What is Penal Substitutionary Atonement?

This phrase looks intimidating, but it is actually a concise way to boil down specific beliefs about the atonement. The easiest way to breakdown this definition is to look at each of the words. As we examine each of these words we are going to look at them in light of Isaiah 53:5:

[5] “But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

First, penal is the root of the word penalty; it conveys the idea of punishment within a legal system. For example, if we talk about the penal system we are simply referring to the correctional facilities and programs that exist within our criminal justice system. In regard to the atonement this expresses the idea that there is a penalty for sin, and Jesus took that penalty upon himself. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. Jesus took our punishment in order to bring peace into our lives.

Second, the atonement of Christ was substitutionary. Christ died in our place. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. We deserved death because of our transgressions and iniquities, and Christ took our place in that death. Another aspect of this is that Christ lived the perfect life in our place. He was righteous, so he lived righteously. He was our substitute in life and in death. Jesus lived the life that we couldn’t live and died the death we should have died so that we could have hope in this life and the one to come.

Jesus bore the penalty for our sin and satisfied God’s wrath. He lived a sinless, perfect life that we could not and died the criminal’s death that we deserved. In doing these things, he has made it possible for us to be made right with God—and with his wounds we are healed. The atonement makes available real and complete healing and restoration. Some people have described the atonement as “The Great Exchange” whereby we receive Christ’s righteousness, and he takes our sin and guilt. To put it simply—he takes our badness, and we get his goodness.

Why Penal Substitutionary Atonement?

We believe that this explanation of the atonement upholds the full teaching of Scripture. There are many theories of the atonement that say true things but do not embrace every aspect of the atonement.

For example: The Christus Victor model claims that Christ’s death conquered Satan and proved his victory over sin and death. This is true, but this theory says nothing about the payment of our sin debt.

There are also many theories of the atonement that are incorrect or deceptive because they misunderstand the Scriptures or are pushing a teaching that is unbiblical.

For example: The Scapegoat Theory sounds biblical, but it argues that Christ’s death on the cross serves not as a sacrifice or substitution; rather, it highlights the ugliness of violence and calls people to a better way of thinking.

Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA) upholds the different facets of the atonement without promoting one at the expense of the other. It is not easy to understand how God can be loving and require the death of Jesus for our sin. It is not easy to understand how Christ can take our guilt away. We do not hold to PSA because of how easy it is; we hold to this doctrine because we believe it clings to the teaching of Scripture even when those teachings are difficult to understand. This doctrine is a good reminder that when we come to Scripture, it doesn’t submit itself to our understanding, we must submit our understanding to the words of Scripture.

Common objections

Divine child abuse. Some opponents of PSA claim that if God was truly loving then he would not participate in this strange form of divine child abuse. This, like many objections to PSA, reveals wrong assumptions or beliefs about the Trinity. The three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, are always in perfect unity (Trinity=Tri+Unity). Jesus wasn’t sent to the cross as an unknowing, unwilling victim. “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus claimed that he willingly laid down his life and that the Father loves him for this (John 10:17). Claiming that this is divine child abuse is ridiculous as it ignores and distorts Scripture.

God is vengeful. Many people have this misconception that God is sitting up in heaven waiting to zap us or judge us. They assume he is angry and looking for opportunities to unleash his fury, and they argue the cross is the primary example of this. While it is true that God does have wrath towards sin, to hold this view of an angry God you would have to ignore so much Scripture about God’s mercy, grace, long-suffering, and patience. This assumption is dangerous in that it exalts certain aspects of Scripture (love and forgiveness) and ignores others (justice and holiness).

Guilt can’t be transferred. This one is hard to understand for two reasons: 1. It seems too good to be true; 2. This is not how any worldly system of justice works. Let’s address both of these. How can it be that simply believing in Jesus can remove our sin? The technical answer is because Jesus was the second Adam. Just as we received our sinful nature from Adam because of his sin, so now, if we are in Christ, we receive his grace. The simpler answer is because God is loving and gracious. He knew we could never pay our debt, so he made a way that our debt could be paid by a substitute.

Second, it is correct that we do not see justice performed this way anywhere on earth, but this actually proves how good God’s plan really is. This way of substitution wouldn’t work on earth because there is no one perfect. I could not take a serial killer’s place on death row because I have also sinned. This highlights the fact that God’s ways are higher than ours and his plans more perfect than ours.

Punishment/God is love. Many people will phrase the question like this, “If God is love, why couldn’t he just forgive sin?” Again, this makes the error of holding one characteristic of God above another. Is God love? Yes. Can sin be in God’s presence? No. So, we can’t just sweep sin under the rug and call it a day. We can’t take our limited, human assumptions about love and apply them to an unlimited God who actually understands love far beyond anything we could ever comprehend. We must submit to God’s understanding of love and justice; only then will we realize that the cross was simultaneously the most horrendous act in history and the most merciful act that anyone has ever done.

Looking at these common objections to PSA calls attention to our need to read the Scriptures and submit our understanding to them.