fixed to the cross, He had given Him to drink vinegar and gall. Hearken how the priests of the people gave previous indications of this. His commandment having been written, the Lord enjoined, that whosoever did not keep the fast should be put to death, because He also Himself was to offer in sacrifice for our sins the vessel of the Spirit, in order that the type established in Isaac when he was offered upon the altar might be fully accomplished.” Epistle of Barnabas 7, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:141

“For the whole human race will be found to be under a curse. For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them’ [Deut 27:26]. And no one has accurately done all, nor will you venture to deny this; but some more and some less than others have observed the ordinances enjoined. But if those who are under this law appear to be under a curse for not having observed all the requirements, how much more shall all the nations appear to be under a curse who practise idolatry, who seduce youths, and commit other crimes? If, then, the Father of all wished His Christ for the whole human family to take upon Him the curses of all, knowing that, after He had been crucified and was dead, He would raise Him up, why do you argue about Him, who submitted to suffer these things according to the Father’s will, as if He were accursed, and do not rather bewail yourselves? For although His Father caused Him to suffer these things in behalf of the human family, yet you did not commit the deed as in obedience to the will of God.” Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 95, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1:247

Many doctrines were clarified and expounded upon in the reformation, but they were not new.  It was a conservative movement not a Liberal one.  My only guess that that those who deny this doctrine either have a very low view of scripture or don’t expect anyone to critically double check their work.

I am not going to address every Philosophical argument as it would be too long and I don’t believe doing so is necessary.  Instead, I will examine some of the more prominent arguments below and why I disagree.

Argument #1 “Penal Substitution denies the Trinity”

This argument is just silly, yet still I cannot believe how often I see it from those who deny Penal Substitution.  In an effort not to misrepresent the position I am going to quote it directly from HERE.

“If Christ died for, and is our solution to, our sins against god the Father, then what about our sins against Christ? He’s just as god as the Father is. or our sins against the Holy Spirit? With penal substitution, God is pitted against God, either dividing God (and thus destroying the Trinity) or saying that Christ isn’t fully god.”

I don’t have a categorical problem with using philosophy in theology but it should not be used in a magisteral manner as the writer above does.  To illustrate my point, he needs a clear verse saying “Christ did not die for our sins” rather than to try to twist the doctrine of the Trinity against it.

Second, we are free to resolve philosophical issues with whatever manner stays in compliance with clear scripture.  Since the Bible is clear that Jesus did die as a substitute for sin (see passages below), and the Bible is clear on the Trinity, then we are to either use philosophy in a way that brings the two together or accept that we cannot and hold the teachings in tension.  But we should never abrogate one passage of clear scripture with another.

To address the argument philosophically, I would argue that the flesh of Christ died according to his human nature but that his spirit descended to hell according to the divine (1Pet 3:18-20).  In this act he has triumphed over our sins destroying them in his flesh, and rose new in body on Sunday morning.  Rather than Penal Substitution being a denial of the Trinity, the author of the above accusation is simply ignorant or in denial of the Two Natures of Christ and how such a doctrine allows for God to both exist in hell and punish himself in the flesh at the same time.  This Biblical teaching allows for both the Trinity and the Penal Substitution to co-exist simultaneously with no philosophical conflict.

I have not yet blogged at length on the Two natures of Christ, for a full breakdown by a reputable source please click HERE.

Argument #2 “Penal Substitution isn’t Loving”

This is one of the arguments that makes me angry.  The assertion is that if Penal Substitution is true then that means God’s love is not unconditional.  This argument asks the reader to bring their own definition of the Love of God to the table.  The problem is that the Bible defines the Love of God in the Penal Substitutionary atonement.  So in a very real sense to assert that such is unloving the one making the argument denies the Love of God altogether.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8 KJV

To fall for that gag you have to just not read your Bible or care much for what it says.  If you define Unconditional Love as the Bible does there is no conflict.  If you define it as the world does then there is, I will certainly concede to that.  Let the debate be on how we define our terms rather than the atonement and then move from there.

