I went looking for easily understandable definitions of various theories of the Atonement of Christ and found the following at GotQuestions.org. I have included here the introductory paragraphs, the definitions of the three most prevalent in today’s church, and the names of the nine theories presented in the online article located here.

Question: “What are the various theories on the atonement?”

Answer: Throughout church history several different views or theories of the atonement, some true and some false, have been put forth at different times by different individuals or denominations. One of the reasons for this is that both the Old and New Testaments reveal many truths about Christ’s atonement, so it is hard, if not impossible, to find any single “theory” that fully encapsulates or explains the richness of this doctrine. Instead, what we discover as we study the Scriptures is a rich and multifaceted picture of the atonement as the Bible puts forth many interrelated truths concerning the redemption that Christ has accomplished. Another contributing factor to the many different theories of the atonement is that much of what we can learn about the atonement needs to be understood from the experience and perspective of God’s people under the Old Covenant sacrificial system. Since having a correct view of the atonement of Christ is a key to understanding much of the Bible, even a survey of the differing theories of atonement can be beneficial.

The atonement of Christ, its purpose and what it accomplished is so rich that volumes have been written about it, and this article will simply provide a brief overview of many of the theories that have been put forth at one time or another. In looking at the different views of the atonement, we must never lose sight of the fact that any view that does not recognize the sinfulness of man and substitutionary aspect of the atonement is deficient at best and heretical at worst.

Moral Influence Theory: This view sees the atonement of Christ as demonstrating God’s love which causes man’s heart to soften and repent. Those that hold this view believe that man is spiritually sick and in need of help and that man is moved to accept God’s forgiveness by seeing God’s love for man. They believe that the purpose and meaning of Christ’s death was to demonstrate God’s love toward man. While it is true that Christ’s atonement is the ultimate example of the love of God, this view is also heretical because it denies the true spiritual condition of man and denies that God actually requires a payment for sin. This view of Christ’s atonement leaves mankind without a true sacrifice or payment for sin.
Governmental Theory: This view sees the atonement of Christ as demonstrating God’s high regard for His law and His attitude towards sin. It is through Christ’s death that God has a reason to forgive the sins of those who repent and accept Christ’s substitutionary death. Those that hold this view believe that man’s spiritual condition is as one who has violated God’s moral law and that the meaning of Christ’s death was to be a substitute for the penalty of sin. Because Christ paid the penalty for sin it is possible for God to legally forgive those who accept Christ as their substitute. This view falls short in that it does not teach that Christ actually paid the penalty of the actual sins of any people, but instead His suffering simply showed mankind that God’s laws were broken and that some penalty was paid.
Penal Substitution Theory: This view sees the atonement of Christ as being a vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice that satisfied the demands of God’s justice upon sin. In doing so Christ paid the penalty of man’s sin bringing forgiveness, imputing righteousness and reconciling man to God. Those that hold this view believe that every aspect of man, his mind, will and emotions have been corrupted by sin and that man is totally depraved and spiritually dead. This view holds that Christ’s death paid the penalty of sin for those whom God elects to save and that through repentance man can accept Christ’s substitution as payment for sin. This view of the atonement aligns most accurately to Scripture in its view of sin, the nature of man, and the results of the death of Christ on the cross.

Ransom to Satan

Recapitulation Theory

Dramatic Theory

Mystical Theory

Example Theory

Commercial Theory

If you have read the previous Battle Cry posts concerning “What IS the Gospel?” here (Part 1) and here (Part 2), it won’t be difficult to correctly identify the Atonement theory this B4B strongly supports. That, however, is irrelevant if what this blogger supports is not the theory most strongly supported in Scripture. I do think it safe to conclude that the Moral Influence and Governmental theories have influenced the modern/postmodern church for decades and are the prevailing theories behind the ‘seeker-friendly’ and quite popular gospel spoken of here.  

Next, we will try and and answer a most important question: “Once we have realized that Christ died for OUR SIN in OUR PLACE, what do we do with that knowledge – what does it really mean to believe it?

Our sin and rebellion is no match for irrestible Grace.

