This is the sixth in a series of seven videos in which Warren McGrew and Paul Vendredi refute the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA). They attribute PSA primarily to Augustine of Hippo (AD354-430), followed by Anselm of Canterbury (AD 1033-1109), and the 16th-century Reformers.
The first twelve PSA claims (see previous posts).
1. Adam as mankind's federal head transmits the guilt of his sin to all mankind. (Anselm)
2. Because of Original Sin mankind is now totally depraved. (Anselm)
3. Even Infants, innocent of personal sin, are guilty of Original Sin. (Anslem)
4. The sin of Adam infinitely offends God because the gravity of the offense depends on the worth of the one offended. (Anselm)
5. All sin is to be understood as a debt we owe God for the crime of having dishonored him. (Anselm) 6. Even Infants owe this debt. (Anslem)
7. In the Old Testament era, God insists that this debt be paid by shedding an innocent animal's blood.
8. God could have redeemed man by the simple act of willing it.. (false claim)
9. ...but God cannot forgive sin without first punishing the sinner. (Anselm)
10. Not only must the redemption mirror the fall, but it must also be as painful as possible since the fall was easy. (Anselm)
11. Only the death of God-man is worthy to serve as a recompense to God for his offended honor. (Anselm)
12. Christ becomes incarnate so his humanity can suffer as a substitute for us. (Anselm)
13. God pours out His wrath on Christ pretending that Christ is we, the ones who actually deserve punishment. (Appeasement School)
The primary proof text for claim 13 is Isaiah 53:4-6.
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12).
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12).
Isaiah 53:4 is cited in Matthew 8:17. Vendredi takes the limited view that the entire passage refers to the Restored-Icon Model. While Isaiah 53:4 refers to Jesus' healing ministry, verses 5-6 cannot refer to anything other than the crucifixion.
And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases. (Matthew 8:14-17).
Meyer: Matthew 8:17. This expelling of demons and healing of diseases were intended, in pursuance of the divine purposes, to be a fulfilment of the prediction in Isaiah 53:4. Observe that this prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus in another sense also, viz. by His atoning death (John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:24).
Barnes: "The word translated 'griefs' in Isaiah, and 'infirmities' in Matthew, means properly, in the Hebrew and Greek, 'diseases of the body.' In neither does it refer to the disease of the mind, or to sin. To bear those griefs is clearly to bear them away, or to remove them. This was done by his miraculous power in healing the sick. The word rendered 'sorrows' in Isaiah, and 'sicknesses' in Matthew, means 'pain, grief, or anguish of mind.' To 'carry' these is to sympathize with the sufferers; to make provision for alleviating those sorrows, and to take them away. This he did by his precepts and by his example; and the cause of all sorrows - 'sin' - he removed by the atonement."
Vincent Word Studies: "Bare (ἐβάστασεν) This translation is correct. The word does not mean 'he took away,' but 'he bore,' as a burden laid upon him.1
Isaiah 53 is also cited in 1 Peter 2:19-25. Vendredi claims this passage refers to the Moral Exemplar Model (the Moral-Example Theory proposed by Pelagius). Pelagius (354-420 AD) was condemned as a heretic due to his alleged denial of the sinful condition of mankind and his assertion that sinless perfection was attainable. Jesus' suffering did of course leave us a powerful example. However, the Moral-Example Theory, taken in isolation is inadequate and fails to acknowledge the vicarious aspect of Jesus' death. The death of Jesus Christ has far deeper significance. A moral exemplar cannot die for our sins. (Mathew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6).
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:19-25).
Vendredi: "It is an abomination for the righteous to suffer for the unrighteous. (Proverbs 17:15,26,24:24)." Ultimately God's mercy prevails over judgement. (James 2:13). Jesus laid down His own life voluntarily, it was not taken from Him. (John 10:18). The heart of the gospel is the call for sinners to repent and trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. (1 Peter 3:18; John 15:13). Without the cross there is no mechanism for the remission of sin because sin cannot go unpunished. The Book of Proverbs embodies practical and speculative wisdom about the world. Proverbs does not address God's solution for the deep sin problem that plagues humanity.
Vendredi's objection: Given the testimony of the scriptures, it is impossible to reconcile God's holy and unchanging nature with the assertion that Jesus became a literal curse and literal sin. (Hebrews 7:26; Hebrews 13:8).
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:10-14; cf Deuteronomy 21:23).
Cambridge: "He made Him to be sin, i.e. appointed Him to be the representative of sin and sinners, treated Him as sin and sinners are treated (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:15). He took on Himself to be the representative of Humanity in its aspect of sinfulness (cf. Romans 8:3; Php 2:7) and to bear the burden of sin in all its completeness. Hence He won the right to represent Humanity in all respects, and hence we are entitled to be regarded as God’s righteousness (which He was) not in ourselves, but in Him as our representative in all things."2
Ellicott: forensic theories of the atonement, of various types, might be and have been developed. It is characteristic of St. Paul that he does not so develop it. Christ identified with man’s sin: mankind identified with Christ’s righteousness—that is the truth, simple and yet unfathomable, in which he is content to rest.2
Vincent Word Studies: "Not a sin-offering, nor a sinner, but the representative of sin. On Him, representatively, fell the collective consequence of sin, in His enduring 'the contradiction of sinners against Himself' Hebrews 12:3), in His agony in the garden, and in His death on the cross."2
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (Matthew 27:45-50 cf. Psalm 22:1).
Matthew 27:46 is a quotation from Psalm 22:1. The entire psalm speaks of unequaled spiritual struggle and is a clear reference to the crucifixion. Based on Psalm 22:24, it is difficult to agree with MacArthur and others who teach the doctrine of divine abandonment i.e. the doctrine that God the Father abandoned Jesus on the cross.3 ..and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. Immediately afterward, Jesus cried out what are believed to be His last words: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46). If the Father had intervened and delivered Jesus from the cross, then the entire plan of salvation would have been compromised. I do not doubt that the crucifixion was unimaginably painful not only for the Son, but also for the Father, who held back and allowed His Son to suffer.
Problematically, those who over-develop Galatians 3:13 go too far and end up with grotesque portrayals of Jesus Christ such as those depicted in the RC Sproul clips presented by Vendredi. (18:00 mark)
15. God's eyes are too holy to look upon sin, so the Father turns his back on Christ, abandoning him. (Appeasement School)
The arguments presented by Vendredi and McGrew against PSA are a direct attack on the gospel. McGrew describes Idol Killer as "A ministry dedicated to the cause of destroying sacred cows for the cause of Christ". As I have progressed through this series I have become increasingly convinced that Idol Killer is a ministry dedicated to destroying the gospel!
2. 2 Corinthians 5:21 Commentaries: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (biblehub.com)
3. The Doctrine of Divine Abandonment (gty.org)
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