In a recent radio interview, The Shack author, Paul Young, told the interviewer he did not hold to the traditional view of the atonement in that he does not believe Jesus Christ bore the punishment (i.e., penalty) for man's sins when He died on the Cross (transcript).
He also stated, with regard to this topic: "I don't know if you're aware, but that's a huge debate that's going on in theology right now within the evangelical community." …
This "huge debate" states that a loving Father would never send His Son to a violent death on behalf of the sins of others. And while they do not deny that Jesus did physically die on a Cross, they insist that His death was not to be a substitutionary act wherein He was punished for our sins.
This is so disturbing to me it breaks my heart. When we deny Jesus as our spotless, sinless lamb who was our sacrifice shedding His blood for our sins, then we have no hope. Jesus and only Jesus is the one who connects us with God. He is the spotless lamb who is the permanent, perfect, final sacrifice for all sin, for all men, for all time.
Don’t just celebrate Easter as another holiday with bunnies, colored eggs and cooked ham. Remember what our Savior has done for us in being the atonement for our sins. Remember that the grave did not hold Him, but He arose on that Resurrection morning and He is alive today! This is why we celebrate Easter! It is the hope of our salvation. Without it, we are no different than any other religion!
I Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit”.
The video tells the story. Go to bottom of page to pause the music on my Playlist before watching the video.
