With all due honor and respect to our Lord, why isn't Jesus condemned in our place for all eternity?

Mike asked...
I have a question about how Jesus’ death paid the price for the sins of which we are all guilty. First I assume we all agree on the following points.

- The wages of sin are death and eternal damnation in hell.
- If it were not for Jesus’ sacrifice, the penalty for our sin would not merely be our physical death,
but eternal damnation of our spirit.
- Jesus substituted himself in our place to pay the debt we owe for our sins so we no longer will be
eternally damned.
- Jesus is not in hell or eternally damned. He is in heaven at the right hand of God.

So, here is where my question arises. If Jesus substituted himself for us in payment for the penalty of our sin, how could he return to heaven to be with his father instead of being eternally punished in hell? If her retuned to heaven, did he not incur only a physical death and not a permanent spiritual one? I know some believe he spent three days between his death and resurrection in Hades preaching to the damned, but he did leave and return to earth and subsequently heaven. I know this sounds heretical, but the logic of it seems apparent to me.

We are answered....
Mike, what a well thought out, excellent question. I don't believe honest inquiry, wherein we seek the Lord's will through His Word, amounts to heresy. Your question is perfectly logical. I must admit that as I was preparing the children's sermon with the bookcover illustration, I thought of your very question, wondering how I would respond should someone in the audience ask. God apparently laid the question on both of our hearts.

Wayne Grudem is an evangelical theologian who has written, in my opinion, one of the best systematic theology books in print. It isn't too heady, and yet he certainly loves to dig into the rich soil of God's Word. I'll borrow some of my answer from him. As a note, a copy of his textbook is found on the church library bookshelf located behind the welcome center and is available for anyone to check out at any time. Information for your specific question is found on pp. 577-578.

To begin, I agree with all four of your points: 1) "The wages of sin are death and eternal damnation in hell." 2) "If it were not for Jesus’ sacrifice, the penalty for our sin would not merely be our physical death, but eternal damnation of our spirit." 3) "Jesus substituted himself in our place to pay the debt we owe for our sins so we no longer will be eternally damned." 4) "Jesus is not in hell or eternally damned. He is in heaven at the right hand of God." So, with all due honor and respect to our Lord, why isn't He condemned in our place for all eternity? The answer lies in the fact that nowehere in God's covenantal decrees is it stated that He demands eternal payment for sins. Instead, He demands complete payment, and that is where we clearly see the difference between any attempted payment on our part for our own sins and the perfect payment of Christ.

As was stated in my 1/27 sermon on Galatians 3:26-4:11, Jesus was "born of a woman" (4:4), which is another way of saying He was fully human. At the same time, we know that He is fully God (cf. John 1:1). He took on a human nature when He came to earth, but He never rescinded His divine nature. As such, He was and is still fully righteous in and of Himself. Thus, when He redeemed "those under the Law" (Gal. 4:5), that is, fallen humanity, He did so as our perfect, righteous substitute. He went to the cross, the place of God's untempered wrath, as a sinless human (whereas we would have gone as totally depraved humans) and as the spotless second Person of the Godhead (again, we would only have gone as humans).

While on the cross, the sins of past, present, and future were poured out upon Him for several hours. Here is where you and I cannot even begin to relate to what He was going through. Jesus willfully, even joyfully according to Heb. 12:2, went to the cross, offering His life as the perfect and complete payment for sins. Had you and tried to pay for our sins, we could never pay it off, which is why we would suffer and be condemned eternally. Jesus' payment, on the other hand, was sufficient, so much so that with His final breath He uttered, "It is finished" (John 19:30). What is finished? The work of redemption was finished on the cross, so much so that Paul could tell us that believers were purchased (passive past tense, from a word meaning "ransomed from a price paid") on the cross (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23). Those who die without knowing Christ, we can conclude, were not purchased, and are condemned eternally, since only Christ's payment is sufficient for forgiveness.

Grudem has more to add, so again I would point you to his work. In the meantime, may our Savior's complete and sufficient substitutionary sacrifice ground our hope not in our vain attempts at perfection, but in His righteousness freely given to us (Phil. 3:9).

Soli Deo Gloria!Pastor Dana