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” – John 3:19

“Man loves his own ruin. The cup is so sweet that though he knows it will poison him, yet he must drink it. And the harlot is so fair, that though he understands that her ways lead down to hell, yet like a bullock he follows to the slaughter till the dart goes through his liver. Man is fascinated and bewitched by sin.” –Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)_Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit_ Vol. 13 [1867]

“I must confess I never would have been saved if I could have helped it. As long as I could, I rebelled and revolted and struggled against God. When he would have me pray, I would not pray. When he would have me listen to the sound of the ministry, I would not. And when I heard, and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied him to melt my heart. Then he gave me the effectual blow of grace, and there was no resisting that irresistible effort. It conquered my depraved will and made me bow myself before the sceptre of his grace. And so it is in every case. Man revolts against his Saviour, but where God determines to save, save he will. God never was thwarted yet in any one of his purposes. Man does resist with all his might, but all the might of man, tremendous though it be for sin, is not equal to the majestic might of the Most High.” –Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)_New Park Street Pulpit_ Vol. 4 [1858]

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, written during this imprisonment, is the spiritual autobiography of Bunyan, the traveling tinker who became the eminent preacher and author. It is in the genre of Augustine’s Confessions and Thomas a Kempis’s Imitation of Christ. It is not a detailed account of Bunyan’s early life, for it tells us very little of his youth, education, military experiences, and marriages.

Written in 1666, Grace Abounding chronicles Bunyan’s spiritual journey from a profane life filled with cursing, blasphemy, and Sabbath desecration to a new creation in Christ Jesus.

The Conclusion:

Of all the temptations that ever I met with in my life, to question the being of God, and the truth of His gospel, is the worst, and the worst to be borne; when this temptation comes, it takes away my girdle from me, and removes the foundations from under me. Oh, I have often thought of that word, ‘Have your loins girt about with truth’; and of that, ‘When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’

Sometimes, when, after sin committed, I have looked for sore chastisement from the hand of God, the very next that I have had from Him hath been the discovery of His grace. Sometimes, when I have been comforted, I have called myself a fool for my so sinking under trouble. And then, again, when I have been cast down, I thought I was not wise to give such way to comfort. With such strength and weight have both these been upon me.

I have wondered much at this one thing, that though God doth visit my soul with never so blessed a discovery of Himself, yet I have found again, that such hours have attended me afterwards, that I have been in my spirit so filled with darkness, that I could not so much as once conceive what that God and that comfort was with which I have been refreshed.

I have sometimes seen more in a line of the Bible than I could well tell how to stand under, and yet at another time the whole Bible hath been to me as dry as a stick; or rather, my heart hath been so dead and dry unto it, that I could not conceive the least dram of refreshment, though I have looked it all over.

Of all tears, they are the best that are made by the blood of Christ; and of all joy, that is the sweetest that is mixed with mourning over Christ. Oh! it is a goodly thing to be on our knees, with Christ in our arms, before God. I hope I know something of these things.

I find to this day seven abominations in my heart:

• Inclinings to unbelief.
• Suddenly to forget the love and mercy that Christ manifests.
• A leaning to the works of the law.
• Wanderings and coldness in prayer.
• To forget to watch for that I pray for. (
• Apt to murmur because I have no more, and yet ready to abuse what I have.
• I can do none of those things which God commands me, but my corruptions will thrust in themselves, ‘When I would do good, evil is present with me.’

These things I continually see and feel, and am afflicted and oppressed with; yet the wisdom of God doth order them for my good.

• They make me abhor myself.
• They keep me from trusting my heart.
• They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness.
• They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus.
• They press me to pray unto God.
• They show me the need I have to watch and be sober.
• And provoke me to look to God, through Christ, to help me, and carry me through this world. Amen.

A popular contemporary worship song has these lyrics:

More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.
More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.
I will worship You
with all of my heart.
I will worship You
with all of my mind.
I will worship You
with all of my strength.
For You are my Lord.

More Love, More Power,
More of You in my life.

In some churches it might not be considered contemporary, or even used, since it was written in the late ’80s, but that’s beside the point. It was played on a local Christian radio station yesterday and certain questions came to mind as I listened to it during my 17 mile drive home from work. I remember singing it often when it first was published, and without the questions that recently came to mind. I loved this song!

The questions:

If we receive more love and power are we better worshipers?

Do I worship because He is my Lord, just because he is God, or both?

Do I really worship God with all of my heart, mind and strength? Isn’t that a pretty bold statement?

Why do we ask God for MORE love and power in our lives? Follow my thought process. . .

