XXIII. ATONEMENT
It is now time to consider a very
important feature of God’s moral government; namely, the atonement.
A Several
well‑established principles of government.
1 Moral law is not based
on the mere arbitrary will of God or any other being, but moral law has its
foundation in the nature and relationships of moral agents. Moral law is that rule of action or
willing that the law of our own intellect imposes on us.
2 Since our will cannot
create moral law, nobody’s will can repeal or change moral law. Since moral law is a rule of action that
agrees with the nature and relationships of moral agents, it is as unchanging as
those natures and relationships.
3 There is a difference
between the letter and the spirit of moral law. The letter of the law relates to our
outward life or action; the spirit of the law relates to our motive or our
intention that lies behind the action.
For example: the spirit of the moral law requires the kind of love that
acts towards others without partiality, and is expressed in one word, love. We find the letter of the law in the Ten
Commandments, and in many other precepts that relate to our outward conduct.
4 There may be many
exceptions to the letter of the law, but there can be no exceptions to the
spirit of moral law. That is, the
spirit of the moral law may sometimes admit and require that we disregard or
violate the letter of the law; but we must never disregard or violate the spirit
of the law. For example: the letter
of the law prohibits all work on the Sabbath day. But the spirit of the law often requires
us to do certain things on the Sabbath.
The spirit of the law requires us to exercise universal and perfect love
to God and man, and the law of love often requires that we must work on the
Sabbath, such as taking care of the sick, relieving the poor, or feeding our
animals. In short, whatever we must
do that the law of love requires, especially works of mercy, is required by the
spirit of moral law on the Sabbath, as well as on all other days. Christ clearly teaches this, both by
precept and by example. Here’s
another example. The letter of the
law says, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20), but the spirit of the law
requires that under certain conditions, the soul who sins shall live. The letter of the law is inflexible; it
condemns and sentences to death all those who violate one of its precepts
without any regard to atonement or repentance. The spirit of moral law allows and
requires that if public justice is satisfied, and the sinner returns to
obedience, he shall live and not die.
5 In establishing a
government and promoting law, we should always understand that the lawgiver
pledges himself to administer the laws to support public order, and to reward
the innocent with his favor and protection, and punish the disobedient with the
loss of their protection and favor.
6 Laws are public
property in which every subject of the government has an interest. Every obedient subject of government
wants everyone to support and obey the law, and whenever someone violates the
law, every subject of the government is injured, and their rights are invaded;
and each and every one has a right to expect the government to justly execute
the penalties of the law when the law is broken.
7 There is an important
distinction between retributive and public justice. Retributive justice consists in treating
every subject of government according to his character. Retributive justice examines the merit
or demerit of each individual, and deals with him accordingly. Public justice consists in promoting and
protecting public interests by legislating and administrating the law as the
highest good of the public demands.
Public justice implies executing the penalties of the law whenever the
law is broken, unless the lawgiver can do something else that will, just as
effectively, secure the best interests of the public. If the lawgiver can do this, public
justice demands that extending pardon to the criminal will eliminate the need to
execute the penalty. Retributive
justice makes no exceptions, but punishes without mercy every time. Public justice makes exceptions, as
often as the public good allows.
Public justice is identical with the spirit of the moral law, and, when
public justice is exercised, it regards only the law. Retributive justice clings to the letter
of the law, and makes no exceptions to the rule, “The soul who sins shall die”
(Ezek. 18:20)
8 The purpose of legal
penalties is to secure obedience to the law. It is also the reason for executing
those penalties when the law is broken.
We see that the sanctions of the law are an expression of the views of
the lawgiver concerning the importance of his law. Executing penalties for breaking the law
is designed and calculated to prove that he is sincere in enacting his
laws. When the lawgiver executes
the penalty of the law, we see his continued determination to abide by the
principles of his government as the law revealed. We see his abhorrence of all crime, his
regard for the best interests of the public, and his unalterable determination
to carry out, support, and establish the authority of his
law.
