Satisfaction Theory

Definition and Meaning

The satisfaction theory is one of the theories of the atonement that seek to explain why the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was necessary. "Satisfaction" translates the Latin satisfactio, which denotes making good what is rightly owed for a wrong. In Korean it is also called the "compensation theory" or the "fulfillment theory."

According to this theory, sin robs the Creator of the glory (honor) due to him, and a fitting reparation is therefore required. Humanity owes this debt, yet finite human beings cannot pay it; only God is able to do so. The theory therefore holds that one who is both God and man, namely the incarnate Christ, rendered satisfaction on humanity's behalf by sinlessly and voluntarily laying down his life.

Biblical and Historical Background

The satisfaction theory was systematized by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, who set it out in Why God Became Man (Cur Deus Homo), written in the late 1090s. Before that time, the prevailing explanation was the ransom theory, which regarded Christ's death as a ransom paid to the devil. Anselm held that God owed the devil nothing, and he made God, rather than the devil, the one to whom reparation is due. Proponents of the satisfaction theory cite Romans 3:21–26 and the passages in Hebrews concerning the high priest and sacrifice, among others, in its support.

Anselm's contemporary Peter Abelard took a different path, advancing the moral influence theory, according to which the significance of Christ's death lies in moving the human heart to love. The later Reformers, particularly the tradition of John Calvin, are regarded as having developed the penal substitution theory by recasting Anselm's emphasis on "honor" in terms of God's justice and "punishment." In the Catholic Church, meanwhile, the concept of satisfaction continues in the "satisfaction" (penance) of the sacrament of confession.

Practice in the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the term "satisfaction theory" appears mainly in seminary courses on systematic theology and in textbooks on Christology and soteriology, where the history of atonement theories is discussed. From the pulpit, the language of substitution, as in "Jesus paid the price for our sins in our place," is heard far more often than the name of the theory.

Presbyterian theology in the Reformed tradition generally teaches penal substitution as the standard view and presents the satisfaction theory as its forerunner. Churches in the Wesleyan tradition, such as the Methodist and Holiness churches, likewise confess Christ's substitutionary atonement, but in explaining it they tend also to emphasize God's love and the way the atonement leads to sanctification. In progressive theological circles, some criticize the satisfaction theory for relying on notions of honor drawn from medieval feudal society.