Argument #3 “Jesus didn’t die for our sins”

No joke, this is actually a big problem that some have with the Penal Substitution doctrine, they reject the notion of Christ dying for our sins.  Don’t believe me?  Click HERE and see for yourself.  The jist of the argument is as follows:

“If god’s justice demands that He punish sin, then there is a higher force than God—necessity—which determines what God can and cannot do.” – Orthodox Problems with Penal Subustition

To that my only response is the following:

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” 1 Cor 15:3 KJV

If you are going to philosophically assert that Christ did not die for our sins then obviously our issue isn’t the doctrine of the atonement it is how seriously we are to take scripture, and we should instead be speaking about that.  This one is simply too clear to question.

To address it philosophically though I would argue that God is not compelled to act by any force outside of himself.  The holiness, wrath and by extension justice of God are attributes that come from him not outside of him, in like manner so is his love.  He is not compelled by any outside force to act at all and quite frankly we are lucky that he chose to because we don’t deserve it.

The sophistry presented by some to refute penal substitutionary atonement isn’t even good sophistry.  It relies on definitions of justice that are outside of God to govern God, in this their reasoning is circular.  Biblically, justice is defined by God’s desires and actions and cannot be removed from his nature.  Thus whatever he does is what actually defines justice in the first place, which in my estimation renders the argument moot.

There are other philosophical arguments but I believe I have demonstrated enough for the average reader.  If you feel I have left something critical out please drop a comment down below.

“Scripture says one cannot die for another”

This one doesn’t make me so angry as some of the others, if this is the only reason one denies the doctrine at least they are starting from scripture.  I honestly understand how the average reader could get confused here when the passage is taken out of context.  Critical analysis in context though can easily reveal the error.

“14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. 16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: 18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.” Deu 24:14-18 KJV

The obvious answer is that the above passage is not teaching about the atonement at all.  Instead you have a piece of prescriptive civil law as part of the now obsolete Torah (Heb 8:13).  If you want to use it definitively to understand new covenant law in a Third Use sense then go for it.  The atonement however applies in the second use of the law, to confuse it with the third would ultimately obfuscate the Gospel.

To respond full though let’s see what the Bible says about this doctrine.  Ultimately that is what matters.  History and Philosophy, though they have their place, should always take a back seat to clear scripture.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2: 24 KJV

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.;  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6 KJV

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” 1 Cor 15:3 KJV

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” Col 2:14 KJV

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb 9:28 KJV

“Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Rom 4:7-8 KJV

“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Rom 4:25 KJV

Above in Romans 4 we see both the Penal and the Substitution.  We see that the purpose of bearing out offenses in Substitution was for our “penal” Justification.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor 5:21 KJV

 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” Php 3:9-10 KJV

 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” Eph 1:7 KJV

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.;  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.;  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.;  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Gal 3:24-27 KJV

“bare our sins”

“for our transgressions”

“hath laid on him”

“Christ died for our sins”

“bear the sins”

“made him to be sin”

“for us”

“will not impute sin”

“have put on Christ”

“we have redemption”

“have been baptized”

Look carefully at the verbs and nouns above, who is doing the bearing of sins?  Who is doing the receiving of redemption and righteousness?  Jesus did die for our sins and whoever tells you otherwise is in open rebellion to the Word of God and needs to repent.

This post has been a long time coming, once you read it you will see that much of the work I have done on salvation over the past year has been building up to this one.  My apologies ahead of time for the length, but I want to do it justice and I don’t want to break it up into a series.

CARM defines the Biblical term Justification as follows:

“To be justified is to declared legally righteous. It is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins.”

I agree with this definition but it is important to define our terms Biblically.  This is even more important with the word Justification as it is not only central to the Gospel, but to the Biblical narrative as a whole.  Because of it’s importance I am going to overkill defining this word.

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.” Romans 4:2-9 ESV

This is one of the clearest passages in scripture on Justification.  Paul opens up making it painfully obvious that Abraham was not justified by works but rather credited by his belief.  This belief is counted to Abraham as righteousness.  I would understand it as a form of currency exchange, in this case belief being of a higher value than works as simply believing counts for the whole sinless life of Christ on your behalf.

