What problem did His death solve? Was it God’s anger or the demands of Justice, or did sin give Satan ownership of this world?
If Jesus did not die, we could not be saved. On that, we agree. However, different Theories of the Atonement are different explanations of HOW His death atoned for the sins of God’s people.
Reconciled God to His Creatures.
Some say that God was reconciled to His creatures, as if Christ’s death changed God. However, Paul always wrote that people are reconciled to God, never the other way around. In other words, Christ’s death did not change the Father’s attitude towards people; man changed. Show More
Pacified God’s wrath.
One horrible distortion of the gospel is that God was angry and that Christ died to pacify His anger. Firstly, it is not God who was hostile to man. Man is hostile to Him. Show More
Secondly, the Father is not angry with His enemies. Instead, God took the initiative to save man (Col 1:22). Christ was the Means of reconciliation, but the Father redeemed us. Show More
To say that sin made God angry and that He was eager to punish us, but that Christ took our punishment and pacified God, is a blatant contradiction of the Bible.
Restored Justice.
In Reformed circles, one often hears that sin perverts justice, insults God’s honor and that God’s righteousness or justice demands that someone had to suffer. Therefore, Jesus died to restore Justice. He suffered what we deserve so that we receive what He deserves.
This is more acceptable than saying that God was angry. However, how can it be justice to torture an innocent Person for the sins of other people? Show More
Christ’s Righteousness Imputed
Another theory is that Jesus lived sinless and that His righteousness is imputed to sinners. This is more acceptable than the previous versions because it does not assume that God is angry but focuses on the wonderful message that Jesus remained without sin even when subjected to the greatest possible temptation and torture.
However, while this theory interprets the word “justified” literally, it is only one of several Metaphors for Salvation, and we should not interpret it literally or emphasize it over other such metaphors. (Read Article) Show More
Triumph Over Evil
A very different explanation is that sin gave Satan ownership of this world. Humanity became his captive. However, Christ’s death triumphed over the evil spiritual forces, “disarmed” Satan (Col 2:15), rendered them “powerless” (Heb 2:14), and threw them “down to the earth” (Rev 12:9).
This was the view held by the church until Anselm in the 11th century. This website supports a variation of this theory, as discussed in the articles listed below.
Moral Influence
The moral influence theory suggests that believers are moved to repent and reunite with God when they see God’s love expressed through Jesus’ life and death. This is undoubtedly true but does not explain why Jesus had to die.
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Other Articles
Why Jesus had to die
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- What does “atonement” mean?
The word does not mean to pacify God. It means a state of unity: at-one-ment. - An overview of the main theories of Atonement
To explain how Jesus’ death is the solution, we must first define the problem. - How this website explains Atonement
Christ died without sin while suffering the worst possible temptations. This solved a problem in heaven. - Metaphors for Salvation
Words such as redeemed, reconciled, justified, and reconciled are metaphors and must not be taken literally. - Christ’s death enabled God’s grace.
Christ died to demonstrate that it is just of God to justify sinners by faith alone. - An explanation of the atonement to a Moslem
- A brief overview of these articles
- In the book of Revelation, why did Jesus have to die?
- What does “atonement” mean?
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External Resources:
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- Graham Maxwell
- Noah Worcester on atonement
- Joshua Thurow
A survey of the various ways Christians have thought about Jesus’ atonement.
- Graham Maxwell
Other
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