atpollard
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This will derail the thread if it is discussed, but I have to ask, for the sake of thinking about it and possibley (you) starting a thread devoted to the topic: Does it have to be wrath poured out of Christ in order to be penal substitution? And wouldn't the statement "wrath poured on the Son" first need to be explained by the one who is using that terminology?
Greetings Arial,
This isn’t my first rodeo on PSA and the WRATH of God, so you will forgive me if I enter with little expectation of “communication” (talking TO each other) and with more trepidation of talking PAST each other.
First, a disclaimer: I believe everything the Bible EXPLICITLY states that Jesus did and was, so all attempts to quote “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3) and similar verses as a “gotcha” proof the PSA is true and I am wrong will be met with a [sigh] and “Yup, I believe that, too.” That is not my complaint with PSA as it is typically presented.
FROM THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS FORUM:
“Christ took our sins and the sins of the whole world as well as the Father's wrath on his shoulders, and he has drowned them both in himself so that we are thereby reconciled to God and become completely righteous. Martin Luther”
Taking this as a working definition of PSA (we need to start somewhere and Christ Centered Community chose this quote to DEFINE “Atonement” for purposes of discussion), here is the challenge that was presented to me and I was confident that I could succeed in passing:
- Show me where in the BIBLE it teaches “Christ took … the Father's wrath on his shoulders”.
So therein is my problem. I searched to prove the definition Luther and CCC provided TRUE according to the challenge provided by another Christian to show where that is taught in Scripture. In my search, I found scripture offered a very different picture of God and the difference between WRATH and FORGIVENESS to the “pound of flesh to balance the scale of Divine Justice” model that I had been taught. Being “SOLA SCRIPTURA” to the core, I chose to reject the teaching of great theologians for the “Norma normans non normata” (the rule of rules that itself, answers to no higher rule”) … I believed Scripture.
The very specific point, succinctly put, is the TRANSFER of WRATH. I cannot find Biblical support for the theological model of God transferring DIVINE wrath from us (“the punishment we deserve” is how I typically heard it stated) to Jesus Christ (“Jesus took God’s punishment in our place” is how I typically heard it stated) so that God’s Justice could be satisfied (“Justice demands that payment be made for the sin to allow Mercy to forgive” … the divine equivalent of God demands his pound of flesh to satisfy his wrath before God is free to show mercy.). I have no objection to this on any grounds that it is “mean” or “unfair”. It is not God’s RIGHT to create such an atonement plan that I object to. I simply think that if God DID create such an atonement plan, that God would probably have mentioned it in His 66 books of God- breathed scripture. The fact that scripture does not teach about transferred wrath (only transferred sin) suggests that WRATH is not transferred. The fact that scripture actually teaches OTHER THINGS about WRATH reinforces that belief.
So to try and speak directly to your specific questions:
Q. Does it have to be wrath poured out of Christ in order to be penal substitution?
- No. However it is the concept of TRANSFERRED WRATH that I disagree with, so it is the “God’s wrath, directed at the saints, transferred to and inflicted on Christ, by God” that I call into question. If you can reject that and still call it PSA, then you have my agreement.
Q. And wouldn't the statement "wrath poured on the Son" first need to be explained by the one who is using that terminology?
- Yes. Unfortunately, everyone will have a different definition. Here at CCC, we have a quote from Luther as a starting point. For me, I have now defined my objection. For TRUTH, we have SCRIPTURE to define what God claims God did.
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