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Christ in Colossians – Part 8 – Atonement – Jesus is Our Penal Substitutionary Atonement

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Posted by GregQualls | Posted in Jesus, Re:Train, Religion/Spirituality | Posted on 08-12-2009

Atonement

Paul presents Jesus to the Colossians as their penal substitutionary atonement. Being unable to take care of the penalty of their sins, Jesus substituted himself on the cross for them. Paul writes to the Colossians: “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). The Colossians were in debt and deserved the penalty of death and hell.

The New American Standard translation of the Bible says that the certificate of debt was “hostile to us” (Col. 2:14, NASB). “The certificate was hostile to us, that is, it was enough to condemn us to judgment and hell, because ‘cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them’ (Gal. 3:10).”[1] But this debt was set aside when God took out the Colossians’ punishment in Jesus on the cross, thereby making him their penal substitutionary atonement. “As our substitute Christ did for us what we could never do for ourselves: he bore our sin and judgment.”[2]

[1] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 112.

[2] John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 276.

  • Theodore A. Jones

    “It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” Rom. 2:13
    No person who thinks substitutionary atonement is true could or would make this statement.

    • Anonymous

      I would agree if that was the only statement they ever made.  But Paul goes on to say a lot more in Romans 3…especially verse 20.  

      20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

      Looks like you need to read the rest of Romans….and maybe Ephesians, Galatians, Phillipians…well pretty much the whole New Testament.  There is a lot more that Romans 2:13.

      • Theodore A. Jones

        “they ever made’? Who in the heck are they? 
        As for your conjecture that Rom. 2:13 is not true you are assuming that the word law is only referring to the Sinai code which Paul references as the written code of law in Rom. 2:29, “not by the written code.” No person is justified righteous in God’s sight by observing, i.e compliance, to the the written code. However a change was made to the law after Jesus’ crucifixion, ref. Heb. 7:12, which Paul amplifies. “The (a) law was added (to the law) so that the trespass (the sin of murdering God’s only begotten son) might increase.” Rom. 5:20
        Your false salvific conjecture, substitutionary atonement, is only an observance of the written code.