Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Not Ransomed
Jeremy traces how the ransom theory shaped Christian thought for centuries, why paying Satan creates moral and theological problems, and how Scripture locates the ransom squarely before God.
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01:But in the midst of this, in the Middle Ages, there is the development of a doctrine of atonement that I will point out under a man named Anselm. Okay. A-N-S-E-L-M. Anselm. But before Anselm developed, I want to show you what for 1100 years most Christians believed about the atonement. It was a ransom. Jesus Christ was paying a ransom to Satan for Satan to release the human race who was held captive to him. That was the prevailing view of what Christ was doing on the cross. He was making a payment to Satan. For 1,100 years, that's what most Christians believe. I make these points because it's humbling. People think today, well, if you just gave me a Bible, I'd figure it all out on my own. Really? For 1,100 years. Lots of people had Bibles and read Bibles and they didn't figure out the atonement. So their idea is that Adam and Eve sold the human race over to the devil. God set a trap then with the cross. This is interesting. God set a trap with the cross so that the devil would fall into that trap, right, and accept Christ's blood as a ransom. You've actually already seen this if you've read the Narnia Chronicle. C.S. Lewis. This is his view of the atonement. By the way, C.S. Lewis had a lot of very unorthodox doctrines. He believed in universalism, that everybody be saved, things like that. He believed some of the Psalms were not inspired. So as wonderful as he is pronounced to be, you know, in mere Christianity, the greatest Christian book and all this stuff. He had a lot of very unorthodox views. This is one of them. He held to the ransom theory of the substitutionary blood or the blood atonement of Christ. It wasn't a substitution, it was a trick. Remember the white witch thought she had Aslan, right? By killing him on the what was the rock?
SPEAKER_02:Whatever. Yeah, the table.
SPEAKER_01:And then you know, since she fell into the trap, and then she finds out, oh God, he rose. Uh-oh, I'm in trouble, you know. Now, does God set traps? I mean, is this this does cast some shadow on God's character, as maybe he's a deceiver, maybe, in that he set a trap for Satan to fall into. Um, this view is also somewhat revolting since the devil could not have a just claim on the human race, and God somehow had to meet the devil's demand. God is somehow required, you know, to appease Satan, and he does that through Christ. So you can see this view has some really strange things to it that probably don't gel too well in your mind with what is accurate or true. But it does have a true part. There's some truth to this. It's true that a ransom price was paid. Matthew 20, 28. Let's look at Matthew 20, 28. This word ransom is definitely used, Luteron or anti-Lutron. Um Matthew 20, 28. Jesus said this. We'll just read 26 to 28, because I like to emphasize that a couple things here about Christ and what it looks like to be Christ-like. Matthew 20, 26. He says it's not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you, you shall be your servant. Um, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. In other words, how do you become great in the coming kingdom? Well, you become a slave. How do you become greater than all? You become slave of all. Well, you can't do that, but guess who did? Guess who did become slave of all? Christ. And that's verse 28. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. There's the word ransom, right? So a ransom, he was making a ransom or paying a ransom price on the cross. But the question is, to whom was the ransom being made? It's not stated here, but um, these early theologians said it was being paid to Satan, but truly it was actually being paid to who? God. Okay, the payment was being made to God. So um we've also got, let's see, 1 Timothy 2. Look at 1 Timothy 2. By the way, all the T books are together, right? 1 2 Thessalonians, 1 2 Timothy, and Titus. Five books all stuck together. All start with T. That makes them easy to find. If you find one, you can find the others.
SPEAKER_02:1 Timothy 2, 5 and 6. 1 Timothy 2, 5, and 6.
SPEAKER_01:For there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for who? All. Now we'll get into the extent of the atonement here in the next few weeks. In other words, for whom did Christ die? Did he die for all people, or did he die just for a subset of the human race? Um, and we'll look more at those passages. But he gave himself here as a ransom for all. So there again, ransom. There's a sense in which a ransom price was being paid on the cross, but again, it's not being paid to Satan, it's being paid to God. And the reason is because he's the one who requires the blood, Genesis 9 5. Three times in one verse, Genesis 9 5, it says, I require the blood. It's required. For me, it's required. It's required. Um, so it's not being paid to Satan, it's being paid to God, the one to whom uh blood was required. But that's the first theory, again, held for 1100 years.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.