Article 2: The Satisfaction Made by Christ

Since, however, we ourselves cannot give this satisfaction or deliver ourselves from God’s anger, God in his boundless mercy has given us as a guarantee his only begotten Son, who was made to be sin and a curse for us, in our place, on the cross, in order that he might give satisfaction for us.

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In the second head of doctrine, the Canons make the critical point in articles 2, 3, 4, that there is absolutely nothing that sinful men and women can do that turns aside (or satisfies) the wrath of God. This was also explained in the opening article of the first head of doctrine (Article One: God's Right to Condemn All People).

Since God’s wrath toward us results from our sin against his infinite majesty (both in Adam, and because of our actual sin), his justice demands that the satisfaction made be equal to the offense (Romans 3:25-26). Such satisfaction must be offered in order for the guilt of our sins to be forgiven. Because the offense is against the Holy God, there is no way a sinful person could satisfy God’s infinite justice and holiness. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it in questions 16 and 17, the one who dies for our sins must be truly human because “God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned pay for its sin,” but goes on to remind us that one “sinner could never pay for others.” This is why, as the catechism notes, the one who offers the sacrifice must also be true God, “so that by the power of his divinity, he might bear the weight of God’s anger in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life.”

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