• I don’t ask for MORE of anything unless I think I NEED more. I sense a lack of something.
• As a believer, the third person of the Trinity is already living in me.  Is that just a little of the Holy Spirit living in me – or what?
• Does the Holy Spirit doesn’t need MORE of himself?

If I really don’t need more of Him in my life because he already lives in me, what is really going on here? Is it really about needing more of Him in my life, or is it a matter of me getting out of His way?

I can think of several things that hinder the work He wants to do in my life: sin, other distractions, the cares of this world, etc., but the biggest one is ME.

One last thought. . .with the number of personal pronouns and adjectives in this song (I/my), who is really at the center of the lyrics, me or God?

I have not lost my marbles and been sucked into the great abyss of full-blown Emergentville that tells us that ‘all roads lead to Rome’ and we just need to connect with the ‘divine’ within our own hearts.

Modern evangelism many times presents the gospel as needing a ‘personal’ relationship with Jesus, as if we don’t know Jesus, we are separated from God. Is the idea that we have NO relationship with God if we have not trusted in Christ for our salvation really true? Or, is it a matter of being ‘in relationship’ with God’, but not in RIGHT relationship with Him. Ephesians 2 tells us that without Christ we are DEAD in sin and objects of God’s wrath. That sounds like relationship, and it’s personal. that would mean, of course, that even professed athiests are in relationship with God.

On the other hand, the who has believed in the Son of God and trusted Him for salvation has a relationship based on forgiveness – no longer objects of God’s wrath, but reconciled with, and in union with God.

There is a discussion here that speaks to the question I proposed called ‘The Gospel of Personal Relationship’.  I encourage you to listen and share your thoughts!

I actually had no idea for a title to this post, but I wanted to say something about an ‘interesting’ statement I read a couple of days ago, for which I needed some semblance of closure – or at least stop the annoying bouncing.  

This was a very serious statement I came across in the comment thread of a blog concerning ‘tolerance’, complete with scripture to support the statement and delivered with utmost sincerity:

“God has willed that all men be saved.”

Supporting scripture:

John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The matter at hand in the discussion thread was the “all men” phrase in John 12:32, and after another commenter had mentioned that God’s actions in drawing and saving men revolve around His ‘elect’ from every tribe, nation and people, the eisegetical big guns came out. Among the artillery shots was the above statement, that probably caught my eye because I am employed as a technical writer/editor and such things do tend to hit my brain in boldface font.

“Everyone who sees and believes” is plainly NOT “all men”. Why is it even important?

I can think of several reasons, from the original “all men” issue to the Arminianism/Calvinism debate, and points in between. At this point in time, what struck this old soldier (was military in a former life) is the importance of personal Bible reading and study under two beginning assumptions:

1.  Receive the meaning of the text for what it says, not what you want it to say.

2.  What is says is truth. Any seeming contradictions sort themselves out over time.

Just read it and take it for what it says.  It was reading it for a high school ‘advanced’ English class that caused me to notice that being a Christian wasn’t about what I did on Sunday morning (attend the Lutheran Church down the road), but it was who was supposed to ‘be’ with my whole life. Unfortunately it was the late ’60s and I went AWOL from perceived hypocrisy and spent seven years in ODF status. (AWOL is Absent WithOut Leave and ODF is Out Dere Flappin’). It was picking it up and reading it again that caused the prodigal to want to ‘come home’). It’s been personal Bible study that has helped me grow the most.

Through the years it has been personal Bible reading and study that have been the mainstay of my Christian walk. Occasionally it has been very helpful to have an original language concordance and a commentary or two, but for the most part an accurate translation will suffice for growth in godliness and righteousness. I attribute that opinion to the dynamic of the indwelling Holy Spirit working in direct contact with the regenerated human mind and heart.

By the way, I do have a couple of bookshelves filled with the likes of Augustine, Calvin, John Bunyon, Spurgeon, John MacArthur (to name a few), Bible dictionaries, concordances, and commentaries. Then there are all the ‘tools’ that modern technology has to offer – entire biblical research libraries on CDs (got that), with more available on the Internet.

But guess what? In most cases, all of the ‘big ones’, for whom I have the utmost admiration and respect, tell me what the Bible already told me. (I read them anyway, but not primarily.)

I just wanted to share that. Thanks for listening.