This is Part 3 of a series.
Part 1 is here.
Part 2 is here.
***
I’ve been writing about how the Courtroom metaphor to explain salvation is problematic, and I would say even extremely problematic. David Takle’s book, Lamb of God: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Atonement. helped me put the pieces together. I’ll be quoting from that book below.
As I mentioned in Part 1, I had written about the problems produced by the Courtroom metaphor without even realizing that they all traced their way back to this flawed explanation.
Back in 2014-2016 when I wrote my first Untwisting Scriptures book, I spent a good bit of time focusing on the issue of “rights.” (You can see a video teaching about it here)
That study about rights was so important for me. “Rights” are based on, simply, “what is right.” So what is right? It is that which is aligned with the heart of the Father.
I also learned that this concept is inextricably linked to the concept of “justice.” The concept of justice is all about: Setting things right.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Psalm 82:3
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
John 18:22-23
When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”
As much as our punishment-centric court system in the Western world focuses on punishment, justice really isn’t about punishing somebody (anybody) for crimes. Justice is about setting things right.
That became crystal clear to me as I worked on that study and that book.
And as you look at the Courtroom metaphor to explain our salvation, you’ll see that it does nothing NOTHING to set things right.
After all, what we have in that scenario is a very angry God, who wants to destroy us in His white hot anger.
We have us, who are very sorry for our sins but can’t do anything about them to placate the angry Father.
We have Jesus, who stands between the angry God and us and offers His life for us.
In this scenario, the Judge accepts this substitution and gives the Son the punishment instead of us.
Then we are saved from receiving the punishment from the Father that we deserved.
So many problems with this, but right now I’m focusing on justice.
He is the God of justice. But where is the actual justice in this scenario?
It’s completely absent.
Oh, when you redefine justice to mean “punishment” because “By jiminy somebody has to be punished because there’s no way a sin could go by without someone being punished for it,” then yes, by that definition (which is not the Biblical definition), justice is there when Jesus gets punished for our sins.
“Justice” by this courtroom definition says that when someone sins, SOMEONE has to be punished. Even if it’s not the person who sinned. I guess they’re saying it needs to be “an eye for an eye” even if it’s an innocent person’s eye.
Does this resonate as “justice”? For the guilty to go scot free and the innocent to be punished?
From David Takle in his book Lamb of God:
I am not aware of anyone who has demonstrated the logic of how justice can be carried out by charging an innocent with a capital crime, knowing full well who the real culprits are. That sounds a lot more like injustice of cosmic proportions, something God would never do.
When we have questions about something that doesn’t make sense, then we often get answers like “We can’t understand the ways of God” or “His ways are higher than our ways” or “He’s God, so He gets to define what justice is.”
If you’re like me, answers like this can drive you a bit batty. God gets to define what justice is. Okay. He has done that: justice is setting things right.
And we must look to Him for the example of what justice is.
We are told—because of the false Courtroom metaphor—that justice is punishing the innocent and letting the guilty off the hook.
It doesn’t make sense.
Could this be one of the reasons so many are walking away from Christianity?
After all, it appears that God is violating His very own standard of justice:
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
Proverbs 17:15
David Takle:
Even if all parties involved were to agree to transfer guilt from one person to another and to carry out the sentence accordingly, what they are really doing is bypassing the demands of justice in order to close the books for some other reason which is considered to be more compelling than justice itself. . . .
It might be a workable scheme, if God says so. But this is not justice. The death of Jesus was certainly a travesty of justice on the human level. And if He is being punished for the sins of the world, then it is also a travesty of justice on a cosmic level. We can all pretend it is justice in order to prop up this theory, but that does not make it satisfy the needs of justice. Even Oliver Crisp, who seems to want to salvage this theory (but finds it difficult to do so) admits that “it is unclear how anyone can take on the penal consequences of another person’s crime.”
So maybe instead of just accepting something that doesn’t make sense, we can start questioning the entire paradigm.
Picture being in the Courtroom with that angry Judge glaring at you, pointing to His ledger book. (You are told that this angry Judge is someone who loves you very much.)
You are told that His love wants to save you but His justice demands your punishment.
