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Categories Book Notes, Theology

A Substitute Sacrifice

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Notes on John Stott’s
The Cross of Christ
Chapter 6: The Self-Substitution of God

“How then could God express simultaneously his holiness in judgment and his love in pardon? Only by providing a divine substitute for the sinner, so that the substitute would receive the judgment and the sinner the pardon.”
~John Stott, The Cross of Christ, page 134

The second half of the theology of the cross is substitution. God must be satisfied–and He can be satisfied only through His own self-substitution.

The sacrificial system set up in the Old Testament sets the stage for an understanding of substitution. There were two basic types of offerings instituted by God–the offerings that recognize man as a sinner (sin and guilt offerings) and the offerings that recognize man as a creature (peace offerings, burnt offerings, and harvest festivals.)

The sin and guilt offerings are offerings that atone for and deal with man’s sin in order that fellowship between man and his Creator can be restored.

Even in the Old Testament, the idea of substitution is clearly seen. On the day of atonement, the priest placed his hand on the lamb’s head and confessed over it Israel’s sins–transferring the sins from the people of Israel onto the lamb. Then the lamb was slaughtered, sacrificed for Israel’s sins. It was not merely sacrificed because they had sinned–but it received the punishment for their sins in their place.

Of course, this type of sacrifice could never satisfy. Only a man can atone for the sins of man. And only God, having never sinned, is able to substitute. A lamb could only provide a picture, repeated year after year, pointing to the eventual day when atonement would be made once and for all. Every year when the lamb was slaughtered, Israel’s sins were ceremonially removed, only to return again.

But then in the fullness of time, Christ, fully God and fully man, the spotless Lamb of God, took up His cross and took upon Himself all our sins. A substitute, He stood in our place, received the punishment we deserved–the full wrath of God poured out.

“Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.”
~Stuart Townsend & Julian Getty, In Christ Alone

God was satisfied to substitute Himself in Christ for us and in doing so to restore us to fellowship with Himself. What an amazing, overwhelmingly awesome God!

(See more notes on The Cross of Christ here.)

Categories The Week in Words

WiW: The Cross and Society

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The Week in Words

I’ve been reading John Stott’s The Cross of Christ and making notes over the past few weeks. Then I found a couple of articles that seemed to go along with what I’ve been reading…

Michael Horton on The Cross in Today’s Discourse:

“In contemporary discourse on the atonement and justification, Hunsinger judges, ‘The social or horizontal aspect of reconciliation…eclipses its vertical aspect.'”

“In much of evangelicalism today, the emphasis falls on the question “What Would Jesus Do?” rather than “What Has Jesus Done?” Jesus provides the model for us to imitate for personal or social transformation.”

I can see the growing emphasis on the horizontal aspect of the cross–how the cross impacts our behavior towards others–in much of my reading, blogwise or bookwise. Boyd’s The Myth of a Christian Nation, particularly, seems to emphasize this a good deal.

And it is true that the cross impacts our relationships with others. But is this the whole story?

C.S. Lewis rightly decries the notion.

Screwtape (Lewis’s fictional older demon) on how to tempt a Christian:

“The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy [=God] demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist’s shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner.”

If the cross becomes merely a means by which society can be changed, the cross loses its power and the enemy has succeeded to a large degree.

What then is the cross’s impact?

Michael Horton (again) on the essence of the cross:

“Christ’s penal substitution is not the whole of Christ’s work, but without it nothing else matters.”

We cannot primarily look upon the cross as an example we are to follow, but as a completed work, accomplished by Christ on our behalf. We cannot primarily look upon the cross as a means by which to transform society, but as the means by which God the Father and Christ the Son transformed us from sinners to saints, from enemies to friends, from abandoned orphans to adopted sons.

Yes, we should attempt to take up our crosses and follow Christ. Yes, we should seek to follow Christ’s example in our daily lives. But unless we recognize the accomplished work of Christ on the cross, we will have lost the transformative power of the cross.

Collect more quotes from throughout the week with Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”.

