Prayerfully studying for the evening message, Pastor Calvin continues to read the Scripture.
This would be the day that the Lord, Christ Jesus, took the cross.
What is substitutionary atonement?
The substitutionary atonement refers to Jesus Christ dying as a substitute for sinners. The Scriptures teach that all people are sinful before God.
"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.
Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”" Romans 3:9-18, 23
The penalty for our sinfulness is death. Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That verse teaches us several things. Without Christ, we are going to die and spend an eternity in hell as payment for our sins. Death in the Scriptures refers to a “separation.”
Everyone will die, but some will live in heaven with the Lord for eternity, while others will live a life in hell for eternity. The death spoken of here refers to the life in hell.
However, the second thing this verse teaches us is that eternal life is available through Jesus Christ. This is His substitutionary atonement.
Jesus Christ died in our place when He was crucified on the cross. We deserved to be the ones placed on that cross to die because we are the ones who live sinful lives. But Christ took the punishment on Himself in our place. He substituted Himself for us and took what we rightly deserved.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” 1 Peter 2:24
Here again we see that Christ took the sins we committed onto Himself to pay the price for us. A few verses later we read,
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit” 1 Peter 3:18
Not only do these verses teach us about the substitute that Christ was for us, but they also teach that He was the atonement, meaning He satisfied the payment due for the sinfulness of man.
One more passage that talks about the substitutionary atonement is Isaiah 53:5. This verse talks about the coming Christ who was to die on the cross for our sins. The prophecy is very detailed, and the crucifixion happened just as it was foretold.
“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.”
Notice the substitution. Here again we see that Christ paid the price for us!
We can only pay the price of sin on our own by being punished and placed in hell for all eternity.
But God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to pay the price of our sins. Because He did this for us, we now have the opportunity to not only have our sins forgiven, but to spend eternity with Him.
In order to do this, we must place our faith in what Christ did on the cross. We cannot save ourselves; we need a substitute to take our place. The death of Jesus Christ is the substitutionary atonement.
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Paprihaven celebrates the love of God in the work of redemption in the Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus!
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Previous Resurrection Day celebrations at Paprihaven:
2016
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/25962038802/
2017
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/33242471123/
2018
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/41096879842/
2019
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/40651803253/
2020
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/49797426658/
2021
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/51090488089/
2022
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52007131618/
2023
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52801255348/
2024
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/53619891870/
2025
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/54460782166
