For the sake of those with unclear concepts, I will say a word first. In the Bible, there are two important doctrines, which are the bearing of sins and the ransom for sins. Please do not think that I do not believe in substitution. But the substitution that some talk about is not the substitution in the Bible, because their kind of substitution involves unrighteousness. If the sinless Jesus is to be a substitute for sinful men, it is, of course, a bargain for us. But is it righteous to treat the Lord Jesus this way? He did not sin. Why should He be killed? This is not the kind of substitution that the Bible speaks of. If the Lord Jesus is to die on behalf of all the sinners in the world, then those who believe in Jesus as well as those who do not believe in Him will likewise be saved. The Lord has died for them both, whether or not they have believed. One cannot turn the wheel backward and reverse the Lord's death just because some do not believe. One can turn back the wheel on other things. But this is not something reversible. Why does the Bible say that those who do not believe have been judged and shall perish? (John 3:16, 18). The reason is that the Son of God only died a substitutional death for us who believe. He is not a substitute for those who do not believe.

What then is the way to solve the problem of sin according to the Bible? There are only two righteous ways to solve the problem. One is to deal with the one who has sinned, and the other is to deal with the one who has been sinned against. There are only two parties in the world that are qualified to deal with this problem. There are only two persons in the world who have the right to deal with the problem of sin. One is the one who has sinned against another. The other is the one who has been sinned against. When a person sues another in court, no third party has the right to speak anything. In a court proceeding, only the one who has sinned against someone and the one who has been sinned against have the right to speak. Concerning the sinner's salvation, if the sinner does not take care of it himself, then God has to take care of it for him. The sinner is the sinning party, and God is the party being sinned against. Either party can deal with the problem of sin in a most righteous way. On the sinner's side, it is righteous for him to suffer judgment and punishment, perish, and go into perdition. But there is another way which is equally righteous. The party that has been sinned against can assume the punishment. This may be quite inconceivable to us, but it is a fact. It is the party being sinned against that bears the sins. It is not a third party that bears our sins. A third party has no authority or right to step in. If a third party comes in, it is unrighteousness. Only when the party that is being sinned against is willing to suffer the loss can the problem be solved. Since God has love and also has righteousness, He would not allow a sinner to bear his sins, for that would mean that God was righteous without love. The only alternative is for the party being sinned against to step in. Only by God bearing our sins will righteousness be maintained.

Do you know what forgiveness means? In the world, we have forgiveness. Between individuals, there is forgiveness. Between a government and its people, there is also forgiveness. Even between nations, there is forgiveness. With God and man, there is also forgiveness. Forgiveness is something universally recognized as a fact. No one can say that forgiveness is something unrighteous. It is something one does cheerfully to another. But the question is: who has the right to forgive? If a brother has stolen ten dollars from me, and I forgive him, it means that I have taken up the consequence of his sin. I have taken up the loss of these ten dollars. As another example, let us say that you have hit me in the face. The blow was so severe that I bled. If I say that I forgive you, it means that you have committed the sin of hitting, and I have suffered the consequence of hitting. The sin was committed by you, but I suffered the consequence of it. This is forgiveness. To forgive means that one party sins, and another suffers the consequence of that sin. Forgiveness is the taking up of the responsibility of the sinning party by the party sinned against. A third party has no right to come in to forgive. He cannot come in to recompense. If a third party comes in to forgive and recompense, it is unrighteousness. If the Lord Jesus comes in as a third party to substitute for the sinner, it may be fine for the sinner, and God may also have no problem with it, but there is a problem with the Lord Jesus. He has no sin. Why did He have to suffer judgment? Only the sinning one can bear the consequence of sin; he has the right to bear his own responsibility and suffer judgment for his own sin. And there is only one who can take up his sins—the one whom he has sinned against. Only the one sinned against can take up the sin of the sinning one. This is righteousness. This is the principle of forgiveness. Both God's law and man's law recognize that this is righteous. Man has the right to suffer loss. Inasmuch as man has a free will, God also has a free will. A person with a free will does have the right to choose to suffer loss.