Did God punish His Son?

The question isn't whether or not Christ died for us. Of course He did. The question is why.

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The Book

Coming soon · Early 2027

Cover to come Early 2027

God on Trial

The Oldest Accusation, Settled at the Cross

Did Christ get what He deserved on the cross? Was an injustice done to Him, and if so, by whom?

The question isn't whether or not Christ died for us. Of course He did. The question is why.

How could God punish His own Son who was totally innocent? And the answer is always…

“God is love but He's also just. God couldn't just let sin go unpunished, or else He wouldn't be just, so He punished His Son in our place.”

“We can't always understand everything about God. His ways are higher than our ways.”

Most Christians would be shocked to learn that our most popular mainstream “gospel” message (penal substitution) wasn't the same gospel taught by Christ and the apostles. How could it have been, when it's only been around 500 plus years?

The unjust portrayal of God is nothing new. It originated during the rebellion, with the originator of lies himself. Since there were no outward evil acts God could be accused of, Satan accused Him of the only thing left: of lying about who He was.

His claim was that God was not who He claimed to be: righteous and truthful, but instead, unjust and a liar. And his accusation is still being mimicked today in every false doctrine believed and spoken about God.

To be a penal substitutionist I'd have to believe: That God has wrath on babies and that they deserve to suffer for eternity. That the mentally disabled deserve the death Christ died. That the enslaved deserve to be punished for failing to do what they cannot do without the Savior. That the definition of justice is punishing the innocent and letting the guilty get off scot free. That God punished His Son and pretended He was me 2000 years before I even existed.

You've only heard the headline. God on Trial shows you the fine print you didn't know you signed up for. Why then did Christ come and die, how are we saved, and what are we saved from?

Christ was tested at every point, even unto death. The evidence spoke and revealed that the charges leveled against Him were false. God was telling the truth all along.

He is who He says He is: righteous and truthful. God isn't angry at those who can't be righteous without His help — without the Savior. He gives them what they need. He comes to their rescue and delivers them.

Believing in God is one thing. What you believe about Him is quite another.

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Seven verses everyone thinks settle the question

Romans 3:25. Isaiah 53. Second Corinthians 5:21. Did Christ really die to take the punishment we all deserved, or is there another reason for His death on the cross?

This short guide walks through each one in the original languages — what the words actually say, what the translators did with them, and what the passage meant to the people who first heard it. Yours to keep, and useful on its own whatever you conclude.

The word behind "propitiation" — and what it originally described
What Isaiah 53 says in the Greek the apostles were reading
Why "made him to be sin" is not what it sounds like in English

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About the author

S. Tellez

I just knew something wasn’t right.

I was raised Southern Baptist. They taught that sin creates a literal debt before a holy God, that the wages of sin is physical and eternal death in Hell, that Jesus took our place on the cross as our substitute to take God’s punishment for our sins.

Thirty-five years ago I began studying Christian theology, world religions, cults, and apologetics, and eventually Hebrew and Greek word studies — deeply for the last fifteen years. Words like hilasterion, translated as “propitiation,” which to the average Christian means to appease an angry deity, mean just the opposite.

The gospel never really made sense to me. As someone who has always loved both justice and mysteries, I wanted more than anything just to know the truth, and I was determined to find it.

Eventually I asked God for answers, and that’s when I met Tim, my long time friend and mentor. What he was saying made more sense to me than anything I had ever heard. We were questioning things. And we wanted to know the truth no matter what. Together we spent thirteen years debating against false doctrinal teachings.

I began to ask questions like, “If Christ took our punishment in our place, what did infants do to deserve to be punished?” What bothered me more than anything was the realization that I had been unknowingly slandering God. And I vowed never to do it again if I could help it. It was difficult to get the lies out of my head because of decades of indoctrination but I eventually did.

God on Trial builds on principles and doctrines developed by Tim in The Principled Legal Standard. Without Tim and his development of these doctrines this book wouldn’t exist. I wrote this book so Christians can see clearly how everything we say and believe about God either tells the truth about Him or lies about Him and therefore either agrees with God or agrees with Satan.

Since 2015 I have published books through my imprint Theonomos, including The Principled Legal Standard and several previously out of print titles. I have done all of this while raising a family. My husband and I have two grown sons and two daughters in law, along with five grandchildren who would otherwise inherit the church’s doctrines as they stand.

Christians don’t know how to spot false doctrines, mistranslations and false interpretations of Scripture. As it was in my case, many don’t realize they are mimicking Satan’s accusation against God by way of their own beliefs. And someone who genuinely wants what is good will do everything in their power to change that.

Questions

Answers to Common Questions

Why did Jesus say “My God, why have you forsaken me”? The Father did not turn His back on His Son — and the psalm Jesus was quoting says so itself. Sheol, Hades, the lake of fire, Paradise and Abraham’s Bosom — what is the difference? One English word was used for three original words naming two different places.

For reviewers and creators

Covering this subject? Take the research.

If you make videos, run a podcast, or write about the atonement, you are welcome to an early copy and to everything underneath it — the word studies, the manuscript sources, the church history. Use it however you like.

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Digital review copies before publication, in exchange for an honest review. Request one at contact@theonomos.com.

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