Penal Substitution and Justice (extract from Chapter 10, ‘Pierced for our Transgressions’)
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent- the Lord detests them both. (Prov.17:15)
To see why penal substitution is not a travesty of justice of exactly this kind, we need to recall the doctrine of union with Christ we discussed in chapter 5. The believer is not separate from Christ, an unrelated third party. He is in us, and we are in him, indwelt by his Spirit. …
The doctrine of penal substitution thus does not propose a transfer of guilt between unrelated persons. It asserts that guilt is transferred to Christ from those who are united to him. In fact, ‘transfer’ may not even be the best term, since it could imply a separation between distinct persons. Instead, it may be better to say our sins were ‘imputed’ (i.e. ‘reckoned’, or ‘credited’, to use the vocabulary of Rom.4 and Gal.3) to Christ, while his righteousness was imputed to us. That Christ bore our sins willingly merely furthers the point: he was not forced or coerced into this union with us, but entered into it voluntarily. Luther uses the analogy of a marriage between two people, one of them a debtor. The other knows that legal union will bring debt upon himself, but in love nonetheless willingly enters into the marriage. …
Union with Christ explains how the innocent could be justly punished – he is judged for others’ sins, which by virtue of their union with him, become his. Conversely, it explains how the guilty can be acquitted – believers are one with the innocent Lord Jesus Christ, and so his life of perfect righteousness is rightly imputed to us. …
We are now in a position to answer the objection that penal substitution entails unjustly punishing an innocent person. This rests on the claim that our guilt cannot be imputed to Christ, which is in turn grounded on the assumption that we are entirely separate and distinct from him. But the reality is that believers are united to Christ by his Spirit. The imputation of our guilt to Christ does not violate justice, because he willingly consents to a real, spiritual identification with his people. In short, this objection to penal substitution arises from a failure to understand the significance of union with Christ.
(Pierced for our Transgressions, ch.10, pp.242-245; Jeffery, S., Ovey, M., Sach, A.; IVP, UK, 2007)
So, ignorance of the spiritual union between Christ and the Church is a reason why penal substitution is not understood. There is a spiritual ‘marriage’ that Jesus enters into willingly, knowing that in doing so, he will incur our guilt and our debts. These debts he gladly pays on our behalf, suffering the punishment that is owing to us, because of our sins. We, in return, receive his righteousness. Our guilt is imputed to Christ as a result of his union with us. It is because of our oneness with Christ that sins are imputed – it is not like transfering guilt upon another distinct person. That, it is said, is the understanding that opponents of penal substitution have failed to appreciate.
Well, firstly, I am thankful to the authors for having written what many regard as a definitive explanation. That is to their credit. It is a robust contribution to the debate. The flurry of recommendations from well-known figures, allow us to focus on the main arguments as representative of the many who uphold this view, although there have been critics, even amongst supporters. As iron sharpens iron, such a debate is helpful. Advocates tend not to be so critical of each others efforts, but rather tend to reinforce accepted views, without too much depth of critical evaluation. That is often left to others, who see our Lord’s atonement from a different perspective. A lack of appreciation, however, might not be due to a lack of understanding.
Let us first consider the analogy of marriage. A husband takes on the wife’s financial debt and pays it off. In marriage, wealth and financial burdens can be shared, but acts of sin on the part of one committed without complicity on the part of the partner cannot implicate the partner in the guilt or cause the other to justly suffer for the offence. Husbands and wives are not made guilty for the sins of their partners. It matters not that the partner might be willing to suffer for the crime of the other. Although there can be a marriage of wills to share certain responsibilities and burdens, there can be no marriage of wills where there is no complicity in the committing of a crime. We are each held responsible for our own sins.
So it is with Jesus. In marriage with the Church, there is no marriage of His will with the will of man regarding acts of sin – no complicity. Therefore there can be no imputation of guilt or sin. Rather, we read that He ‘offered Himself without spot to God’ (Heb.9:14, NKJ) and ‘gave Himself’ for the church, that he might present to Himself ‘… a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish’ (Eph.5:25-27, NKJ). It is written, ‘He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin‘ (John 3:5, NKJ). That is very plain. In Him is no sin – not any – not ours, not anyone’s. Yet, He was a sin-offering. He was certainly looked upon as ’sin’ by those who maltreated Him at the cross. But, He was not this to God the Father.
However, with respect to the marriage of the Lamb. To whom is the world in debt, because of sin? Against whom have all sinned? – As both Man and God, the Word made flesh is the One against whom all have sinned. Mankind is in debt to Christ. He is our creditor – the One to whom we owe not just a debt of apology, but our lives – in complete and full repentance, if we are to be saved from the ultimate penalty of our sins. So, why should the Groom suffer punishment for the unpaid debt of the bride, when He Himself is the bride’s creditor? Only if we refuse to repent and submit our lives to the Lord, does our condemnation for sin remain. Those who yield their lives in faith to Him, He simply forgives.
Regarding the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the Church: He does not let go of righteousness Himself, He covers us with His own. As members of His body, we consent to do what is righteous and God is pleased to judge us righteous in Him.
The idea that man’s sins can somehow be imputed to Christ does not work. Jesus does not consent to sin. The idea presented above suggests that by imputing our sins to Christ, we somehow are set free. Yet, Jesus retains His righteousness, though His righteousness is imputed to His followers. By the same token, we should retain our guilt and sin, though these be imputed to Christ. It simply does not make sense, nor can it be just. Those who consent to do what is righteous are righteous in Christ. That is how we, if we are His, are judged:
‘If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him’ (1 John 2:29, NKJ).
‘Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous’ (1 John 3:7, NKJ).
The Holy Spirit does indeed unite us in fellowship with God. Jesus prayed:
‘I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me’ (John 17:20-21, NKJ).
However, if our oneness in Christ means that our guilt for sins becomes His, as supporters of penal substitution claim, by this reasoning, our guilt for sin should be imputed also to the Father and to the Holy Spirit, with whom the Church is united. Advocates attempt a way around this obvious difficulty by claiming also that at the time of the crucifixion, Jesus was abandoned, by God the Father and the Holy Spirit, to suffer alone. (See here: ch.1, ‘When He cried to Him, He heard’ .) The reason why this cannot be a solution to the problem should also be obvious. The reason that Jesus can be imputed with our sins and guilt is said to be that it is because we are united with Him spiritually, through the Holy Spirit. Yet, at the time our sins are said to have been imputed to Him, the Holy Spirit is said to have left Him. Moreover, if our union with Him and the imputation of our sins are seen as outside of history, then this must be inclusive of our union with the Holy Spirit and the Father. If Jesus was alone at the cross, then He was not united with us through the Holy Spirit. If He was united with us through our union with the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit and the Father would also share our guilt for sins. This line of reasoning simply does not make sense.
What the authors advocate as an explanation that is ‘not a travesty of justice of exactly this kind’ (Prov.17:15, see above), is still a travesty of justice – perhaps even more so, when we consider the unintended implications.
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