During the X-Files craze of the late 90’s, Christian rock band DC Talk came out with a phenomenally terrible song called “The Truth Is Out There.”  The chorus proclaimed: “The truth is what we need, it is the end of mystery…”  Is Jesus truly the end of mystery, making all things plainly and systematically known?  Or is Jesus sacramental, the image of the invisible God, at once known and yet the beginning of mystery?

Penal substitution is an atonement theory most drawn out into its legal terminology by 16th c. reformer and lawyer, John Calvin.  It has since been understood by an overwhelming majority of Protestants to be the only way to understand Christ’s death.  The most basic reading is that we deserved death for our sins, but Jesus took our place and died on the cross on our behalf.  John Wesley and the Methodist movement found great power in the preaching of penal substitution.  Think of the emotional power of Charles Wesley’s words in And Can It Be: 

And can it be that I should gain / an interest in my Savior’s blood?

Died he for me who caused his pain / For me, who him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be, that thou, my God, shouldest die for me?

In my own faith journey, I think the thing that most solidified my faith and gave me passion to pursue God was this belief that “he was because of our rebellions and crushed because of our crimes.  He bore the punishment that made us whole; by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).  When proclaimed as the action of God’s great love and sacrifice for us, Christ’s substitution (or death for us) is beautiful and powerful, and can move the chief of sinners to holy living.  Protestant reformers emphasized the finality and permanence of Christ’s death for our salvation.

But for many today, the penal part of penal substitution is well, out there.  We don’t understand the cultic demands in ancient Judaism of a God that demands blood sacrifice.  The language of satisfying God’s wrath through the death of the innocent seems barbaric to many.  The concept becomes incredibly offensive in the hands of die hard Calvinists who go the extra step to explain the Christ only died to save the elect, and that God’s wrath will justly condemn the rest of humanity to burn eternally in hell.  This God seems to despise his creation, creating most of life to be eternally damned just so God can look better in comparison.  Calvinist’s appeal to God’s sovereignty, it’s God’s prerogative to do things the way God wants, and it’s not up to you to decide whether God is morally right or not.

Theosis and Participation models of atonement are more prominent in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions, and are being reclaimed by many Protestants.  Without using legal or anger concepts, Christ’s death can still bring powerful meaning alongside Christ’s incarnation.  When God chooses to become human, God blesses all humanity.  Christ’s entire life, including his sacrificial death, effectively empowers us to eternal life, a life lived ever more in the attitude of Christ.  Wesley used the language of penal substitution, as well as the language of theosis and participation, to describe the mystery of God’s love for us.  Trust in Christ motivates us towards works of mercy (loving neighbor) and works of piety (loving God), where cultivate the mind of Christ, becoming more like him as we grow in holiness.  Critics of this model argue that it creates Christians more focused on their own works than on a complete trust in Christ.  Strict adherents to penal substitution and the limited atonement of Calvinism can’t really make sense of theosis, where God’s grace is freely distributed to all.

Does your understanding of Christ’s work create the attitude of Christ in your heart?  Or does it generate negative feelings like guilt, fear, anger, or disdain for those different from you?  Does your understanding of Christ’s atonement spur to you genuinely and humbly love God and love your neighbor, even your enemy?  Or does it make you boastful and condemning of those with whom you disagree?  The truth of Christ can seem out there.  But when Christians allow the Holy Spirit to translate the mystery instead of carve it into stone tablets, I think we might bear witness to a Great Awakening.