And you don’t understand, and it doesn’t make sense and you think maybe it’s just because you don’t understand the ways of God. And it keeps on feeling like God is a whole lot like an abuser. (After all, abusers often claim to love their victims.)
So maybe you just try to keep the image of Jesus between you and the Judge, who calls Himself Father, because it’s too terrifying to think of trying to approach that angry Judge, because after all, the innocent Son got punished instead of you, when you deserved it.
It’s a convoluted mess.
When we walk away from the Courtroom, we can start to see things differently.
God’s justice and love aren’t battling it out, as represented by the Father and the Son. They aren’t at odds with each other (more about that here).
Think again about the real definition of justice. It’s not about punishment. It’s about setting things right.
David Takle (emphasis mine):
[God] wants more than anything to destroy the works of the devil so that we can experience the joy and beauty of His holiness and the kind of life that comes from being in an interactive relationship with Him. That is setting right all that has gone wrong for us.
As you re-think the concept of justice to mean “setting things right” (instead of punishing somebody), you’ll see how closely it is connected to the concept of being justified by Jesus Christ.
It is through our justification through faith in Jesus Christ that we are more than simply seen as righteous by the Father. We are actually made righteous. (More about that here.)
We are cleansed. We are reconciled to God.
We are set right.
The sacrifice of Jesus—as shown not in the Courtroom metaphor, but in the symbolisms of the Temple (as discussed here)—serves to cleanse us, purify us, and reconcile us to the Father. Through His shed blood, He is setting right what had gone wrong but what the Father intended for us from the beginning.
From Amos 5:
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
To the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Our God will indeed punish the wicked who continue to be set against Him and His ways.
But He loves His children and wants joyful relationship with them.
When we see that God is, through the sacrifice of His Son, setting things right, aligning hearts with His, then it makes complete sense that the justice He would undertake when He was on earth was the kind of justice that would say this, from Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
to give unto them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.
From David Takle (emphasis mine):
In the ministry of Jesus we see justice exemplified in His healing of the sick and casting out demons, because “those who are sick need a physician” (Mt. 9:12). We see Him finding lost sheep (Lk.15:3-7), raising the dead (Mt.11:5), doing good on the Sabbath (Mt.12:12), and giving hope to those who have lost all hope. He is all about justice, making things right.
Part of the “setting right” our Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished is the reconciliation of loving joyful relationship with the Father.
The Courtroom says nothing about this. It’s not part of the metaphor at all.
But a very clear metaphor has been carried through in the Temple.
Here’s the Joy for the people of God: In the tearing of the veil of the Temple, the Father showed how His Son had accomplished justice.
Our Lord was setting right our relationship with the Father, the God of justice who because of that holy justice is slow to anger and abundant in mercy.
Hebrews 10:12-22.
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of God,
waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
then he adds,
“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, brothers [and sisters],
since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain,
that is, through his flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Oh how beautiful that because of Jesus Christ we can enter into the Holiest Place, to the presence of the loving Father who is not fearsome to us, because we are His sons and daughters.
This true justice is beautiful almost beyond comprehension.
We can rejoice in this good news.
It’s called “the gospel.”
***
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I really loved this post. I just recently started listening to Bema podcast and it feels in line with that eastern way of thinking (we often try to view an eastern book through a western perspective).
Well, I was just trying to look at the Bible, but yes, it probably is more like the Orthodox view.
I love Bema!
This is so good! Thank you!
I read yesterday the story of the laborers in Matthew 20, and I noticed that to the initial laborers at the beginning of the day the landowner “agreed with the laborers for a denarius” and then in the 3rd, 6th and 9th hour, the landowner said, “you go in the vineyard also and WHATEVER IS RIGHT, I will give you.” Then he gave them the same amount (one denarius). I have been mulling over this for a day and thinking about grace in this way and how the kingdom of heaven is like this. It is a generous Father that we have.
Oh, that’s an excellent observation, Terra! That whole story is about the “rightness” of allowing the Gentiles into the kingdom of God “all of a sudden” instead of making them wait for centuries the way the Jews had had to do.
Hi!!Thank you for your post. In my humble opinion what Jesus accomplishes on the cross is atonement, not justice. There was a price to pay for sin and he paid it in full. He was our substitute and what is wonderful is that he did it willingly despite the horrendous cost.
