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The law of substitution

The concept that Christ was willing and able to die for others is a basic Christian teaching. It is based on the law of substitution, whereby a sinner, condemned to death by the law of God, may find salvation through faith in Christ, who died in his place. But there are also questions about the legality of doing this. So let us study this question more thoroughly.

First, the Apostle Paul links this principle to Christ’s love for sinners in Romans 5:6-8,

⁶ For while were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Again, we read in John 3:16,

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This fundamental principle of Christianity, however, may seem to contradict the law of God in Deuteronomy 24:16,

¹⁶ Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.

The prophets reference this law as well. Jeremiah 31:30 says,

³⁰ But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his [own] teeth will be set on edge.

This was a well-known proverb in those days mentioned again in Ezekiel 18:2-4,

² “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge’? ³ “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. ⁴ “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

The meaning of this proverb is that the children pay the price for their fathers’ sins. We often see this in history. Men sin, and when God brings judgment, the children in the next generation pay the price as well. Yet here God tells the prophet that He will hold sinners accountable for their own sins.

This establishes the principle seen in other places where God spares the righteous ones in the midst of divine judgment. In Ezekiel 9:4, 5, 6 says,

⁴ The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city [Jerusalem] and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. ⁵ But to the others He said in my hearing, “go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.” ⁶ Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark…

Such judgment, based on the Old Covenant, is a realistic portrayal of how wars were conducted against cities and nations. Truly, the children were affected by the sins of the fathers. Even then, however, God exempted certain ones from the overall judgment. We should understand also that this was a judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem for the sins of its fathers; it was not a reference to the final judgment at the great White Throne at the end of the age, where each will be judged for his own sin.

Costly Redemption

Psalm 49:7-9 tells us,

⁷ No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him— ⁸ For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever— ⁹ that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay.

The context shows that the psalmist was not referencing redemption from slavery but redemption from death itself. It is commanded in Leviticus 25:23-55 that men are to redeem their near kinsmen from slavery to foreigners. The laws of redemption show the possibility of fulfilling this law, as long as men have the financial means to do so. However, “the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying” to do this. To redeem another man’s soul “that he should live on eternally” is too costly for even the wealthiest among us.

The Wages of Sin

Romans 6:23 says,

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For this reason, when Adam sinned, he was sentenced to death (mortality), and because like begets like, his children were born mortal as well. This is the classic example of the fathers eating sour grapes and setting the children’s teeth on edge. But because the law forbids making the children pay for the sins of their fathers, this was a temporary injustice—temporary, I say, because it obligated God to reverse this injustice in the end.

So we read in 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22 promises,

²¹ For since by man [Adam] came death, by a man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

By condemning all of Adam’s children to death even before they were born, God obligated Himself to save all mankind in the end, and this became the mission of Jesus Christ. The path toward universal salvation, however, is long and arduous, “each in his own order” (1 Corinthians 15:23), yet the plan is set forth in detail in the Scriptures. Some will be rewarded with immortality at the first resurrection, others at the general resurrection, and still others at Creation’s Jubilee. (See my book, Creation’s Jubilee.)

The Impediment of Sin

A single sin condemned Adam and his children to death, and this affected creation itself as well. The path of restoration is set forth through progressive revelation in Scripture. The Old Covenant under Moses promises life (immortality) to those who obey the laws of God as they promised to do (Exodus 19:5, 6).

The problem with that covenant is that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). It is for this reason that it is impossible to be saved by trying hard to be righteous. Those who make such an attempt have already sinned, and no amount of righteous behavior can erase past sin. To do righteous acts merely prevents any further liability for sin.

Hence, the Bible shows how Israel and Judah failed to keep that covenant, and Jeremiah 31:31-35 set forth a new covenant, one based on the promise of God and not on the promises of men. In other words, men were incapable of being saved by fulfilling their own promises to God, so God vowed to save men by His own power and ability to change the hearts of the people. So we read in Jeremiah 31:33,

³³ “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

Whereas the first covenant said, “IF you will obey,” the second covenant was God’s statement of intent, telling us what HE would do. The first was conditional upon men fulfilling their good intentions, the second was conditional upon God’s ability to fulfill His intention. The first has always failed; the second cannot fail.

Is it Lawful for Jesus to Pay our Penalty for Sin?

The entire sacrificial system in the Old Testament is based on the idea of substitution. Sin requires death as a penalty, but in His mercy, God allowed for a substitute. The priests brought death to an innocent lamb to atone for men’s sins. This was foretold and illustrated in Genesis 22, when God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah. There we find that God provided a ram to be sacrificed in place of his son. Genesis 22:14 says,

¹⁴ Abraham called the name off that place The Lord Will Provide [Jehovah Jireh], as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.”

This shows that even though death is decreed for all who have sinned, God Himself takes the initiative to provide a substitute to pay the death penalty for sin. So when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John recognized that all of the sacrificial lambs in the past were prophetic of the true Lamb of God who would become the great Substitute for sin.

The law forbids human sacrifice, because all mortals are already condemned to death and cannot bring life to anyone else. Only an unblemished lamb was to be sacrificed in the Old Covenant, and only a perfect Man could take away the sin of the world. Not realizing this, many in ancient times sacrificed their children to atone for the sins of the fathers.

This is what the law forbids in Deuteronomy 24:16. It forbade mortal fathers from offering their mortal children to God in the attempt to atone for their own sins and to achieve immortality. Countless children were sacrificed in vain, as their fathers used them as substitutions for themselves. They murdered their children and received only condemnation from God.