Each Shall die for his own sin

Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin. -Deuteronomy 24:16

The idea that Christ died as if He commited our sin violates the Biblical teaching that each man be put to death for his OWN sins.  This verse, however, seems to only apply to adults, since young children in the Bible are put to death, or killed, because of their parents sins, as in the case of David's son, or the nations God commanded the Israelites to destroys.  Regardless, Christ could not have been put to death for the sins of others (at least justly!). Rather, Christ willingly laid down His own life for the sake of others, not that He should die as their substitute, but that by His righteous death, God would show mercy to mankind, thus allowing man forgiveness on the condition they repent of their sins.  After all, Christ did make several warning statements that certain sins would cause the soul to go to Hell forever, as we see in Matthew 5 with sexual sins, Matthew 6 with withholding forgiving your brother's sins and so on.

On another point, Deuteronomy 24:16 is a verse anti/counter-Missionary Jews use against Christians.  Their claim is legitimate, but only against baptistic and Calvinistic types of Christians that espouse this particular view of the atonement that says "Christ died in our place" or "He took the wrath of God in our place" and so on.  Rather, the Biblical Christ was a propitiation for the sins of the world, meaning His death provided MERCY for mankind. 

I have already written before that the idea of a penal substitution when logically followed out is a denial of Trinitarianism, or can be an affirmation of a sort of Arianism (since God cannot be forsaken by God), or some form of theology where Christ as a man and Christ as God are divorced (undoing the incarnation).

Calvinists try to prove a penaly substitution with verses like 2 Corinthians 5:21, or Isaiah 53 and so on.  When the fact is 2 Corinthians 5:21 by saying Christ "became sin for us" is an expression St Paul was using for a sin offering, and Isaiah 53 doesn't mean God treated Christ as if He had our sins, in fact Matthew 8:17 interprets this part of Isaiah as Jesus healing the sick and casting out demons:

When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”--Matthew 8:16-17

Was the Levitical Priesthood Eternal?

Many people that subscribe to a group, or belief system that state the laws of the Torah of Moses are still in effect because they were declared to be "eternal," several times in the Torah and ought to be kept by Christians (or atleast Christians of Jewish Ancestry) have no problem admitting that the Levitical Priesthood was changed and abolished because of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

However, the Old Testament itself DOES call the Levitical priesthood "eternal," as we can see here with the incident of Phineas slaying the Israelite and the Midian woman.

וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו, בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם--תַּחַת, אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹהָיו, וַיְכַפֵּר, עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

and it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.' -Numbers 25:13

As we can see the priesthood is here refered to as כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם k'hunnat olam (kehunat olam).

After doing some searching I then found that the priesthood is described as eternal elsewhere too

וּמָשַׁחְתָּ אֹתָם, כַּאֲשֶׁר מָשַׁחְתָּ אֶת-אֲבִיהֶם, וְכִהֲנוּ, לִי; וְהָיְתָה לִהְיֹת לָהֶם מָשְׁחָתָם, לִכְהֻנַּת עוֹלָם--לְדֹרֹתָם.

And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office; and their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood [lich'hunnat olam] throughout their generations.' -Exodus 40:15

God said He would have His Eyes and Heart in the Temple FOREVER:

וְעַתָּה, בָּחַרְתִּי וְהִקְדַּשְׁתִּי אֶת-הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה, לִהְיוֹת-שְׁמִי שָׁם, עַד-עוֹלָם; וְהָיוּ עֵינַי וְלִבִּי שָׁם, כָּל-הַיָּמִים

 And now, I have chosen and consecrated this House that My name be there forever [ad-olam, עַד-עוֹלָם ], and My eyes and heart will be there at all times.--2 Chronicles 7:16

Now, how could He dwell there literally forever if there was  no temple for years at a time, and even today there has been no Temple for over 1900 years! God knew the future, "forever" just means for a long time!

Lamentation 3:6 in just about EVERY bible translation translate OLAM as "long"

בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּים הוֹשִׁיבַנִי, כְּמֵתֵי עוֹלָם

He hath made me to dwell in dark places, as those that have been long [olam, עוֹלָם] dead.

Psalm 143:3, similarly translates OLAM as "long"

הוֹשִׁבַנִי בְמַחֲשַׁכִּים,    כְּמֵתֵי עוֹלָם.

he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long [olam, עוֹלָם ] dead.--Psalm 143:3

It is also interesting to note that King David said only the Levites were to carry the ark and serve before God 'forever'.

אָז, אָמַר דָּוִיד, לֹא לָשֵׂאת אֶת-אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים, כִּי אִם-הַלְוִיִּם:  כִּי-בָם בָּחַר יְהוָה, לָשֵׂאת אֶת-אֲרוֹן יְהוָה וּלְשָׁרְתוֹ--עַד-עוֹלָם.

Then David said, "It is not proper to carry the Ark of God except the Levites, for the Lord chose them to carry the Ark of God and to serve Him forever [olam]. "-1 Chronicles 15:2

So, even though, the Torah refers to the priesthood as being for "olam" this was not understood by the New Testament writers to mean it would never be abolished, as we see in Hebrews 7

When there is a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well. --Hebrews 7:12

So, as we can see, since the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant was abolished as the book of Hebrews tells us, and the fact that the Levites no longer "serve" God forever, that olam, does not necessarily have to mean literally FOREVER.