By
Colin and Russell Standish
Most Evangelicals strongly
acknowledge the substitutionary role of Jesus through His sacrifice on Calvary.
A minority, however, have accepted the moral-influence theory in which it is
held that only a pagan god would require the death of his son to appease his
wrath. But the emphasis upon the appeasement of a wrathful god does not do
justice to our understanding of Christ’s saving grace. The moral influence
supporters believe that Christ came to be our example, but not our substitute.
But, though we might not fully understand it, sin demands the death of the
sinner, and only Christ our Creator could die as our substitute that we might
live.
And
almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of
blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22).
As we investigate the Scriptures,
it is evident that Jesus is both our Substitute and our Example. The failure of
many Evangelicals to put Christ’s substitutionary and exemplary roles together
diminishes the fullness of the gospel of our Lord.
The
Plan of Redemption Unfolds
When man sinned in Eden, he forged
a separation which could be bridged only by divine grace. Mankind was hopeless
and destined to eternal oblivion, but in the midst of despair God unfolded a
provision, conceived before the foundation of the world, whereby helpless men
could again face the future with hope.
And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel (Genesis
3:15).
The mystery of the Incarnation, the
ministry and sacrificial provisions of Christ began to be revealed step by step.
As the years passed, further light unveiled more facets of the much-looked-for
Redeemer.
And
Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And
the Lord had respect unto Abel and
to his offering (Genesis 4:4).
And
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousand of his saints (Jude 14).
And
Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and
of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar (Genesis
8:20).
And
God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his
name Isaac: and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his seed after him (Genesis 17:19).
Seeing
that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed in him (Genesis 18:18).
The
Lord hath sworn in truth unto
David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy
throne (Psalm 132:11).
Therefore
the Lord Himself shall give you a
sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).
For
unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be
upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
And
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1).
Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth (Jeremiah
23:5).
But perhaps to no one in
pre-Christian times was the ministry and mission of Christ so fully revealed as
to Isaiah.
Surely
He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace
was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed (Isaiah
53:4–5).
Why
Was it Necessary for Christ to Die?
The need for the sacrifice of the
Son of God has long been a mystery to many. It must be kept in mind that
Lucifer’s heavenly challenge was a direct attack upon Christ’s creatorship of
this world. He challenged God’s judgment in that he was not included in the
counsels of creation. What Lucifer could not achieve in heaven, he sought by
ruthless deception to achieve with earth’s first inhabitants. When Adam yielded
to his temptations, Satan assumed the title of the prince of this world,
claiming the eternal allegiance of humanity. Through Satan’s successful
deceptions, sin became epidemic for all mankind, and with this came the
inevitability of death.
Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12).
For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans
3:23).
For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
The redemption of man could be
achieved only by the second Adam (Christ) taking man’s place and redeeming his
failure. Christ was man’s Creator, and He alone could be man’s Re-creator.
Lucifer’s challenge was directed against Christ; and therefore Christ, and only
He, could redeem lost man. Undoubtedly the angels would have gladly taken
Christ’s place, but it was not possible. Christ, by His perfect life on earth,
gained complete victory over sin, and by His death and resurrection gained
victory over the result of sin—death. In so doing, He drew men to Himself and
forever falsified Satan’s claim against the character of God before the entire
universe. But more than that, He paid the supreme penalty on behalf of all
humanity.
The Bible is emphatic in presenting
this great theme. Therefore we must reject as unscriptural and untrue the
moral-influence theory, which sees Christ as man’s supreme Example, but not his
Substitute. But in so doing we must also reject the claims of many Evangelicals
who see Christ as our Substitute but not man’s Example. Christ was both
Substitute and Example.
Jesus
As Our Substitute
As we have stated, there are those
who recoil from the substitutionary work of Christ, wrongly interpreting it as
portraying God as bloodthirsty, requiring a blood sacrifice to appease his
wrath. But Christ’s sacrifice was not made to appease an angry God. This concept
is Satan’s counterfeit. Christ’s sacrifice for man’s salvation revealed not an
angry God, but a God who demonstrated His limitless love for a rebellious
people. The laws of the universe declared the inevitability of eternal death to
every sinner. After the fall, Satan claimed the imprisonment of man in sin and
death. The life of Christ, His victory over death, gave man freedom from sin and
death that could be achieved by no other means.
But
now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1
Corinthians 15:20-22).
Without Christ, man is eternally
helpless and hopeless, but he has been invited to look upon his crucified Lord
and live. Jesus became our Substitute that we might have eternal
life.
For
this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins (Matthew 26:28).
So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for
Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Hebrews
9:28).
And
ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin (1
John 3:5).
Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath
purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but
with the precious blood of Christ, as a of a lamb without blemish and without
spot (1 Peter 1:18–19).
But
if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John
1:7).
Jesus
As Our Example
The substitution by Jesus in no
wise limits the power of the cross. It brings with it victory over sin. Some
have misunderstood Paul’s comment that “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans
5:6) to indicate that Christ saved man in his sins. But a comparison of
scripture with scripture clarifies this matter and demonstrates that God died to
rescue the ungodly from his ungodliness. Those who remain in ungodliness will
perish.
But
the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (2
Peter 3:7).
The ministry of Jesus was designed
to lead men away from sin.
Unto
you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, and sent Him to bless you, in
turning away every one of you from his iniquities (Acts
3:26).
