In this Sunday’s message (Oct. 15, 2023), Brother Dave responds to a congregant’s question, “If not substitutionary atonement, then what?” He begins with Romans 5:12–18, where Paul writes, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.” He then describes three “A”s of the atonement that don’t involve penal substitution: Anselm’s satisfaction view, Abelard’s moral influence view, and Athanasius’s “classic” view, which combines Christus victor and recapitulation motifs. Drawing these together, he suggests that Jesus’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension all play a role in making us at one with God.