Romans 4:25 says [Jesus was] “delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
Romans 5:9 says “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
The Bible does teach that sin angers God and he will exact a penalty from those who do not accept Christ (though we might well wish this were not the case).
Romans 6:23 reads “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Thank you for your thoughts, Anne. Yes, Jesus did accomplish our at-one-ment with the Father on the cross (as testified by the beautiful symbology of the tearing of the veil). But are you saying it doesn’t matter that an innocent person paying for the crimes of a guilty person isn’t just? Our God is a God of justice, and we learn justice from Him. Justice–setting things right–is part of His nature. Certainly the purpose of the death (and resurrection) of our Lord Jesus was to set things right.
Just as an observation, the verses you quoted don’t even hint at the concept of “payment.” Romans 6:23 refers to “wages” rather than penalty.
When I first realized several years ago that the Bible doesn’t teach that Jesus paid a penalty for us, I was really shocked that I had just assumed it all those years.
Justice/justification is exactly the same as Righteous/righteousness.
The Greek word root, “dika” is in them all.
Interestingly, just recently I discovered this VERY ROOT is inside the word for “vengeance”. (A trail I’m on the verge of exploring.)
Imagine! The goal of God’s vengeance is to make us right with Him.
His wrath and repayment and vengeance is demonstrated as kindness. Does He expect us to be kind while He is the punisher? Certainly not! He “draws us to repentance with His lovingkindness.” (Romans 2:4)
“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “vengeance is mine, I will repay, “says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing, you will heap burning calls on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.(Romans 12:19-21)
This will be fun to look further into.
(Another peek check out the Hebrew definition of the word punishment in Isaiah 13:11!!! It’ll rock your world!)
Excellent thoughts!
Excellent.
❤️❤️
פּקד
pâqad
BDB Definition:
1) to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for (verb)
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to pay attention to, observe
1a2) to attend to
1a3) to seek, look about for
1a4) to seek in vain, need, miss, lack
1a5) to visit
1a6) to visit upon, punish
1a7) to pass in review, muster, number
1a8) to appoint, assign, lay upon as a charge, deposit
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be sought, be needed, be missed, be lacking
1b2) to be visited
1b3) to be visited upon
1b4) to be appointed
1b5) to be watched over
1c) (Piel) to muster, call up
1d) (Pual) to be passed in review, be caused to miss, be called, be called to account
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to set over, make overseer, appoint an overseer
1e2) to commit, entrust, commit for care, deposit
1f) (Hophal)
1f1) to be visited
1f2) to be deposited
1f3) to be made overseer, be entrusted
1g) (Hithpael) numbered
1h) (Hothpael) numbered
2) musterings, expenses (noun masculine plural abstract)
Excellent reply. Most think of man’s courtroom set up when referring to God’s justice, but in fact it does mean setting things right (as they should be) which is also the definition for “righteous”.
❤️
Yes, absolutely true–“Righteous” means “set right with God.” It’s about relationship.
Does “wages” mean that which is due?
I’d say “what is earned.” But yes. Consequences.
G3800
ὀψώνιον
opsōnion
Thayer Definition:
1) a soldier’s pay, allowance
1a) that part of the soldier’s support given in place of pay [i.e. rations] and the money in which he is paid
2) metaphorically wages: hire or pay of sin
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from a presumed derivative of the same as G3795
Many teach that concept using those verses. That is true.
Several years ago I began praying, asking God to help me read Scripture withOUT the filter of 40 years of sermons in my head. And I admit I stepped away from daily reading for a long while.
He was faithful to answer my heart’s cry.
It is so difficult to read without seeing/hearing what we’ve been told over and over from the pulpit/radio preachers.
I’ve recently learned that the oldest Christians from earliest times did not see this penalty/punishment scenario on the cross. This idea of penal substitution is a much newer understanding. It is not taught in Scripture the way we have been told. Thus, Rebecca’s fabulous work of Untwisting!
Indeed. The wages of sin are DEATH. Not punishment. Not hell. Just death.
Jesus’ purpose on the cross can be seen by what He accomplished while He was dead (and outside of time by the way when He led the captives out of the grave and took captive Captivity). And then he demonstrated His defeat of death by coming back to life.
The cross is all about resurrection, not punishment.