9 It is a fact well
established throughout history that exercising mercy by not executing the
penalty is a matter of extreme delicacy and danger. The influence of the law, as we can
expect, depends a lot on how strongly the subjects believe that the law will be
justly executed. Experience
testifies that exercising mercy in every government where there is no atonement
weakens the government by producing and fostering a hope for pardon in the minds
of those who are tempted to violate the law. Many say that this is true even when an
atonement has been made, that the doctrines of atonement and forgiveness have a
tendency to encourage a hope of getting pardoned even while one is committing
sins. Thus, they say, these
doctrines of atonement and forgiveness undermine morality, and therefore, they
are very dangerous.
10 Since
the head of the government is pledged to protect and promote the public
interests by a due administration of law, if, in any instance, where someone
breaks the law, he decides not to execute the penalty for breaking that law,
public justice requires he must provide another way to execute the law, or he
must do something that will, just as effectively, secure the influence of the
law as much as executing the penalty would have done. He cannot make exceptions to the spirit
of the law. Either the soul that
sins must die according to the letter of the law, or he must provide a
substitute according to the spirit of the law.
11 Whatever
will completely show the lawgiver’s regard for his law, his determination to
support the law, his abhorrence of any violations of its precepts, and at the
same time, effectively guard against the idea that lawbreakers can expect to
escape the penalty of the law, is a full satisfaction of public justice. When he fulfills these conditions, and
the sinner returns to obedience, public justice demands that extending pardon to
the offender will set the penalty aside.
The offender still deserves to be punished, and, based on the principles
of retributive justice, should be punished according to his deserts. But, the public good admits and requires
that, under the above condition, he should live; hence, public justice, in
compliance with the public interests and the spirit of the law of love, spares
and pardons him.
12 If
mercy or pardon is to be extended to anyone who has violated the law, it should
be done in such a way that will settle the question and establish the truth that
executing the penalties can’t be done away with simply because the offender
repents. In other words, if pardon
is to be granted, it must be based on a condition completely beyond the power of
the offender. Otherwise, the
offender could violate the law and still escape without penalty, simply by
fulfilling the conditions of forgiveness that would be within his own
power.
13 So,
if mercy must be exercised, it must be based on the condition that the sin shall
not be repeated. Public justice
requires that no one should do anything to undermine or disturb the influence of
the law. Hence, public justice
cannot consent to do away with executing the penalty of the law, under any
condition that encourages people to hope for immunity. Therefore, public justice can only
consent to pardon sin if there is atonement, and on the assumption that the
atonement will not be repeated, and that the benefits of atonement won’t extend
beyond the limits of the race it was made for, and only for a limited time. If atonement extended its benefits to
all worlds, and to all eternity, it would nullify its own influence, and
encourage everyone to hope for immunity every time they broke the law. This would be infinitely worse than no
atonement; and public justice might as well consent to exercise mercy, without
any effort to secure the authority and influence of the law.
B The
term Atonement.
The English word
atonement is synonymous with the Hebrew word ‘cofer’. This is a noun from the verb ‘caufar’,
which means ‘to cover’. The cofer
or cover was the name of the lid or cover of the Ark of the Covenant, and
constituted what we call the mercy‑seat.
The Greek word rendered atonement is ‘katallage’. This means ‘reconciliation to favor’, or
more strictly, ‘the means or conditions of reconciliation to favor’ from
‘katallasso’, which means ‘change, or exchange’. The term properly means
‘substitution’. If you examine
these original words, in the context they are in, you will see that the
atonement is the governmental substitution of the sufferings of Christ for the
punishment of sinners. It is a
covering of their sins by His sufferings.
C
The
teachings of natural theology.
Many
think that the doctrine of atonement is so purely a doctrine of revelation that
reason alone would not be able to confirm it. Many think this teaching lies so
completely outside the realm of natural theology that, without revelation, we
would never conclude that this teaching is true. But there are certain facts in this
world’s history that casts doubt on this assumption. It is true that natural theology can’t
determine and establish the fact that an atonement was made, or even that it can
be made. However, because we know
the true character of God, we can reasonably conclude that an atonement of some
kind must be made to make it consistent with His relationship to the universe,
to extend mercy to the guilty inhabitants of this world. Many assume that the apparent need for a
Divine revelation provides a strong presumptive argument that such a revelation
has been or will be made. From the
love of God, as confirmed by our reason, and manifested in His works and
providence, we can conclude that God will do something to secure the holiness
and salvation of men, and as a condition of this, God will grant us a further
revelation of His will than what He gave us in creation and providence. This is how the argument stands:
1 From reason and
observation we know that God did not place us on earth to punish us; and from
all the facts that we can gather from the world around us, we are clearly living
in a state of trial or probation.
