Atonement: Why the Cross?
Christus Victor, satisfaction, penal substitution, moral exemplar — a comparative reading.
At the very heart of the Christian faith lies the mystery of the cross, the ultimate demonstration of God's love and justice. The historic, shared consensus of the Christian Church is that humanity, through the fall of our first parents, plunged into an abyss of sin, corruption, and alienation from God. The natural consequence of this rebellion was a curse, binding the human race to eternal death and spiritual bondage. God, however, in His infinite mercy, did not abandon His creation. The eternal Word, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, became incarnate, assuming human nature to rescue it.
By the end of this lesson
- Name the four classical atonement models and a New Testament passage that supports each
- Articulate one strength and one criticism of each model
- Take a personal position while honestly representing the alternatives
Scripture
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