There is much more to find – the Bible is like digging for Treasure!
Beautiful!
That the early church did not believe in penal substitution is also supported by the fact that the Eastern Orthodox church has never taught it, and actually considers it a heresy.
I knew the Orthodox didn’t teach it, but I didn’t know they considered it heresy. Can you elaborate on that, as to why they do?
Exactly, saved from God’s wrath. Which is not non-existent.
I think I mentioned this already on a different post, but the Courtroom analogy misses that Jesus is the Judge who pays for our shame. People should look at it more like a relational conflict. Like God would be right to go no contact(seperated from God) with us, but He wants to repair the damage if we’ll respond favorably. Is this related to the Calvinists that seem to think God picked who to save like a person clearing out clutter and saving some of it? And considering that God lacks a autonomic nervous system, don’t think He could have white hot anger in the first place.
Point well taken, but this is the way he has been seen by many who are afraid of Him.
I was surprised to learn that the Scriptures never (as far as I’m aware) refer to the sacrifice of our Lord as paying for anything. Rather, it was for purification.
I don’t think this is related to Calvinism, but I’m willing to be corrected on that.
I guess I’ve just heard there may be a correlation? It’s more that Westerners often don’t understand honor and shame. Ancient people didn’t have a concept of guilt.
Interesting! I hadn’t heard that one.
Good point. The Middle East is an honour/shame culture while the West is a guilt/innocence culture. It’s us who would use a courtroom analogy, never those in the ME.
Purification….remission (forgiveness) of sins.
Amen.
Indeed.
The drastic change in my mind occurred when the full realization dawned on me- Jesus IS God. GOD reconciled us to Himself on the cross.
Jesus isn’t saving us from God. God came to earth as a human to show us the true nature of God!
We ought to learn all about God-the-Spirit by looking at Jesus-the-physical and THEN read the OT through the lens of who we KNOW God to be, as demonstrated through Jesus, whom we can see.
❤️❤️❤️
Yes, absolutely!
Yes, “God was IN Christ, reconciling the world to Himself”. God was never separated from Jesus (which would be metaphysically impossible).
Yes, that’s one I addressed here: https://heresthejoy.com/2017/08/jesus-as-intercessor-barely-restraining-gods-wrath
But I think I missed that particular Scripture. That’s a good one!
Rebecca,
Excellent post.
I only contend one small portion:
“Our God will indeed punish the wicked who continue to be set against Him and His ways.
But He loves His children and wants joyful relationship with them.”
I believe we are all Gods children, everyone ever born or yet to be born. While in this earthly life for sure.
. . .How does our God “punish” His wicked children who continue to be set against Him and His ways (whilst in this life on earth)?
Obviously those that are not in Christ—justified (made right, righteous), once they die, will suffer eternal separation from their loving Heavenly Father. Maybe this is the punishment your referring too?
Blessings back to you, and thank you for this post which is excellent!
Warren
South Carolina, USA
I’m referring to a just punishment after this earthly life, yes.
And thank you!
THANK YOU!!! This was done so beautifully!!
Tackling the deeply-entrenched, twisted beliefs, as always!
Praying for eyes and hearts to be opened to revelation from the Spirit as readers wrestle with these concepts.
❤️❤️❤️
Amen, my friend.
One more thing!
I was so disturbed when you made the correlation between an abuser ‘loving’ the victim through abuse and the dichotomy presented in the pulpit of God, the punisher, loving us.
Wow.
Yes. The abusive comparison is the reason I got started on this trail in the first place.
Can you help me understand this passage in light of what you are saying?
Your writing always challenges me to re-think and think differently..
I can’t help but think there is room for BOTH analogies in Scripture. As always, the Lord knows our finite minds find it hard to comprehend His way completely- thus we are often given multiple pictures to provide a more full picture of all that was accomplished through Jesus- including His ever loving desire for true and real attachment with us .
“And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds:”
Romans 2:2-6 NASB1995
Always good to hear from you, Ruth. Yes, I’m happy to say that I even wrote a post about that some time ago. Here it is, and if you still have questions, let me know: https://heresthejoy.com/2017/07/pronoun-trouble-in-romans-2-that-can-keep-the-oppressed-in-a-place-of-bondage/
Oh, whoops, I see that the article is truncated because it’s now a book chapter. If you have Book #4, you can read about it there.
