Yes — Christ's death was a substitutionary death: He died in the sinner's place to fulfill the law that requires death.
Les Feldick teaches that every son of Adam is a sinner who stands under the sentence of death — the law that the soul that sinneth must die. God's answer is substitution: Christ died the death we deserved, in our place. When a person believes the gospel, God reckons the old Adam as crucified with Christ, putting it to death. The penalty of death is not ignored; Christ's death fulfills that requirement for the believer.
Genesis 2:17 — The original death mandate God gave the human race, which makes substitution necessary.
Ezekiel 18:20 — The law 'the soul that sinneth, it shall die' which Christ's substitution fulfills for the believer.
Romans 3:23 — Shows that all have sinned and come short of God's glory, placing every person under the death sentence.
Romans 6:6-7 — Directly states that the believer's old man is crucified with Christ and that the dead are freed from sin.
Scripture opens the question of substitution with God's first law to the human race: 'But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' (Genesis 2:17). The same principle is repeated later in Ezekiel: 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die' (Ezekiel 18:20). Because 'all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), every person is a son of Adam and falls under that death sentence. In Romans 6, Paul describes what God does with the believer's old nature: 'Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin' (Romans 6:6-7). Scripture's own language is that the believer's old man is crucified with Christ and that death brings freedom from sin.
Les Feldick explains that the old Adam with which every person is born cannot be improved or reformed — the only thing that can be done with it is to put it to death. Since every human being is a sinner as a son of Adam, every human being must die. God has provided a way to meet that death without the sinner dying in himself: Christ literally, physically, and spiritually died the death we deserved. He took our place. Les calls this substitution. Les describes this as a 'tremendous loophole' to the law of all laws — 'the soul that sinneth shall surely die.' The loophole is that Christ died in our place, and we still experience that same death in the person of Christ. When a person believes the gospel, God reckons the old Adam as crucified with Christ; as Les puts it, God sees our old Adam as on the cross. Crucifixion puts to death, so in the mind of God the believer has been put to death and is freed from the old nature's claim. Les is careful to clarify that 'destroyed' in Romans 6:6 does not mean annihilation — the old Adam is defeated and put out of commission, placed where the believer can control him. None of this is accomplished by human effort; it is all an act of God.
Les Feldick points back to the very first law God gave the human race — 'The day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die' — and the later statement, 'the soul that sinneth shall surely die.' Since every person is a son of Adam and therefore a sinner, every person has to die. The old Adam has to be crucified and put to death; there is no other way to deal with it.
Les Feldick calls God's provision a 'tremendous loophole' to the law 'the soul that sinneth shall surely die.' The loophole is that Christ died in our place. The death still must be experienced, but the believer experiences it in the person of Christ — and that is substitution.
When we are crucified with Christ, crucifixion kills — God puts the old Adam out of commission so that the body of sin is destroyed and we no longer have to serve sin. 'He that is dead is freed from sin' (Romans 6:7). Les clarifies that the word 'destroyed' does not indicate annihilation: the old Adam is not removed but defeated, placed where we can control him. God sees our old Adam as on the cross.
Les distinguishes several areas of death. Physical death is the result of Adam's fall and is part of the curse. Every human being will experience it if the Lord doesn't come; no one except Christ Himself escapes physical death. Christ's substitutionary death deals with the old Adam being put to death — it does not remove physical death from the believer's future.
No. Les teaches that no human endeavor can break the power of the old Adamic nature. Good parents and a godly home can teach inhibitions, but every person still gives in to old Adam at some point. There is only one way out from under that control: Adam has to die, Adam has to be crucified. God did that in a substitutionary manner — Christ died my death and your death in our place.
Romans 6:7-12 — Can a Believer Still Sin After Being Set Free?
and we'll get the information out to you. I was reminded at break time when I gave credit to Larry and his wife, Larry Poole, and Lorna for transcribing all of this into the printed page, and Margaret and Harold that do all of our book work. It's strictly on a voluntary basis. They don't get a dime for it, and they said I should be sure and tell you that I don't either.
Substitution Defined
Les teaches that Christ literally, physically, and spiritually died the death we deserved — He took our place, and this is what we call substitution. He also explains that God reckons the old Adam as crucified, because putting him to death is the only way to deal with him.
The Loophole of Christ's Death
Les calls Christ's death in our place a 'tremendous loophole' to the law that the soul that sinneth shall surely die — we still have to experience that same death, but we experience it in the person of Christ, which is substitution.
Crucifixion Kills the Old Adam
Les explains from Romans 6 that our old Adam is crucified with Christ: crucifixion kills and puts the old Adam out of commission, so that the body of sin is destroyed and he that is dead is freed from sin.
Physical Death and the Curse
Les teaches that physical death is part of the curse from Adam's fall and every human being will experience it — the old Adam must be crucified by a work of God, not by our own efforts.
God Sees the Old Adam on the Cross
Les explains that when we understand the gospel, God sees our old Adam as on the cross with Christ. The old Adam is not annihilated but defeated, put in a place where the believer can control him.
Substitutionary Death in Action
Les teaches that only God's power can break the old Adamic nature's control, and God did so in a substitutionary manner — Christ died my death and your death, in your place, as Paul makes plain in Galatians.
Reckoned as Crucified with Christ
Les teaches that all these things are acts of God alone, and that God has reckoned believers as crucified with Christ. Crucifixion can only put to death, so believers are, in the mind of God, put to death — required by the first law of death given to Adam.
Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The first law God gave to the human race, establishing the death sentence that Christ's substitution must satisfy.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
The law that 'the soul that sinneth shall surely die,' which Les references as the law of all laws requiring death.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Shows why every person is a sinner and stands in need of a substitute to meet the death sentence.
Romans 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Scripture's statement that the believer's old man is crucified with Christ — the basis of the old Adam being put to death.
Romans 6:7: For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Scripture's explanation that death ends the old nature's claim over the believer.
Substitution means Christ died in the sinner's place. Les says Christ literally, physically, and spiritually died the death we deserved — He took our place. The believer does not have to personally experience that death because Christ experienced it for him.
No. Les teaches the law still stands — death has to occur. What God did was provide a loophole: Christ died in our place. The required death is fulfilled by Christ's substitutionary death for the believer, not ignored.
No. Les clarifies that 'destroyed' in Romans 6:6 does not indicate annihilation. The old Adam is defeated and put out of commission so the believer can control him, but he is not removed or annihilated.
Yes. Les teaches that physical death is part of the curse from Adam's fall. Every human being, except Christ Himself, will experience physical death if the Lord doesn't come first.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 6:7-12 — Can a Believer Still Sin After Being Set Free?