2 The providence of God
in this world is unmistakably disciplinary, and designed to reform the human
race.
3 These facts, along
with the great ignorance and darkness of the human mind on moral and religious
issues, provide a strong assumption that the benevolent Creator will make a
further revelation of His will to us who are so clearly still in a state of
trial.
D
Now,
if this argument is good so far, I do not see why we can’t reasonably go even
further.
1 Since the above are
facts, and since it is also a fact, that when we thoroughly consider this
subject, there appears to be a big problem with exercising mercy without
satisfying public justice. But,
God’s love will not allow Him to pardon sin at the expense of public justice,
but God won’t punish or execute the penalty of law if He can wisely and
consistently avoid it. Once we
understand and admit these facts, we will naturally reason that the wisdom and
love of God will think of some way to meet the demands of public justice that
would render the forgiveness of sin possible. We can see very clearly that the
philosophy of government would make this possible. I know that, with the light that the
gospel has provided us, we can discern this much more clearly than if all we had
was the simple light of nature.
Whatever the ancient civilizations knew, and those who did not have the
Bible knew, I think that, when the facts are announced by revelation, we can see
that such a governmental decision is not only possible, but it is just what we
might expect of God’s love. It
would have been impossible for us, without revelation, to have any accurate
picture or idea of the plan that God has adopted. So little was known or knowable on the
subject of the trinity of God without revelation, that natural theology, at
best, could teach nothing more than
that something must be done to restore our sinning race. God has obviously spared us, up until
now, from the penalty of law, and placed us under a system of discipline.
2 But since the gospel
has proclaimed the atonement as fact, it appears that natural theology can
satisfactorily explain atonement.
Our own reason can discern a divine philosophy in the world around
us.
E Natural
theology can teach:
1 That the human race is
in a fallen state and that the law of selfishness, and not the law of love, is
the law that unconverted men conform their lives to.
2 It can teach that God
is love, and, as a result, mercy must be an attribute of God. God will manifest mercy by pardoning sin
when He can do this without damaging His government.
3 As a result, atonement
is not needed to satisfy any unyielding spirit in the mind of God. God infinitely desires to extend pardon
to the penitent, if he can wisely and safely do this in love.
4 Natural theology can
also teach us that there is a great danger in exercising mercy under a moral
government. This danger is
supremely great under a government as vast and as enduring as God’s
government. Under God’s government,
there is a huge danger that exercising mercy will be misunderstood as
encouraging the hope of pardon while committing sins.
5 Natural theology can
also show the indispensable need for an administration of God’s government that
will secure the fullest confidence of everyone in the universe, that God is
sincere about proclaiming His law with its tremendous penalty, and proclaiming
His unalterable adherence to the spirit of the law, and His determination not to
falter in carrying out and securing His authority at all times. That this is indispensable to the good
of the universe is completely clear.
6 Hence, it is obvious
to natural theology that God cannot pardon sin unless something is done to
forbid the otherwise natural conclusion that sin will be forgiven under God’s
government on the condition of repentance alone. There must another condition, other than
repentance, that is within the power of the sinner. It must be clear, that to proclaim
throughout the universe that God will universally pardon sin on the condition of
repentance alone would virtually repeal God’s divine law. Everyone would quickly see that he would
no longer need to fear punishment, no matter what they do, because God’s
forgiveness is guaranteed, no matter how much they might trample on His divine
authority. By meeting one simple
condition, which they could choose to do anytime they want to, God would have to
forgive them.