Categories Recap

Recap (July 4-10)

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On bekahcubed

Book Reviews:

  • The Princess Bride by William Goldman

    “Book lovers everywhere are known for snootily announcing after watching even a particularly fantastic movie: “The book was better.” I almost always agree that the book is better–although perhaps for different reasons than most.

    You see, I don’t GET movies. Even when I’m applying my whole brain towards understanding them (which I rarely do, being an inveterate multi-tasker), I still generally fail to understand the nuances of screen plot-lines. Turn on subtitles and my comprehension soars. Finally, the characters are speaking my language–print. Books are even better, because I have not only the dialogue, but the setting and action in print as well. This is probably why I enjoyed the book The Princess Bride even better than I enjoyed the movie.”

    Read the rest of my review.

On the web

Books for the TBR list:

  • The Church History ABCs by Nichols and Bustard
    I flipped through this children’s picture book at Crossway and I’ve absolutely got to get myself a copy. Who can resist a picture book with mini biographies of Christian giants. “C is for catfish, castle, and John Calvin, champion reformer.”
  • War, Peace, and Christianity: Q & A from a just war perspective by Demy and Charles
    Greg Boyd takes a non-combative position in Myth of a Christian Nation–and the argument for Christian pacifism (for lack of a better term) certainly has some Scriptural support. I’d be interested to hear Demy and Charles’ take on the matter (apparently from the other side). A quick browse (I *love* that feature of Crossway books) reveals that this book is likely to support what I’ve been thinking while reading Boyd’s book. Which can be good and can be bad. Lord, give me grace to see and think clearly and to come to conclusions based upon Your word rather than upon my preconceptions.

News to take note of:

  • Young Women Check their Facebook First Thing in the Morning

    “More than half of young women (57%) say they talk to people online more than face-to-face. A full 39% of them proclaim themselves Facebook addicts, while 34% of young women make Facebook the first thing they do when they wake up, even before brushing their teeth or going to the bathroom.”

    I still talk to people more face-to-face than I do online, but I am guilty of checking Facebook first thing in the morning. (At least, first thing after making my bed. Making my bed is still a stronger compulsion than Facebook!)
    HT: Tim Challies

Thought-provoking posts:

  • Thoughts on how pastors can equip women for ministry
    I especially appreciated this comment:

    “Women want to be passionate about the gospel, and they thrive when they are surrounded by men who set the pace.”

    I can definitely say for myself that I thrive when men around me challenge themselves for the sake of the gospel–and challenge me to think deeply and live passionately for the gospel.

  • Questions Christians should ask about Global Warming
    A terrific set of questions to help Christian greenies (like myself) think through the issues related to global warming. In short:

    1. Is the earth warming?
    2. Are we causing the earth to warm?
    3. Is it a bad thing if the earth is warming?
    4. Would the advised policies make any difference?

    For the record, my analysis of the data answers 1. Yes, but not much, 2. Possibly, but other explanations are more likely (sun cycles are the best explanation I’ve heard), 3. Difficult to tell, 4. I doubt it.

Videos worth seeing:

Something completely other:

  • Jasmine Bauchum talks about Biblical womanhood as she sees it
    I see it a bit differently, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one statement she made:

    “I realize that the term “barefoot and pregnant” is fighting words… I’ll let you throw the first punch while I fantasize about reading Orwell between laundry loads while my burgeoning baby belly blocks the sight of my bare feet from wistful eyes.”

    For the record, I’m not all about the “stay-at-home-daughter” thing–but I am all about being a homemaker. And even at my busiest 70-hour-a-week-hold-down-three-jobs-and-go-to-school-full-time, I relished my role as a homemaker. So THERE!

Categories Thankfulness

Thankful Today

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Because sometimes Thursday isn’t the only day I need to ward off covetousness.

I am twenty-five and not a homeowner as I wanted to be…
…but I am thankful that I can rent a home I like and share it with a friend.

I am twenty-five and unmarried, childless…
…but I am thankful for the many who lend me their children on Sunday mornings.

