When one discusses the atonement, one objection is that it is unjust for someone who is unconnected to us to die in our place. Paul seems to anticipate that objection, and in chapter 6 he makes plain that it is no mere “legal fiction” that has taken place. Because what God declares to be the case actually is the case, we see that we can be considered to have both died with Christ and have been raised with Him. Thus,... Read more

Romans 4 elaborates on how it is faith that saves us. Without the cross being something truly efficacious in which to have saving faith, I can’t see how that can be true. The cross has done something — it is no mere demonstration! Romans 5 begins with “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” A touchstone of our view of the atonement is this — is it merely our... Read more

I have recently shared my own definition of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, as well as that given by the authors of Pierced For Our Transgressions. For the next few posts I will be giving a brief overview of some of the key passages in the Bible that help us to understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross. I will begin with a bird’s eye view of the book of Romans. We have already quoted from the early chapters of Romans, which... Read more