Per his own words, Richard Rohr promotes the view that penal subustitutionary atonement is merely a “theory.” Rohr claims that “the early church had never heard” of penal substitutionary atonement. [1]
Is Rohr accurate when he advocates that the early church did not view Jesus’s crucifixion as atonement for sin? Is it merely a theory invented after the Reformation (as Rohr surmises).
Christian theologian and author J. Gresham Machen wrote the following:
“And this Bible doctrine [atonement] is not intricate or subtle. In the contrary, though it involves mysteries, it is itself so simple that a child can understand it. ‘We deserved eternal death, but the Lord Jesus, because He loved us, died instead of us on the cross’ – surely there is nothing so very intricate about that. It is not the Bible doctrine of the atonement which is difficult to understand – what are really incomprehensible are the elaborate modern efforts to get rid of the Bible doctrine in the interests of human pride.”
📙Christianity & Liberalism, p. 100.
What speaks the loudest on this topic, however, are the Scriptures. The earliest eyewitness accounts were documented within only 20-30 years of Jesus’s earthly ministry, death around 33AD, and subsequent bodily resurrection. This is incredible news when referring to ancient documents! For example, the first written copy of Caesar’s Gaelic Wars had a time gap of ~950 years! [2] These historical accounts provide evidence that the early church viewed Jesus’s atonement as foundational to Christianity.
“For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 📕
And if Paul’s testimony wasn’t enough, Jesus said the following: “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28 📕
Compelling evidence that the earliest followers of Jesus viewed his death as a payment for our sins is found in first Corinthians 15. Paul penned a creed (teaching) within first Corinthians 15 which had been sung and taught by the followers of Jesus just days or months after his bodily resurrection. To say that the early church was unaware of Jesus’s atonement is misrepresenting both history and Christianity.
“‘Christ died’ — that is history; ‘Christ died for my sins’ — that is doctrine. Without these two elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluble union, there is no Christianity.”
J. Gresham Machen. “Christianity & Liberalism.” page 23.📙
Examples of Scripture Pertaining to Jesus’s Atonement
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12
“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9:22
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” 1 Peter 3:15
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6-11
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” Hebrews 13:12
“For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” – Jesus (Matthew 26:38)
“Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” Romans 3:25
Citations
- The Universal Christ, p.140.
- The Biographical Test Updated, by Dr. Clay Jones: https://tinyurl.com/3sh2m243
Additional Resources
✏️ Penal Substitution in the Early Church by Brian Arnold
🎞️ Gavin Ortland explains why PSA is Biblical, Ancient, Integrative, and Trinitarian
🎞️ The Real History of Penal Substitution by Mike Winger
Hold Fast Apologetics 