It isn’t justice for God to punish Christ who was innocent, instead of punishing us who are guilty. If we say that God is not just, we also say that God is a liar for claiming to be just. Vicarious atonement claims that responsibility for our sin was transferred to Christ. Christ is punished while…

Christus Victor, a book by Gustaf Aulen, first published in 1931, shows that the early Christians believed Christ redeems us by destroying death, or freeing us from the dominion of Satan. It was expressed in different ways, but somehow Jesus destroys evil. The most common explanation for how Christ frees us from the dominion of…

It is believed that Jesus redeems us by taking the punishment for our sins, but this means of atonement is rejected by the Bible (Exodus 32:31-33, Ezekiel 18:20). It is also difficult to find a ‘transfer of responsibility for sin’ in any of the stories of the Bible. If God redeems us by vicarious atonement,…

Most Christians believe in vicarious atonement, meaning they believe we are redeemed by Jesus taking the punishment for our sins. But the Bible clearly says that everyone will be punished for their own sins (Exodus 32:31-33, Ezekiel 18:20). There is also very little support for vicarious atonement among the stories and parables of the Bible.…

Christians have struggled with the question of redemption. How are we redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ? Here are some of the ideas that have been debated along with a new theory called Separation Theory which explains redemption in a way that will cause Satan to be cast out of Heaven. Most Common…

Gnosticism is often seen as part of early Christianity, but the Gnostics and the Christians were diametrically opposed to each other. The Gnostics believed that the God of the Torah was evil, and this was blasphemy to both Christians and Jews. The Christians became hostile to everything associated with Gnosticism. The Gnostics were dreadfully wrong…

Genesis 3:22-24 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden,…

Numbers 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. Ezekiel 36:25 Then…

The bread of the Last Supper is the body, while the wine of the Last Supper represents the crucifixion. Wine represents the blood that is shed on the cross, but the blood also represents Grace that is provided by the crucifixion. Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new…