7 Natural theology can
show that God could not be just to His own intelligence, He could not be just to
His own character, and hence He could not be just to the universe by not
executing the penalty of His law, except on the condition that He provides a
substitute of such a nature that it reveals just as fully, and impress just as
deeply, the lessons that would have been taught by originally executing the
penalty of the divine law. The
purpose of penalties is prevention, and this is the reason for executing those
penalties. The head of every
government pledges to uphold the authority of the law by properly administering
rewards and punishments. He has no
right, in any situation, to extend pardon, except under conditions that will
just as effectively support the authority of law as executing its penalties
would do. It was never safe, or
even possible under any government, to offer pardon to those who violate the law
on the condition of repentance alone, because it virtually destroys all
law. Every executive magistrate in
the universe is required to uphold public justice, which sternly and absolutely
forbids mercy to be extended to any culprit, without some equivalent being
rendered to the government; that is, without something being done that will
fully answer as a substitute in place of executing the penalties. God fully admits that this principle is
binding on Him; and hence He affirms that He gave His Son to render it just in
Him to forgive sin. “Being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed
over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time
His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.” (Romans
3:24‑26)
8 Entire nations have
felt the need for atoning sacrifices.
This is clear from the fact that virtually every ancient civilization
offered sacrifices.
9 The wisest heathen
philosophers, who saw that animal sacrifices could not do away with man’s sin
and guilt, believed that God could not forgive sin. This demonstrates that they felt the
need for atonement, or an atoning sacrifice. And, thinking that God and His
government were so just that neither animal, nor merely human sacrifices could
be effective under God’s government, they were unable to understand on what
principles sin could be forgiven.
10 Public
justice requires either that atonement must be made or that the penalties of the
law should be executed on every offender.
Public justice is that due administration of law that secures and
establishes the order and good of the entire universe. In establishing His universal
government, God has promised that He will regard the public interests, and by a
due administration of the law, secure and promote, as far as possible, public
and individual happiness.
11 Public
justice could simply require executing the penalties of the law; for God had not
promised to do anything more to promote virtue and happiness, than to administer
due rewards to the righteous, and due punishments to the wicked. Yet an atonement, as we will see, would
more fully meet the needs of government, and do a better job to prevent sin and
encourage holiness, than simply inflicting the legal penalty would do.
12 The
human race needs an atonement to remove obstacles to the free exercise of love
towards our race. After the fall of
Adam, the whole human race became rebels and outlaws. Before God (as the great executive
magistrate of the universe) could manifest His love towards them, He had to
decide on and reveal His atonement as the reason for His favorable treatment
towards them.
13 Atonement
promotes the glory and influence of God in the universe.
14 Atonement
presents an overpowering reason to repent.
15 Atonement
is an offer of pardon that shows us that God is not winking at or condoning
sin.
16 Atonement
reveals how sincere God is in upholding His law.
17 Atonement
makes it safe to present the offer and promise of pardon to the entire human
race.
18 Natural
theology can tell us that if the lawgiver denies himself, and confirms his
regard for his law and his determination to support his law by suffering its
curse in a way that is possible and consistent with his character and
relationships; and at the same time he teaches us the great lesson that sin
cannot be forgiven simply by repenting, and also establishes the universal
conviction that executing the law must not to be done away with, but that the
law is an unalterable rule under his Divine government, that where there is sin
there must be suffering; this would be so complete a satisfaction of public
justice that sin might safely be forgiven.
F The
fact of atonement.
Atonement is
purely a doctrine of revelation; and to establish the fact of atonement, we must
appeal to the scriptures.
1 The Old Testament,
especially the entire ceremonial dispensation of the Jews, reveals the need for
atonement.
2 The New Testament is
just as definite in its testimony, that we need atonement. I am assuming that you believe that
Christ is properly “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16), and so, I will
quote a few of the many passages that mention the fact of His death, and that
His death was for us, and that His blood was shed to satisfy public justice for
our sins. I will first quote a few
passages to show that atonement and redemption through Christ is a matter of
understanding and covenant between the Father and Son. (Redemption: recovered, freed, rescued,
brought back: to release on receipt of a ransom. Thus deliverance from the bondage,
power, and penalty of sin into a life of liberty. The death of Christ is the means of
redemption.)
a “I
have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your
seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all
generations.’ Selah.” (Psalms 89:3, 4)
b Yet,
it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for
sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in His hand. He
shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge, My righteous Servant
shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a
portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because
He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors,
and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)
c
“All
that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by
no means cast out. For I have come
down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent
Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at
the last day.” (John 6:37‑39)
d “I
have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the
world. They were Yours, You gave
them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
Now they have known that all things, which You have given Me, are from
You. For I have given to them the
words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known
surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for
those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are
Mine, and I am glorified in them.