Notice that it says “to the one who works, his wages are are not counted as a gift but as his due”.  This is just common sense.  When you receive your paycheck from the boss is it a gift or does he owe it to you?  Your boss isn’t doing you any favors, he is paying you what is owed.  Rather we are directed to receive what is not earned for the text juxtaposes the next statement over the prior in that “to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness”.  This is an either or dichotomy, you can’t have both here at the same time as Paul makes this distinction between the two very clear.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor 6:9-11 ESV

Above we see the same dichotomy mentioned in Romans played out in Paul’s teaching to the addresses.  In one category he is speaking of what they had earned with all their works, specifically death and hell.  But because of belief in Christ they are “sanctified” and “justified” in the past tense.  This verse is why I prefer not to use the word sanctification in the sense of an on-going process.  I am not denying new obedience, I am just downgrading it soteriologically speaking that’s all.  I would argue that in verse 11 sanctification is how God sees us in light of Justification, that is, we are set apart in Christ.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:21 ESV

“8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Philippians 3:8-12 ESV

Above we see that our righteousness is received in faith, the same language found in Romans 4.  But this time Paul reiterates that we do NOT have the righteousness that is of our own from the law, but rather have that which comes through faith.  The same dichotomy, the same juxtaposition.  Again, one cannot see earning righteousness and receiving it as two concurrent things as they are very clearly set against each other in the Bible.

As if the above were not sufficient we have numerous passages in the Bible clarifying that Justification is not of the Law.

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” Galatians 5:4 ESV

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20 ESV

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Romans 3:28 ESV

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Galatians 2:21 ESV

“yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16 ESV

“and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” Philippians 3:9 ESV

“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” Romans 4:5 ESV

Below we see it is also clarified that justification is received by Faith in Christ.  With such a large council of scripture to this effect I don’t see how anything could be more obvious.

“Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” John 5:45-47 ESV

“But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4:23-25 ESV

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11-12 ESV

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 ESV

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:8 ESV

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12 ESV

The gift of Faith from God is delivered to man in around and under earthly means.  It is important to understand this not only theologically but practically as well.  For example, I know I am born again because I am baptized.  This is an objective undeniable event with a date on it.  If I were to look to the burning in the bossom while the music is playing and the smoke and laser show is going on at Church instead the ultimate measure of Justification then becomes myself and my own heart (Jer 17:9-10).

If I instead look to the Biblical means by which God by his Grace gives Faith unto Justification then there is no reliance upon myself, but rather on God.

The Bible teaches that Faith is a Gift and that you are Justified through it.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8 ESV

The logical question is since Grace is defined as an unmerited disposition of God toward man how does one receive Faith as a promise of this Grace?  Since Faith is the saving substance given by Grace then it follows logically that any passage teaching means of God’s saving act upon the believer is God giving that believer faith.  This is God’s act of Justification performed on the believer.

We see this work of God in Baptism:

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I Peter 3:21 ESV

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12 ESV

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7 ESV

Above we see that God’s act in baptism saves you and gives you faith.  Understood through systematic soteriological texts such as (Eph 2:8) this is the act of God giving faith to the recipient.  This is why we say Sola Fide (Faith Alone).

We see this work of God in Sacrament of the Altar:

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28 ESV

Don’t miss above that the forgiveness of sins is received in the true Body and Blood of Christ.  This is the same Gift of faith received in Baptism.  By different means God accomplishes the same act of giving faith for it is by faith alone that one is forgiven of sins and counted as righteous.

26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.…. 31

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst…

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 

54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.

58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” John 6:26-65 ESV

I have condensed the above passage for brevity, if you want to read the whole thing click HERE.

Again, the text promises that those who eat and drink the flesh and blood of Christ will abide in him and have eternal life.  This is the forgiveness of sins given in Faith, for it is our Faith that God counts as righteousness.