Child from nurseryChild from nursery

I am twenty-five and still a student, still in limbo, still waiting for real life to start…
…but I am thankful that my thesis seems to be coming together at last.

I am twenty-five and I still have not taken that bike ride that I have been talking about taking for years…
…but I am thankful for the small rides I get to enjoy with family and friends.

Tim and Kayla on bicyclesTim and John on bicyclesMom and Anna and Joanna on bicycles

My life has not turned out as I expected it to. I see my friends attaining to my dreams, and envy rises strong within my soul. Why do they get houses and husbands and children when I do not?

Because God, in His sovereign and good plan, has decreed that my life should look different than the course I plotted for it.

And I am thankful that He knows better than I how to arrange my life for my good and for His glory.

Categories Reflections

Clothing Impressions

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I was looking at some photos from an independent Baptist youth camp and was struck with sudden terror.

“Is that what my clothing makes me look like?” I wondered.

I thought back to my mid-teenage years, when my clothing “style” was at its most “independent Baptist.” I’m sure I was quite a sight in the preppy high school I attended for a couple of classes. In sharp contrast to the jeans and barely there tops my classmates were sporting, I wore formless mid-calf-length skirts and equally formless t-shirts. Bleh!

A fellow hall-wanderer once approached me to ask a personal question. “I hope you’re not offended, but I was just wondering…What religion are you?”

I answered briefly, said that I was a Christian. She gave a hmm and mentioned something about the way I dressed. I don’t remember exactly what I said, except to say that the way I dressed had nothing to do with my religion.

Later that year, I saw that same girl walking through the halls wearing an Islamic head scarf–and I wondered if I’d missed my chance. Clearly, she had been searching for an identity–and thought she’d found it in Islam. But what if I’d better used that opening question and her comment about my clothing? What if I’d used that opening as an opportunity to share with her about an identity that goes far deeper than the clothes we wear–an identity that can only be found in Jesus Christ? I still regret not taking that opportunity–and whenever I think of it, I pray for that girl, wherever she is.

It’s amazing how powerfully clothing can influence people’s perceptions.

Looking at the independent Baptist pictures, I worried that my clothing might make people perceive me as such. I do, after all, have very long hair and more than my share of below-the-knee skirts.

See for yourself: Me at my independent Baptist best.

Me in long skirtMe in long skirtMe in long skirtMe in long skirt

Then again, I also wear shorter skirts:

Me in short skirtMe in short skirtMe in short skirtMe in short skirt

And sometimes I wear pants:

Me in pantsMe in pantsMe in pantsMe in pantsMe in pants

And then there are those times when I completely defy stereotypes:

Me in costumeMe in costumeMe in costumeMe in costume

So tell me–what do YOU think my clothing says about me? What about yourself–have you ever had someone comment on your clothing and the impressions they have of you based on your clothing?

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: A Sovereign God

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Last night, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest with my sister-in-law. It reminded me how thankful I am that my life’s course is not determined by the capriciousness of my heart’s desires (or of others’ heart’s desires), but by the sovereign design of a loving God.

Today I’m thankful…

…that unlike Jack Sparrow’s compass, my compass does not change directions according to my heart’s whim.

…that I can always find true north in the cross of Christ: the finished work of God on my behalf.

… that “a man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

…that God “know[s] the thoughts that [He] think[s] toward me…thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give [me] a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

…that “My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

I am thankful that my story is not authorless, subject to the whims of fate.
I am thankful that my story is not authored by man, subject to his favor or displeasure.
I am thankful that my story is not authored by myself, subject to my heart’s wild gyrations.
I am thankful that my story is authored by God, subject to His eternal, unchangeable, holy, and good will.

Thankful Thursday banner

Categories Book Notes, Theology

Unsatisfactory Satisfaction (Part 3)

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Notes on John Stott’s
The Cross of Christ
Chapter 5: Satisfaction for Sin

Check out the first and second parts of this chapter if you haven’t already.