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come
to You. Holy Father, keep through
Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.” (John 17:6-11)
3 Now, let me quote some
passages to show that, if God is going to save sinners at all, it must be
through atonement.
a “Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12)
b “Therefore
let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the
forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all
things from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses. (Acts 13:38-39)
c
“Now
we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no
flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of
sin.” (Romans 3:19-20)
d “Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no
flesh shall be justified. I do not
set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then
Christ died in vain.” (Gal. 2:16,
21)
e “For
as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written,
‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the
book of the law, to do them.’ But
that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the
just shall live by faith.’ Yet the
law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them.’ For if the inheritance is of the law, it
is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law
serve? It was added because of
transgressions, until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it
was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one
only, but God is one. Is the law
then against the promises of God?
Certainly not! For if there
had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have
been by the law. Therefore the law
was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:10‑12, 18‑21, and 24)
f
“And
according to the law almost all things are purged with blood, and without
shedding of blood there is no remission.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens
should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these.” (Heb.
9:22-23)
4 I will now quote some
passages that establish the fact of the vicarious (Vicarious: acting or serving
in place of someone or something else) death of Christ, and redemption through
His blood.
a “But
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are
healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah
53:5-6)
b “Just
as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life
a ransom for many.” (Matt.
20:28) (Ransom: to release someone
from captivity or bondage, based on the exchange, consideration, or expending of
something of importance.
c
“For
this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.” (Matt. 26:28)
d “And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal
life.” (John
3:14-15)
e “I
am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will
live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give
for the life of the world.” (John
6:51)
f
“Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His
own blood.” (Acts 20:28)
g “Being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His
righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith
in Jesus. Much more then, having
now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Therefore, as through one man’s offense
judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s
righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of
life. For as by one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many
will be made righteous.”
(Romans 3:24‑26, 5:9‑11, 18-19)
(Reconcile: to restore to friendship, compatibility, or harmony; to
adjust or settle differences; to restore to favor.)
h “Therefore
purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ,
our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
For I delivered to you first of all something that I also received: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 5:7,
15:3)
i
“I
have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse
for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the
blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might
receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Gal. 2:20, 3:13-14)
j
“But
now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood
of Christ. And walk in love, as
Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet‑smelling aroma.”
(Eph. 2:13, 5:2)
k
“Not
with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most
Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and
the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of
the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? And
according to the law, almost all things are purged with blood, and without
shedding of blood, there is no remission.
Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens
should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these. For Christ
has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true,
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He
should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every
year with blood of another He then would have had to suffer often since the
foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die
once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins
of many. To those who eagerly wait
for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (Heb. 9:12‑14, 22‑28)
l
“By
that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And every
priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But
this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the
right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His
footstool. For by one offering He
has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Heb. 10:10‑14)
m “Therefore,
brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His
flesh,” (Heb. 10:19-20)
n “Knowing
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from
your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
o “Who
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins,
might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
p “For
Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1
Peter 3:18)
q “But
if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
r
“And
you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no
sin.” (1 John
3:5)
s
“In
this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10) (Propitiation: to meet the righteous
demands of a broken moral law, making it possible for God, as moral governor, to
forgive.)
5 These are only some of
the passages that teach the doctrine of atonement and redemption by the death of
Christ. It is truly remarkable how
many ways this doctrine is taught, assumed, and implied in the Bible. Indeed, it is emphatically the great
theme of the Bible. It is expressed
or implied on nearly every page of Divine inspiration.
G
What
constitutes the atonement?
1 Christ’s obedience to
the moral law as a covenant of works did not constitute the
atonement.
a Christ
had to obey the moral law, as both God and man. He was under just as much obligation to
love the Lord His God with all His heart and His neighbor as Himself, as we
have. Therefore, It was impossible
for Him to perform any works beyond his obligation to the moral law; that is, He
could, neither as God nor as man, do anything more than simply fulfill His own
obligation to obey the law.
b If
Jesus obeyed for us, He wouldn’t have to suffer for us. If he could substitute His obedience for
our obedience, He certainly wouldn’t need to fulfill the law for us as our
substitute under a covenant of works, and at the same time suffer and die as our
substitute, in submitting to the penalty of the law.
c
If
He obeyed the law as our substitute, then why would He insist that returning to
personal obedience is essential to our salvation?
d The
idea that any part of atonement consists in Christ’s obeying the law for us on
our behalf, represents God as requiring:
1)
The
obedience of Christ, our substitute, on our behalf.
