Jesus Christ and the Penal Substitution Atonement Theory

3) Jesus Christ rose from the dead anywhere from 1 day to 1 month. This allows for a debate specifically targeted to the PSAT rather than jumping around discussing if Jesus even rose from the dead. The PSAT model is not a complete model of the cross. It is one aspect of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross from a Theological perspective. To understand this analogy/model… it is necessary to have a full understanding of the concepts that support it. ***Rebuttal to Objection 1:: When we say penal substitution we are NOT saying that Jesus served all of our sentences for us. We deserve Hell for all of eternity. Is Jesus serving those sentences in Torment right now? Is he Hell bound after the Judgment? Are they consecutive or concurrent sentences that He is serving for every single sin? Of course neither. Jesus is no longer in Tartarus. He is Risen from the Dead. The death of one Righteous man is worth all the eternal sentences of unrighteous men in the history of the universe or so claims the bible. Penal substitution is not saying that he is serving our sentences for us. It is saying that - His righteous sacrifice - His tasting of Death as a righteous man - His death at the hands of an unjust system and human persecution - His committing himself to the justice of God rather than man, - His being vindicated and set free by the justice of God …. these things substituted for our deserved eternal death Penalty. We can now be forgiven. The way is open for that forgiveness. Objection 1 from my opponent (summarized): 1)"In summary we would reject a justice system that let some one go unpunished and declared innocent who is guilty of rape, torture, murder, genocide etc, by punishing a volunteered innocent in the place of the guilty, thus we should reject Penal Substitution Atonement Theory. " 2)There is no others stated as yet. This objection is not addressing the truth of the PSAT Model. First, Jesus is not serving everyone's sentences. Second point the PSAT model is not stating that the guilty go free. It is stating that the guilty can be forgiven upon repentance. Though my opponent's definition of PSAT is not a comprehensive one it states a key point. "so God can justly forgive the sins" Jesus' Sacrifice was sufficient for the guilty to be forgiven not simply released. It is not arbitrary and requires repentance and accepting the Covenant/Agreement God makes with those who accept the payment Jesus made. We can derive a conceptual understanding within our own penal system that allows for forgiveness. It is called a parole board; it also is not just arbitrary in its judgment of letting people free early. When a criminal offender commits a crime the judge allows for the possibility of change and potential release based upon the individual criminal and the intensity of the crime. At the set time a parole board can give an early release based upon the repentance of the criminal. That criminal though guilty, can be forgiven the crime and set free. We even can go further and our executive branch can give full pardon for the criminal (usually based upon an act of redemption or heroism), and can go so far as to even expunge a criminal record for the confirmed repentant and morally upright past criminal. Society and the law consider that criminal a completely different person. Forgiveness is very much a part of our justice system. This does not speak to the abuses or stupidity of our governors and the people involved only that the system is very reasonable and allows for forgiveness. In a similar way, the forgiveness given to us by God is different than letting someone arbitrarily go free and being declared innocent. "Forgiveness" is the word used in the definition of the PSAT stated by my opponent. To rectify the misunderstanding of my opponent and those who may feel the same, here is a very brief theological outline of what PSAT does: 1)We are guilty of Sin 2)Jesus makes a Penal Substitutionary Atonement with his sacrifice. 3)He is able to make that payment because He is laying His character on the line, His name and His goodness verifying that we have indeed changed. 4)This sacrifice enacts a blood covenant/agreement with our God. 5)We are required to confess our guilt, repent of our evil, put our old self to death and become a new person to ENTER into that covenant/agreement. 6)We are then declared forgiven and Justice has been served. If we do not perform what is stated in #5, above we do not enter into that conditional agreement. **Having shown my opponents objection is outside of the address of the theory, I will layout a positive argument for the theory below utilizing a flaw in our own Penal system** PSAT allows for God to be able to give forgiveness justly. Strictly speaking in our system of Justice we allow forgiveness for criminals to the determent of the victim. If a rapist gets out after just a few years and the parole board is certain that he will not commit that act again, the victim can and most of the time will, feel that full justice was not served in those cases. If I were raped I would also agree that just a couple of years is not justice. I would demand full payment. I would demand castration and life in prison but barring that at least the maximum penalty allowed by law. That is where the Justice of God must be satisfied. The victims both God and Mankind must be justly satisfied while allowing for the forgiveness of the completely changed (repentant) criminal. If our Parole Boards were to take the entire risk and lay their names, careers, fortunes on the line for each of the released prisoners stating they "completely affirm these criminals are no longer criminals" it would be one step closer. The victim would NOT have satisfaction but they would have assurance. The satisfaction comes in the fact that God who is perfectly just is not only willing to make that assurance for all of Heaven to allow the repentant criminals to run loose, he is also willing to give penal satisfaction by enacting a system by which He/God makes the payment for satisfaction. He makes a payment so that our release can be secured. What does PSAT address? 1)Satisfaction of Justice must be applied for the victims 2)Assurance that the guilty being forgiven and released have indeed changed. 3)People are not static and those changed guilty offenders need forgiveness. In our own Penal system we cannot have all three in fullness- Satisfaction, Assurance of Change and Forgiveness. In God's system of Justice we obtain all three. PSAT is NOT This (as stated above by my opponent): 1)Guilty person declared innocent 2)Volunteer innocent punished instead