We see this work of God in the Preaching of the Word:

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ; And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ; But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ; So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:14-17 ESV

Above we see that it is by the preaching of the Word of God in which the Holy Spirit has promised to give faith to the hearer.  Ultimately this is Holy Absolution, the forgiveness of sins given to you by the Preaching of Christs church.  We see in scripture that this is the binding and loosing of sins that Christ gives;

To Peter:

“And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ;  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ;  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matt 16:17-19 ESV

To the Church:

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ;  Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ;  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matt 18:18-20 ESV

And to the Apostles:

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ; And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ; If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:21-23 ESV

Protestants I am familiar with all but ignore these keys in a theological sense.  Rome confers them only upon Peter.  Biblically all three passages are true, thus the keys apply to all three.  I challenge the reader to accept this without abrogating those they dislike with those they privilege.

In the preaching of God’s Word the Gospel of Jesus Christ is declared.  Faith is given and by this sins are forgiven thus these dead bones come to life (Ezk 37:1-14).  This absolution is the binding and loosing of sins.  How does the church bind sins to people rather than loose them?  The answer is by not preaching the gospel, and unfortunately this is a strong trend in many Churches today.  Pastors will preach instead that the Bible is an allegory of your life rather than proclaiming the gospel to sinners.  In doing this they are withholding the Gospel and binding hearers in their sins.

This last point was very clarifying for me.  Coming from an mainline American Protestant understanding I thought of Justification as a one time event.  You often hear Evangelicals speak like this;

 “Back before I was saved…..”

“When I got saved back in….”

This is because in most evangelical circles salvation is seen theologically as a goal post in ones life, where before they were damned and now they are not.

I am not rebuking that as heresy, in fact there is a degree of truth to it.  At one time I was damned in trespasses and sins but now I am baptized.  I once was lost but now I am found. I am continually Justified by Grace through Faith in Christ.  This is how I am kept in Christ, by being Justified over and over every Sunday morning in Word and Sacrament.

Do we see this demonstrated in scripture?  We do, for starters we see that Paul stresses Word and sacrament to believers (Tit 3:4-7)(1Cor 10:15-17)(Rom 10:17).  Even Baptism is something that stays with you and is fed by Biblical teaching (Eph 5:25-27)(Matt 29:19-20).  However, the most polemic example is with Abraham.  I have listened to Theologians such as Dr. James White attempt to dance with these passages and have to confess I have not seen any honestly approach the text, you be the judge.

The first place we see Abraham receive Faith from the Word of God is in Genesis Chapter 12 where he is called from the land of Ur.

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord , who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:1-7 ESV

Above we see that God commands Abraham to leave and gives him heavenly promises of blessings associated with the command.  Though it is implied in the text we know that Abraham demonstrates Faith in this act by cross referencing it with Hebrews 11.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV

The problem with the Evangelical motif is that when Paul speaks of Abraham’s faith counting as righteousness the referent is Genesis 15.

“And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord , and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:5-6 ESV

“1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? ; 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ; 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:1-3 ESV

Here is the thing, in the Chronology of historic narrative Genesis 15 happened after Genesis 12.  Therefore Abraham already had faith in God at least once before he was given faith again.  Since it is through faith that one is justified, the scriptures teach at least one clear pattern of someone being justified twice.  A Roman Catholic might say that Abraham committed a mortal sin in between these events necessitating a repeat of Justification.

Though I would disagree with the Roman Catholic on distinctions between mortal and venial sins I would have to concede that they are more consistent with the text with regards to one being Justified more than once.  The goal post only view of salvation is a two dimensional soteriological structure not compatible with the Word when subjected to scrutiny.

I would argue that though Abraham was a faithful believer he was also a fallen man in the flesh.  And because of this God continually preserves him by the giving of faith through means.  Each time this happens Abraham is justified over and over.  Not in a incremental application of Favor Dei Grace but rather 100% of the righteousness of Christ imputed each time.

At the end of the day this changes one’s perspective on Church too.  The view of many is that church is primarily something we do for God, an act of worship and good christian discipline.  But with a proper understanding of Justification one goes to Church to receive Faith.

Words cannot express the comfort and peace in this.  No matter how weak or unsure one may be it is not within ourselves that we are to look but rather to God.  Salvation is received from outside of your person not within.  The promise of Justification is something spiritual delivered by something physical.  The objective undeniable Grace of God delivered by means creating faith within by which one is justified in Christ.

Thanks for reading,

May the peace of Christ which passes all understanding be with you