The Atonement and Scripture

We have all been taught that Jesus suffered the punishment of our sins on our behalf. There is no scripture that says this, so where did we come up with this idea?

 This was the result of the mind of man not understanding the things of God and attempting to explain how Jesus’ suffering and death could help us to avoid the punishment of our actions.

 What do the scriptures say? Here are some examples:

“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” – Alma 42:15

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” – 1 Peter 3:18

This last verse tells us that Christ, “suffered for sins”, but what does that really mean?

Where much of the confusion comes from is the English word “for”. Because the word “for” has several meanings, it can be interpreted several ways. One meanings of the word “for” is:

a : in place of:  go to the store for me

b (1) : on behalf of : representing speaks for the court”
          – Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “for”

This is the common definition used when we say,

“Christ suffered for the sins of the world.” 

If we replace the word with the definition of the word, the meaning should not change. It reads,

“Christ suffered in place of the sins of the world.”

This sentence doesn’t actually make grammatical sense. It assumes that “SIN” is a thing that can suffer and that Christ suffers on behalf of “SIN” so that “SIN” doesn’t have to suffer. Because the sins of the world don’t actually suffer, Christ can’t suffer in place of or on behalf of the sins of the world. This definition doesn’t actually make sense and so can’t be what the scriptures are really saying.

WE, (not SIN), suffer the punishments of the law as a result of our sins, but the SINs themselves do not suffer. This makes the sentence illogical and incorrect. 

This means that the way we have read and interpreted the scriptures regarding why Christ suffered has been incorrect. Without realizing it, in an attempt to make the sentence say what we think it should, our minds have used mental gymnastics to interpret the sentence to match what we expect it to mean. That expectation makes us read the verse more like this,

“Christ suffered in place of, or on behalf of THE REPENTANT. He suffered the punishments demanded by Justice as a result of the sins of the world.”

The problem with this interpretation is that it neither resembles the original sentence structure nor do they agree with the scriptures which teach that Christ did not suffer the punishment or penalty of our sins in place of us.

There is another definition of the word “for” that is correct. It is:

• because of: I can’t sleep for the heat  – Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “for”

“The experts do agree that you can use the word “for” as a conjunction to mean “because” or “since.” In fact, it’s been used that way for more than a thousand years.
…
You could just as easily use the word “because” instead of “for.” No grammarian would gripe about either sentence.” – Using “For” to Mean “Because”, By Bonnie Mills, Writing for Grammar Girl

If we say, “victims suffer for the crimes of the world”, we are not saying that a victim suffers “in place of the crimes of the world” or “on behalf of the crimes” or even that “the victims suffer in place of the criminals”. We are saying that victims suffer because of or as a result of the crimes of the world. In the same way, Christ suffered because of or as a result of our sins. 

In other words, Christ suffered because of sins, not in place of them. He suffered for sin because he became the victim of our sins. This then brings real and deep meaning to his words,

“I told you, whatsoever ye do to the least of these, ye have done unto me…” – Jesus Christ

In other words, whatsoever we do to the least of these, we have done to Christ because Christ suffered the pains of the victims of our sins. When we cause pain to others, we cause pain to Christ. When we alleviate pain from others, we alleviate Christ’s pain. When we feed the hungry, we are feeding Christ.

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” – Mosiah 2:17

The scriptures repeatedly teach that Christ suffered “for” our sins. When we replace the word “for” with its proper definition, the sentence reads,

“Christ suffered because of the sins of the world.”

Christ suffered for sins in the same way that the innocent victim suffers because of the crimes of the wicked.

When the scriptures say that he suffered for our sins, they are telling us that he suffered as a result of our sins, just as our victims suffer for our sins. The victims don’t suffer the punishment due to the guilty as a consequence of sin, and neither did Christ. He taught this clearly, directly and plainly saying,

“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
…
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” – Matt. 25:40 & 45