Lectures on Systematic Theology by Charles Finney

God, according to Finney, is a Benevolent Moral Governor, perfectly just, who is willing to forgive repentant sinners, but desires to satisfy public justice rather than retributive justice. God’s anger over sin, which harms the creatures he loves, does not have to be bought off because God is perfectly just and therefore has been willing to forgive repentant sin the beginning, but demonstrates that the fact that, since sin harms and causes havoc in his creation, those who break God’s laws, conceived in perfect wisdom, justice, and compassion, must suffer the death penalty for all the harm they have caused. However, God’s son is willing due to his compassion and sense of justice to be substitute for the penalty incurred by breaking God’s laws. As an innocent victim, the Son is raised from the dead and glorified, the savior of humanity.

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