False theories on the death of Christ

There are some few false theories concerning the death of Christ; Again an attempt by the devil to confuse the world. There are about four of such theories.

The Payment-to- Satan theory

This says that man had sold his immortal soul to Satan through sin and that Christ’s death was the devil’s “pound of flesh” ransom note. In order words devil has got man in his pocket and Jesus wanted to redeem him, so the devil demanded every drop of blood. Though a high price, indeed, Jesus decided to pay. This is wholly untrue as God does not owe the devil anything except a place in Gehena hell where he will burn forever and ever. In actual sense, the death of Christ assured the final and eternal damnation of the devil!

The Moral Influence Theory 

Here we are told that God allowed Christ to die to show that He can enter into man’s suffering. That God can empathize with man in all the sufferings and death he has to endure. By this act God thus may stimulate man’s sympathy for Christ. This too is false for among other reasons, the very people who put Christ to death continued to hate Him and His followers the most. God does not want our sympathy as Christ hangs on the Cross. God’s eternal plan is not to share man’s sufferings with him, but rather to save him, that man might someday share the riches of God.

More Reading: False theories against the resurrection of Christ

The Example Theory

This states that Christ’s death simply showed how one man can give His life for others. Jesus did give His life for others; mothers and other individuals have done this very thing thousands of times prior to and following Christ’s death. What could Calvary add to all this?

The Satisfaction Theory

This teaches that Jesus died to appease God’s offended honour. In a sense this comes close to being correct but it is still wrong. It would appear somewhat like a pistol duel at dawn where an insulted man takes revenge for prior insult and injury. And so God’s honour has been injured and He killed Christ to restore it. While this is closer to the truth than the former ones, it still smacks of error. There was absolutely no revenge involved in the death of Christ.

Now the only absolutely true theory – The Sustitutional (and Orthodox) Theory. This alone is the correct view. Dr. John Walvoord writes:  “Christ in His death fully satisfied the demands of a righteous God for judgment upon sinners as their Infinite sacrifice, provided a ground not only for the believer’s forgiveness, but for his justification and sanctification." “Who His own self, bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes we were healed.” (First Peter 2:24). 

What do you think about these theories? Share your thoughts