Whether the “bypassing [or “passing over”] the penalties of sins that occurred beforehand in the tolerance of God” of Romans 3:25 refers to Israel’s historic sins or to those of new believers makes absolutely no difference in the final analysis, because in either case it all comes down to a revelation of premial justice on God’s part–precisely the kind of unique righteousness that Paul is at pains to start explaining beginning with Romans 3:21. There is not the slightest hint in the larger context that this longsuffering of God is a mere humoring of human sin until such time as He could aim His Jovian bolts of wrath at a “penal substitute” and thus “satisfy” His justice on the innocent Savior instead. For in point of fact, His indignation against incorrigible sins has not diminished by a whisker since the cross. And any letup in relation to believers can be quite sufficiently explained by His explosive lovingkindness on account of His Son’s faithful obedience in accepting the abuse of the cross from Satan’s henchmen, because this provided God the golden historic opportunity to display His rewarding righteousness, which, in turn, overmatches all the sin-bearing ever suffered by God. But, what’s more, that divine judicial award equates to the promised superabundance of Holy Spirit of graciousness and resurrection life that constitutes the very agent for actually radically cleansing the sins not only of ancient Israel, but likewise of repentant sinners from every age and nation whatever. Bingo. [9/16/10]
The term “reprobate,” although no part of Biblical vocabulary (at least not in the sense employed so liberally by Calvinists), is rendered necessary by the errant logic of penal satisfaction. For there “must” be “leftovers” after the exact cost of Christ’s sufferings have been tallied up and paid out for just so many “elect,” “foreordained unto salvation” “sovereignly” by God’s “decree” from “eternity.” But once we catch the drift of the authentic apostolic Gospel concerning God’s premial justice dispensed directly to Christ (i.e., not as a “substitute” bearing a penalty that others deserved) on behalf of ALL HUMANKIND without distinction, such a word is shown up for the hideous thing it actually is. Jesus died to save “reprobates” no less than upstanding Pharisees and lawyers! [9/18/10]
Although it is undeniably true that under the Levitical administration presumptuous and capital sins could not be atoned for by sacrIfice, YET WHEN THE MOST HEINOUS OF PRESUMPTUOUS AND CAPITAL SINS, NAMELY, THE HIGH-HANDED EXECUTION OF ISRAEL’S OWN MESSIAH–A VERITABLE HUMAN SACRIFICE–WAS ATONED FOR BY GOD’S OWN RAISING HIM FROM THE DEAD, IMMORTAL AND READY TO REIGN, THEN ANY AND EVERY LESSER SIN BECAME FORTHWITH AMENABLE TO PARDON AS A NATURAL AND EXPECTED CONSEQUENCE. [9/19/10]
The Premial Atonement 