7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him 10 for an administration of the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him. 11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:7-12 (LSB)
A proper study of the doctrine of Penal Substitution will reveal that it is actually a line of contention, or line of demarcation if you will, that divides Orthodox Christianity from those forms whose advocates have in some way come up with their own version of the Gospel. These forms are diverse and too numerous to go into here…. Continue reading →