The sacrifice of Jesus established
the extent to which the love of God would reach to wretched man in order that He
might ensure his salvation. It extended far beyond Christ’s example to man; it
provided the only basis for the forgiveness of man’s sins. Without the
substitutionary ministry of Jesus on Calvary our life would be meaningless, and
our hope vain. While most Evangelicals would undoubtedly agree with this
understanding, those who have accepted the moral-influence theory find
themselves in direct conflict with the clearest testimony of
Scripture.
On the other hand, the majority of
Evangelicals have failed to capture the importance of the second aspect of
Christ’s ministry. Yet the Bible is just as clear concerning the fact that Jesus
is our complete Example, as it is concerning the substitutionary role of Jesus.
The ministry of Jesus is greatly diminished if we try to separate His
substitutionary role from His role as man’s supreme
Example.
For
I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you (John
13:15).
Of course these words were spoken
in connection with the washing of the disciples’ feet. It would demonstrate a
particularly narrow reading of God’s Word to defend the position that this alone
was the area in which Christ was our Example. Peter in his well-known utterance
stated:
For
even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that ye should follow His steps (1 Peter 2:21).
Many times we do not seek to
examine the specific nature of the example to which Peter referred. But the next
verse renounces all doubt on this point.
Who
did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (1 Peter
2:22).
Christ’s
Life an Example of Obedience, Not a Substitute for Our Obedience
Jesus was an example of obedience. Many rightly
emphasize the wonderful substitutionary role of Christ’s life and death, but do
it to the minimizing of the exemplary aspect of His life. The Word of God
teaches that Christ gave His perfect life that sinful and unworthy man might
have eternal life.
But
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed
(Isaiah 53:5).
Yet we must not limit Christ’s
ministry to that of substitution; for one of the great eternal truths that arise
from the selfless sacrifice of Jesus is His great example to those who are
imprisoned by self-seeking motivation, which destroys the peace and fulfillment
that Christ has offered to all mankind. This inevitably leads to a false concept
of His life and substitution. Some claim that obedience is impossible; that by
faith we must let Christ’s life of perfect obedience substitute for our claimed
inability to obey. Thus it is urged that we cannot possibly keep the law, nor
need we keep the law, but that Christ’s perfect law-keeping is a substitute for
our moral violations. Thus it is claimed that God sees Christ’s perfect
law-keeping and imputes it to us. But there is a great difficulty with this
assertion. Nowhere in the Scripture is there even the slightest support for such
a concept. The Bible teaches that Christ’s life of obedience is indeed a
substitute for our days of disobedience from which we have repented; but never
does the inspired Word declare that Christ’s perfect life is a substitute for
the required obedience of Christians. This understanding is a most important
point, and must be reexamined by those who have permitted themselves to be
deceived by the belief that God does not provide through Christ for daily
victorious living. Paul points out the aim that Christ has for
us.
Since
many believe the devil’s lie, that complete obedience in this life is
impossible, they overlook the fact that there is absolutely no warrant in the
Bible for their contention. Indeed, John adds his testimony to the fact that we
should ever look to Christ as our Example. We would do well to review these
precious promises.
And
every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth Himself, even as He is pure (1
John 3:1).
Little
children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even
as He is righteous (1 John 3:7).
He
that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked (1
John 2:6).
In the above statements, John
reflects the great pronouncement on the divine example given by Christ in His
sermon on the mount.
Be
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matthew
5:48).
Christ:
An Example of What We Should and May Be
Christ’s
substitutionary virtues are not appropriated to those who persist in sin. It is
mandatory that Christians comprehend this truth, or many will continue to
believe the Devil’s promise that sinning does not bar an individual from the
promised eternal life. The glory of God is at stake in the victory of His
children. Many will concede that Christ is our example of conduct, and that
while we can never have complete victory over sin, we should aim at this ideal.
But such a concept is far short of God’s goal for His children. The Scripture
brings us face to face with the truth that Christ is not only our Example of
what we should be, but our Example of what we may be when imbued
with His Holy Spirit.
How plain God’s statements, when we
accept the positive truth that Christ came to earth in our human nature.
When this is accepted as precious truth, all excuses for sin soon vanish, and we
are thrown on the Rock Christ Jesus to make us in His likeness. Some
Evangelicals have sought to make this scripturally backed truth of victorious
Christian living of none effect, by talking in disparaging fashion of thousands
of “little Christs” running around. Such mocking will only confirm the mocker in
his or her unbelief. It will in no wise change the truth of God. Christ came to
earth to redeem us from the penalty of sin and from the power of
sin, and in His exemplary role He redeems man from the power of sin. It is of
the greatest urgency that Evangelicals establish their understanding of the
power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. What joy it is to realize
that we have a Savior who can save us to the uttermost; who is able to
accomplish the restoration of the image of God in the soul. As our first act
each morning we may ask Christ to take our lives, and work His miracle of
sustaining grace in our hearts. Let us again be reminded,
Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James
4:7).
To learn more about the danger of the false
doctrines seen in the Evangelical movement today and the extent of their spread
order your own copy of the entire book The Evangelical Dilemma, by Colin and
Russell Standish, from which this article was taken. This book is available
through Hartland Publications: PO Box 1, Rapidan, VA, 22733. Phone:
1-800-774-3566. Or order online at www.hartland.edu
In
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