Hi Jordan,
I appreciate the sincere questions and interaction. I’ll do my best to explain, but please bear with me–I never finished my seminary education.
I think you misunderstand the Christus Victor model. It has nothing to do with payment or bargaining. Rather, it emphasizes that by the cross, Christ conquered the powers of darkness that have held us in bondage.
I do not understand how this could possibly imply that Satan is stronger than God. How could Christ conquer Satanic powers by the cross if they are stronger than He? There is no notion that Satan willingly acquiesced in this process. He was disarmed and defeated!
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. - Colossians 2:13-15
While my “4 Spiritual Laws”-trained mind tends to read Colossians as supporting penal substitution, even here it is not necessarily implied. God canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, yes, but here it is portrayed as a legal notice prominently marked annulled so that the enemy of our souls cannot use it to torment us or control us:
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. - Colossians 2:16
The key thing in Colossians is that the cross triumphs over the powers, and we participate in that triumph by the Spirit of Christ who works in us.
I am not claiming the penal substitution model is outright wrong; other NT passages can be plausibly construed to support it. I am claiming that an altar call that focuses on penal substitution and omits mention of Christus Victor misses key insights that are vital in the life of faith, even at its very inception.
Best,
Chris