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What is Substitutionary Atonement?
When it comes to understanding the Christian faith, there aren’t many ideas more central to grasp than this one.
Those words can sound intimidating, so let’s break them down. To “substitute” is to stand in the place of or take the place of.
To “atone for” is a multifaceted biblical term which means to “cover,” “forgive,” and “reconcile.”
This is the heart of the Gospel. Jesus died in my place, as my substitute, for my sins.
Peter, who saw Jesus raised from the dead, described it this way:
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24)
And Paul said,
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:3)
This is what the earliest followers of Jesus proclaimed from the beginning as most important.
When it comes to the death of Jesus on the cross, there is more going on than substitutionary atonement, but certainly no less.
To dig deeper into the importance of substitutionary atonement for living the Christian life and theology, check out The Cross of Christ by John Stott and The Atonement by William Lane Craig.