Consider one man's opinion of Jesus - "I could accept Jesus as a martyr, as an embodiment of sacrifice and a Divine Teacher but not as the most perfect man ever born. I was not ready to accept that Jesus by his death and his blood redeemed the sins of the world." These words belonged to Mahatma Gandhi who repeated praised Jesus as an exemplary teacher, but remained unwilling to believe his death paid the penalty for our sins. Sadly, many today understand the cross as only a beautiful example of selflessness or as only a great victory. While Jesus certainly is our example (Hebrews 12:3) and His death won victory over death (1 Corinthians 15), the heart of the cross must be that Christ died in our place for our sin as an atoning sacrifice.
The Bible's summary statements of the cross's significance and meaning can be fairly represented with the phrase "penal substitutionary atonement." Let's explore what these words mean.