animal sacrificesA gracEmail subscriber asks, "Why did God command the Israelites to bring animal sacrifices as sin-offerings, and why did those sin-offerings stop after Jesus died and rose again?"
he made the choiceHis enemies joke among themselves: "He saved others, but he can't save himself" (Mk. 15:31). They tell the truth, you know. If he is to save others he cannot save himself. In the end it is him or them. Him or us.
what, who, why, howA gracEmail subscriber writes, "My 18-year-old daughter asked me exactly what Jesus did for us by his death on the cross. I told her that he took on our sins and died in our place. She then asked, 'But if the penalty for sin is eternal death, how did Jesus' death remove that penalty, since Jesus was raised from the dead and lives forever?'"
was the cross necessary? (three gracEmails)A gracEmail reader asks, "Was the cross necessary in order for God to forgive our sins? Did Jesus have to die in order for God to love us sinners?"
the dragon slayer: a reviewI have just read twice and highlighted The Dragon Slayer: Reflections On the Saving of the World (2004, privately published, 202 pages, paper), the latest book from my eloquent friend Jim McGuiggan of Northern Ireland. As usual, McGuiggan devotes his considerable mind and poignant pen to the profound realities that matter most, this time the atonement for sin which Jesus Christ accomplished once for all.
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "You said that Jesus was without sin. But didn't he become a sinner by taking on our sins? Isn't this why he was forsaken by God on the cross?"
Is God just to forgive?A West Texas reader responds to my comment that God forgives repentant people who do not conform precisely to his commands. "Is that really just?" he asked.
actual atonementA gracEmail subscriber writes: "How do you view the issue of man's choice or God's decree with regard to our salvation? Is limited atonement true or did Christ die for all?"
cosmic child abuseA gracEmail subscriber has heard someone say that if God required his sinless Son to die in order to forgive our sins that would be both unjust and "cosmic child abuse." What does Scripture say about this?
Jesus and human sacrificeA gracEmail subscriber in Korea asks, "How could God, who abhors human sacrifice, sacrifice his own Son? How could the murder of an innocent man (Jesus) be necessary to bring about our forgiveness by God?"
atonement: reality and theoriesA gracEmail subscriber writes: "I recently came across some of C. S. Lewis’ comments concerning his denial of the 'penal, substitutionary' view of atonement. I have never heard atonement explained in any other way. This led me to research a former and greatly respected professor who also basically denies the 'penal substitutionary' view. Is this just a minor disagreement or does it involve an essential truth of the Christian faith?"
atonement theories (three gracEmails)Christians affirm that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God forgives sinful human beings and restores them to right relationship with himself. However, when asked to explain exactly how this atonement occurred, they have offered a variety of theories. A gracEmail subscriber requests more detail concerning these different explanations.
"Propitiation/atonement":
LXX background to a NT verbNot a gracEmail, but a brief word study from the Greek Old Testament concerning the words translated "atonement" and "propitiation" in some versions.