At the end of part 2, I issued the question:

What is satisfied at the cross if not the devil?
What is satisfied at the cross if not the law?
What is satisfied at the cross if not God’s honor and justice?

The answer is almost painfully simple.

4. The cross satisfied God Himself.

Yes, the cross satisfied the law–but only because the law is an expression of God Himself. Yes, the cross satisfied God’s honor and justice–but only because those are attributes of God Himself. Those statements can only be true inasmuch as we recognize that what must be satisfied is God’s own character.

God is not bound by some external being or concept, whether by satan or by law or by justice. He is bound to one thing and one thing only–He is bound to ever be Himself. God must always act as Himself, in a way that is consistent with His own unchanging nature.

God judges sin, not because He is bound by the law, but because it is His nature to be holy and absolutely intolerant of sin. He acts for His name’s sake, for His own sake.

Stott summarizes his thesis in these words:

“…The way God chooses to forgive sinners and reconcile them to himself must, first and foremost, be fully consistent with his own character. It is not only that he must overthrow and disarm the devil in order to rescue his captives. It is not even only that he must satisfy his law, his honour, his justice, or the moral order: it is that he must satisfy himself. Those other formulations rightly insist that at least one expression of himself must be satisfied, either his law or honour or justice or moral order; the merit of this further formulation is that it insists on the satisfaction of God himself in every aspect of his being, including both his justice and his love.
~John Stott, The Cross of Christ

Too often, we think of God’s justice and His love as being two opposing forces held in tension. Yet this is not so:

“For God is not at odds with himself, however much it may appear to us that he is….True, we find it difficult to hold in our minds simultaneously the images of God as the Judge who must punish evil-doers and of the Lover who must find a way to forgive them. Yet he is both, and at the same time. In the words of G.C. Berkouwer, ‘in the cross of Christ God’s justice and love are simultaneously revealed,’ while Calvin, echoing Augustine, was even bolder. He wrote of God that ‘in a marvelous and divine way he loved us even when he hated us.’ Indeed, the two are more than simultaneous, they are identical, or at least alternative expressions of the same reality. For ‘the wrath of God is the love of God‘ Brunner wrote in a daring sentence, ‘in the form in which the man who has turned away from God and turned against God experiences it.'”
~John Stott, The Cross of Christ

(See more notes on The Cross of Christ here.)

Categories Memes

I’m going to lose all my followers…

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if I don’t give you something a bit lighter than all this theological fare (Sorry, I’m currently living a boring life. Thesis, thesis, and more thesis with the occasional craft project or backed up sink thrown in.)

Thankfully, whenever I see a nice little meme that someone else has done, I’ll copy it and keep it in reserve for one of those days when I really don’t have much to say (but haven’t the discipline to just ignore the lure of the gray and white WordPress screen!)

This meme, held in reserve for a week and a half, is brought to you by Joanne of The Simple Wife.

What color are your socks right now?
I’m not wearing socks. It’s summer and I’m not working. Instead of my work-day loafers or pumps, I’m wearing slip-ons without socks.

What are you listening to right now?
The ceiling fan and my computer humming.

What was the last thing you ate?
Grapes and a bing cherry.

Can you drive a stick?
Nope. Never learned.

Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My landlady’s machine :-)

How old are you today?
25

What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
I don’t do tv. Or sports. But when I have access to a tv, I enjoy watching figure skating (if that can be considered a sport). And watching a Nebraska football game with a whole crew of family and friends at my folks’ house is always nice.

What is your favorite drink?
Water

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Once, in order to be “Posh Spice” for a costume party. I dyed it a darker version of itself.

Rebekah with dyed hair

Favorite food?
Oh my. Too many to count. My mom’s Swedish meatballs. Lasagna. Spaghetti with Mom’s sauce. Cornbread and Chip-beef gravy. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Anna’s BBQ pizza. Green beans fresh from the garden. Sweet potatoes, baked with nothing on them. Homegrown tomatoes, sliced and eaten plain. I love food in general–and all of it in particular :-)

What is the last movie you watched?
Good question. Whatever it was, I didn’t so much WATCH it as I crocheted through it. (It was on Saturday the third. We pretty much had a marathon of movie watching. I can’t remember what any of the 3? movies we watched were. But I got a washcloth crocheted and half of a tea towel embroidered!)