I never heard of this Takle guy but that Jesus the perfect Lamb of God took the punishment for our sin is a foundational truth of the faith and without it there is no salvation. The Passover lamb foreshadowed this truth. The lamb had not sinned but was offered in sacrifice so that Israel would be spared when the angel of death went through Egypt. The wages of sin is death. “Because the sinless Savior died my sinful soul is counted free for God the Just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.” I agree there is no courtroom in Scripture and that the Lord disciplines us for our good and we are spared the punishment of the wicked. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. That was shown in the approach to the Holy Place by the whole burnt offering. Maybe it doesn’t seem logical to Takle that an innocent could take punishment due the guilty but that is exactly what Jesus did for us. A perfect man who was also God had to die to bring us back to God, us being his people in covenant with him. Likewise the scapegoat had Israel’s sins confessed over it and was driven out into the desert. Mark uses the word “driven” to refer to the Spirit moving Jesus to go into the desert to be tempted and that is showcasing that symbol. True there is now “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The Passover lamb was not about punishment. It was about the blood setting apart the Israelites as the people of God.
“The wages of sin is death.” Amen. That doesn’t speak of punishment. It speaks of the natural and logical consequences of sin.
“Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Amen. That doesn’t speak of punishment. I believe Hebrews makes it clear that it speaks of purification.
“A perfect man who was also God had to die to bring us back to God, to be in covenant with him.” Absolutely. This is central to the gospel. I agree.
I also agree about the scapegoat representing the Lord Jesus. He carried our sins away. I believe Hebrews makes it clear that this is not about punishment but is about purification.
Col 2:13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Col 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Great verses. “The certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us” was the Old Testament Law. He took that out of the way and nailed it to the cross, so that no one would be under the Law anymore.
He made the Gentile believers alive together with Him just as He delivered the Jewish believers from the OT Law. It is a beautiful passage.
Thank you, Rebecca, for contributing to this important issue! And I appreciate your references to my book on atonement. You are absolutely correct when you state that justice is about putting things right. It is restorative, not punitive. Please allow me to reference a recent article I wrote that analyzes the terms “justification” and “righteousness” in the NT. In a word, to be justified means to be made righteous — in reality, not just “seen” as righteous. And in particular, God views FAITH itself as righteousness. Here’s a link: https://copernicus20.net/a-true-vision-of-justification/
Yes, always happy to have links from you here, David. Thank you!
Great series. The early church understood it this way, and also huge swaths of the church has kept that theology alive. Western theology isn’t automatically the best, and in fact I have learned lately that it definitely isn’t.
If you came to it independently of outside influence, so much the better. I love independent verification!
Just ran across a great verse: “One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord” (Prov.17:15). I think that rules out using a courtroom metaphor for atonement in which Jesus is pronounced guilty! I don’t think God would use a plan that He considers an abomination. That’s also why Paul says (Rom.8:3) “God did something that Law could NOT do.”
When God justifies us, He sets us to rights (see the post above!). That’s not at all the same thing as granting a pardon to a person who is guilty under the Law.
Yes, actually, that verse from Proverbs is in this very blog post, just before a quotation from you. 🙂
I’ve greatly enjoyed this series, Part 3 in particular.
Many years ago I watched “Anna and the King,” in which Chou Yung Fat plays the King. In that culture, the king could call for the death of anyone not kneeling in his presence, etc. While he cared greatly to protect his culture, he was a benevolent king who made exceptions as he saw fit to best serve his people. The reason I bring this up: this all-powerful king was frequently shown playing and wrestling and laughing with his many children. Even when he was sitting and speaking to another adult, a little child or two might run up and climb right up into his lap and over his shoulders. The king always welcomed them – smiling patiently, patting them as they ran on their way. It dawned on me that this was a beautiful illustration of God – THE Almighty God, Creator and King of the Universe, delighted at the very sight and sound of his children. Holy and revered, yet completely approachable, never too busy.
