I recall coming across someone who argued that Jesus did not pay our debt of sin, but rather that God forgave our debt, so that it did not need to be paid (payment and forgiveness of a debt being mutually exclusive: one cannot both forgive a debt and require its payment). He said that nowhere in Scripture says Jesus paid our debt. He said that the reason Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice was not to suffer punishment but to shed his blood for the cleansing and forgiveness of our sins.
This seems to make a lot of sense. Yet also seems to differ from any of the theories of the atonement that I'm aware of.
The ones I'd been aware of seem to have to do with paying the debt: satisfying God's wrath or Justice, or Jesus taking the punishment or blame on himself, or paying a ransom to Satan.
Has someone else heard of this before or know more about it that can help me out?
This seems to make a lot of sense. Yet also seems to differ from any of the theories of the atonement that I'm aware of.
The ones I'd been aware of seem to have to do with paying the debt: satisfying God's wrath or Justice, or Jesus taking the punishment or blame on himself, or paying a ransom to Satan.
Has someone else heard of this before or know more about it that can help me out?
Comment