Favorite day of the year?
Christmas

How do you vent anger?
Dunno. It’s been a while since I got to the “need-a-vent” point with anger. (Knock on wood :-P) I find it much easier to experience provocation, pray, and let God release the anger.

What was your favorite toy as a child?
My little siblings. Books. My bicycle.

Favorite Season?
Spring, when the green grass pokes through the winter-moistened earth with stunning contrast. And when I can put my bare feet in said earth as I plant a vegetable garden.

Cherries or Blueberries?
Cherries if it’s in homemade (Mom-made) cherry pie using cherries from her tree.
Blueberries if I’m not footing the bill.
Bing cherries when I’m feeling like luxury.

Living situation?
Rent a townhouse. Have a roommate. Am hoping the landlord’s jimmying managed to get the kitchen sink draining properly.

When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday.

What is on the floor of your closet right now?
A crate of professional paperwork.
A shelf of shoes. A laundry basket.
Same as always.

What are you most afraid of?
Being hung by my belly-button :-P
And other things I can’t mention so glibly. My brothers dying. That I’ll mope and pout my way through God’s plan instead of trusting and enjoying His provision. That I’ll squander my life on the temporal instead of investing in the eternal.

Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Not a big burger fan, but I guess I like many things spicy.

Favorite dog breed?
Big. And outdoor, if at all possible.

Favorite day of the week?
Do people really have favorite days of the week?

How many states have you lived in?
One.

Diamonds or pearls?
I’d love for that to be my dilemma, but I don’t have high hopes of it being so anytime soon (or anytime ever, for that matter.)

What is your favorite flower?
Well, ranunculus is my favorite flower NAME
And TULIPs are John Calvin approved :-)
I can’t really say. I like flowers, period, but don’t have a favorite.

Did you get an H1N1 vaccine?
Nope. I was poor and busy. But I do try to get the seasonal flu vaccine every year. Flu is nasty stuff, and since I have been known to work in institutions (hospitals and residence halls) and among immuno-compromised individuals (hospitals and nursing homes), I don’t like to risk it.

Please play along with one or all of the questions in the comments. I’d love to learn more about you!

Categories Book Notes, Theology

Unsatisfactory Satisfaction (Part 2)

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Notes on John Stott’s
The Cross of Christ
Chapter 5: Satisfaction for Sin

If you haven’t read the first part yet, I recommend that you take a look. This post is a direct continuation of the previous.

2. The cross satisfied the law

This view is also suggested in the Witch’s conversation with Aslan:

“‘Fool,’ said the Witch with a savage smile that was almost a snarl, ‘do you really think your master can rob me of my rights by mere force? He knows the Deep Magic better than that. He knows that unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water.'”
~C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

Sin is violation of the law–and to fail to punish it would be to fail to satisfy the law. Stott gives a human example of this in the law that had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. Even though King Darius really didn’t want to throw Daniel into the den, he had no choice but to do it. Even he was not above the law he had created.

This view has some utility and some Scriptural support. The Bible makes clear that the wages of sin are death. That price had to be paid. Sin has a curse associated with it. Jesus bore that curse.

Yet this view fails in that it subjects God to the law, as though God were “caught in a technical legal muddle.” Stott quotes R.W. Dale in saying that “God’s connection with the law is ‘not a relation of subjection but of identity….In God the law is alive; it reigns on his throe, sways his sceptre, is crowned with his glory.’ For the law is the expression of his own moral being, and his moral being is always self-consistent.”

3. The cross satisfied God’s honour and justice.

This view is likely to hold great appeal to Piper fans. It suggests that our sin is a dishonoring of God’s name, taking away the honor that is due Him, and that “God upholds nothing more justly than he doth the honour of his own dignity.”