King of the Universe
This is so much the way I see our relationship with our heavenly Father.
https://ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/temple/temple.vii.html
Rebecca,
I’m from the non denominational “denomination” LOL. There was a courtroom teaching going around a few years ago.It was about how if things were going wrong, we had to go into God’s courtroom in the heavenlies and go to court. I humbly approached my small group leader about the biblical concerns I had about the inaccuracies in this teaching. I was not received with joy to say the least. But that’s another story and this post made me think of that. You and I have two different religious backgrounds, but I would love to untwist things in my denonmination like you did in yours. Maybe one day. I think this post is very good and very thought provoking. I love how you make us think. Thank you.
Thank you for your thoughts. Yes, I’ve heard of the “going into God’s courtroom” teaching, and I knew it wasn’t Scriptural. Any heavenly “courtroom” is the courtroom of the King’s throne, not the legal courtroom that we Westerners envision.
Hi
In walking away from the court room scene, u seem to be walking away from penal substitution. I think your temple metaphor is good and important but Jesus punished for our sins is a fundamental unambiguous part of the Gospel. Have I misunderstood u? Isaiah 53 and 2 Cor 5:21 and Romans 3 are just 3 passages teaching penal/substitionary atonement.
U say to punish the innocent (Jesus) would be unjust and goes against God’s definition of justice. It would be unjust if Jesus remained dead. It’s the resurrection that vindicates the justice of God to punish Jesus in our place.
Jesus Christ was punished willingly in line with the Father’s will. Any deviation from this is a moving from the gospel. An innocent was pushed for the sinful. There is no away around this. I agree there are some problems with the courtroom scene as it is some times portrayed but to abandon the metaphor completely is to throw the baby out with the bath water:
Maybe I have misunderstood u. Today so many are denying penal substitution under the rubric that it displays the Father as a cosmic child abuser. This is so wrong as Jesus willingly gave up for life for us.
Regards Paul
Thank you, Paul. Yes, I agree that Jesus willingly gave His life for us, in perfect accord with the Father, and we praise Him for that.
I doubt that I would have been interested in writing about this issue at all, except for the many abuse survivors in my life who have seen the Father as an angry judge who wants to destroy them in His wrath (but is kept from doing it by the Son who stands between).
As I view salvation through the metaphor of the temple rather than the metaphor of the courtroom, I see that Jesus was the final sacrifice for our purification and setting right with the Father, the final priest who offered the final sacrifice, the final scapegoat who carried the sins away, and the one who victoriously tore the veil before the Holy of Holies–because, since we have been purified by His blood, we can enter the presence of the Father.
I do not see Him as a modern-day lawyer pleading our case before a courtroom Judge who needs to punish someone. (The story of the prodigal son should be enough to show us that forgiveness doesn’t necessitate punishment.)
What I’m espousing is supported by Scripture. I’m sure you’re aware that penal substitutionary atonement theory is only one of several atonement views, others of which are held by highly respected men of God such as NT Wright.
I read the Scriptures you posted here in your comment, and I can’t see that any of them says that the Father punished the Son. Being offered as a sacrifice and being punished are not the same thing. All through the Old Covenant, the priests offered lambs and bullocks on the altar, but they weren’t punishing them (nor were they pouring out wrath on them). The blood was sprinkled as part of the symbolic purification.
2 Corinthians 5 says He became sin for us. That is generally thought to mean “sin offering,” which fits with what I described above as the sacrifice.
In Romans 3, you may be referring to verse 25. Though the word “atonement” would have sufficed for translating the Greek word here, the word “propitiation” was used in several translations. I’m sure you’re aware that “propitiation” (which basically means “appeasement” or “placating”–a concept applying to the false gods that I used to write about in my missionary books) is a debated translation of the Greek word. After all, is atonement about appeasement, or is it about expiation, that is, carrying sins away? I believe from the book of Hebrews that it’s much more about purification and carrying sins away than it is about placating a wrathful deity. That rather than being about changing the Father, it is about changing US so that we can boldly approach the Father.
I beieve the justice of God is restorative justice rather than retributive justice. I believe that is the symphony of heaven that echoes throughout all the pages of Scripture.
I believe the gospel: That our Lord Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Most High God, willingly gave Himself for us, so that we can be saved, made right with God. I’m offering a courtroom-and-angry-Judge-free perspective of that great salvation, which I believe matches more closely with what we’re told in the New Testament.
Thanks
I will ponder what u have said