Question: "What is the
substitutionary atonement?"
Answer: The substitutionary
atonement refers to Jesus Christ dying as a substitute for sinners. The
Scriptures teach that all men are sinners (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 for 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.