Substitutionary Sacrifice
Authors: Bigalke Ron J. 
Published: January 2012

Substitution is the essential meaning of the death of Christ. The death of Jesus Christ was not for sin of his own (John 8:46; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22); he died vicariously for the sin of others whose guilt was imputed to him, and punishment transferred to him (Isa. 53). The substitutionary sacrifice of Christ is highly significant in Christian doctrine (cf. Rom. 3:24; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2). Some contrary theories of this doctrine include: (1) commercial (satisfaction) — Anselm articulated the view (in response to the ransom theory) that God had been robbed of his honor as a result of sin, and the death of Christ appeased the honor due God; (2) governmental — Grotius developed the theory that the death of Christ (in response to the view of Socinius) was not propitiation for sin, but displayed the justice of God whereby honor was given to the law, and sinners could be pardoned; (3) moral influence — Abelard first advocated the view (in response to the commercial theory) that the death of Christ was a positive demonstration of the love of God, which would cause man's heart to soften and subsequently repent, and was unnecessary as propitiation for sin; and (4) ransom — Origen developed the
Christus Victor
view into the theory that Christ's death was a ransom paid to Satan who held sinners captive. Opposing views of the death of Christ as substitutionary are typically based upon affirmations of discontinuity between the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament and the once for all sacrifice of Christ. Owing to the inadequacy of the Old Testament sacrifices to remove sin permanently, they had to be repeated continually (Heb. 10:1–10). Those sacrifices were shadows and types (9:1–10) of the reality and substance belonging to Christ (Col. 2:17; Heb. 9:12). The guilt of the sinner must be imputed to a holy and innocent substitute, and the substitute then bears the penalty of death (Lev. 1:4; Rom. 5:15; 6:23). The sovereign work of regeneration (1 Pet. 1:23; 1 John 3:9) results in the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the sinner at the moment of conversion (Rom. 3:21–22; 10:3; Phil. 3:9). Christ died vicariously as the sinner's substitute and took the righteous punishment due those he came to save — whose guilt was imputed to him — and this resulted in Jesus Christ bearing the punishment substitutionally, and the redeemed receiving the righteousness of Christ (Isa. 53:6; 2 Cor. 5:21). Two Greek prepositions,
anti
(Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; “in behalf of,” “in place of”) and
huper
(John 10:11; Rom. 5:6; Heb. 2:9; “in behalf of,” “for the benefit of”), emphasize the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. The doctrine of substitution teaches that God in grace accomplishes for sinners what they are incapable of accomplishing for themselves; consequently, synergistic views of redemption are opposed to the essential meaning of the death of Christ. Redemption is the essentiality of the gospel, and the essence of redemption is the once for all substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The transhistorical nature of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice (cf. John 6:39; Heb. 13:20; Rev. 13:8) was entirely sufficient for the sins of his people for all time (Rom. 3:25–26; Heb. 7:27–28; 10:10).