Quoting Anselm (an early proponent of this view):

“Man the sinner owes to God, on account of sin, what he cannot repay, and unless he repays it he cannot be saved….There is no one who can make this satisfaction except God himself…But no one ought to make it except man; otherwise man does not make satisfaction….It is necessary that one who is God-man should make it.”
~from The Cross of Christ

C.S. Lewis takes a similar tack to explain the necessity of the Incarnation in Mere Christianity.

The reformers took on this view and the former, claiming that Christ’s death provided a double satisfaction: of God’s law and of God’s justice.

Again, this view has utility and Biblical support–but it has the same flaw as the second view. It suggests that somehow God is subservient to justice.

While the first view (discussed yesterday) was mostly wrong, these two views are mostly right. Yet none of the models that have been mentioned so far are satisfactory to Stott (or to me as Stott leads me along.) They’re missing something, some vital element.

What is satisfied at the cross if not the devil?
What is satisfied at the cross if not the law?
What is satisfied at the cross if not God’s honor and justice?

I’m getting long again, so this chapter will spill into another day. I promise you, though–only ONE more day! :-)

(See more notes on The Cross of Christ here.)

Categories Book Notes, Theology

Unsatisfactory satisfaction (Part 1)

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Notes on John Stott’s
The Cross of Christ
Chapter 5: Satisfaction for Sin

Satisfaction is a frankly theological term–and one it is hard to come to grips with. Stott writes:

“How, people ask, can we possibly believe that God needed some kind of ‘satisfaction’ before he was prepared to forgive, and that Jesus Christ provided it by enduring as our ‘substitute’ the punishment we sinners deserved? Are not such notions unworthy of the God of the biblical revelation, a hangover from primitive superstitions, indeed frankly immoral?”
~John Stott, The Cross of Christ

Merriam-Webster’s entry for satisfaction gives me little satisfaction.

Satisfaction
1 a : the payment through penance of the temporal punishment incurred by a sin b : reparation for sin that meets the demands of divine justice
2 a : fulfillment of a need or want b : the quality or state of being satisfied : contentment c : a source or means of enjoyment : gratification
3 a : compensation for a loss or injury : atonement, restitution b : the discharge of a legal obligation or claim c : vindication
4 : convinced assurance or certainty

Okay, so it mentions a theological meaning–but still, this seems difficult. Who’s doing the satisfying? Who or what is being satisfied? This definition doesn’t really cut it.

Stott describes four historical and contemporary views on satisfaction.

1. The cross satisfied the devil’s demands

This view suggests that humans, having sold themselves into slavery to the devil, are satan’s property, and can only be ransomed (bought back) if the devil’s conditions are met. I find a bit of this view in C.S. Lewis’ description of Aslan’s conversation with the White Witch regarding Edmund:

“‘Tell you?’ said the Witch, her voice growing suddenly shriller. ‘…You at least know the Magic which the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and the for every treachery I have a right to a kill.’

‘And so,’ continued the witch, ‘that human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property.’

‘Come and take it then,’ said the Bull with the man’s head in a great bellowing voice.

‘Fool,’ said the Witch with a savage smile that was almost a snarl, ‘do you really think your master can rob me of my rights by mere force? He knows the Deep Magic better than that. He knows that unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water.’

‘It is very true,’ said Aslan, ‘I do not deny it.'”
~C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Here the Witch (the devil) stakes her claim on the lives of all traitors (sinners). Aslan (God) does not deny it. Instead, he dies in the traitor’s place to satisfy the witch’s demand for blood while satisfying his own love for Edmund the traitor.

There is certainly appeal to this view. It lets the devil be the “bad guy”, the one responsible for the particularly grotesque display that is the cross.

Yet there is a profound problem with this view as well. It gives the devil too much power. It gives him power over even God Himself. It makes God subject to satan’s demands.

No, the satisfaction obtained at the cross was not a satisfaction of the devil’s demands.

Since I’m getting a bit long-winded here and still have three more views to discuss, I’ll be stretching this chapter into a couple of posts. Check back tomorrow for the rest.

(See more notes on The Cross of Christ here.)