2)
His
suffering for our disobedience as if he had not obeyed on our behalf.
3)
Our
repentance.
4)
Our
return to personal obedience even though he had already obeyed for us.
5)
And
then, after all this, representing God as ascribing our salvation to grace. Strange grace this is, that requires a
debt to be paid several times over before the obligation is discharged!
2 The atonement is not a
commercial transaction. Some see
the atonement as simply being the payment of a debt; and they picture Christ as
purchasing those who God chooses, and suffering the same amount of suffering in
His own person that justice would have exacted from them. Let me reply to
this:
a It
is naturally impossible because atonement would require that satisfaction be
made to retributive justice.
Strictly speaking, retributive justice can never be satisfied, because
the guilty must be punished as much and as long as he deserves, which means that
he must be punished until he ceases to be guilty, or until he becomes
innocent. Once someone violates the
law, the sinner cannot satisfy the law.
He can never cease to be guilty, or cease to deserve punishment, and no
possible amount of suffering makes him any less guilty or any less deserving of
punishment. Therefore, satisfying
retributive justice is impossible.
b But,
as we saw earlier, retributive justice would have sentenced Christ to an eternal
death. Therefore, to suppose, that
Christ suffered all the punishment that was due to those chosen by God, is to
suppose that He suffered an eternal punishment multiplied by the total number of
the people that have been saved.
3 But, the atonement of
Christ was intended to satisfy public justice.
a Moral
law did not originate in God’s arbitrary will, but moral law originated in His
self‑existing and immutable nature.
God therefore cannot repeal or alter it. To the letter of the moral law there may
be exceptions. God cannot repeal
the law, and because of this, He cannot set aside the spirit of the
sanctions. For to dispense with the
sanctions would be to virtually repeal the law. Therefore, He cannot set aside executing
the penalty when the precept has been violated, without doing something that
will meet the demands of the true spirit of the law. “Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a
propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously
committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might
be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24‑26)
b This
passage provides the reason for the atonement: to justify God in pardoning sin,
or to justify God in not executing the law. “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief. When You
make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the travail of His soul,
and be satisfied. By His knowledge,
My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore I will divide
Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the
transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors.” (Isaiah
53:10‑12)
H
Here
are several more reasons why God preferred the atonement over punishment, or
executing God’s Divine law. I
already gave several reasons, and I will now give you some more reasons, some of
these are clearly revealed in the Bible; others we can conclude from what the
Bible reveals; and others still we can conclude from the very nature of
atonement.
1 God’s great and
unselfish love for sinners was a prime reason for the atonement. “For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
2 God’s great love for
the universe must have been another reason for atonement, since it is impossible
that the atonement should not exert an amazing influence over all moral beings
where the fact of atonement becomes known.
3 Another reason for
substituting the sufferings of Christ in place of the eternal damnation of
sinners, is, that it could prevent an infinite amount of suffering. The relationship of Christ to the
universe made His sufferings so infinitely important and influential as an
expression of God’s hatred of sin on one hand and His great love for His
subjects on the other, that an infinitely less amount of suffering in Christ,
than would have been inflicted on sinners, would be far more influential in
supporting God’s government than executing the law. Remember, that Christ is the lawgiver,
and we must see that His suffering is on behalf of and in place of a rebellious
segment of His empire. In an
appropriate government, it is easy to see the great importance of such a
substitute; that on one hand, it shows the ruler’s determination not to abandon
the authority of His law, and on the other hand, it shows His great and
unselfish love for His rebellious subjects.
4 By substituting Christ
in the place of sinners, God could accomplish a tremendous amount of good. He could obtain the eternal happiness of
everyone who can be reclaimed from sin, together with all the increased
happiness of those who have never sinned like the angels, and I am talking about
the increased happiness that they experience as a result from this glorious
revelation of God.
5 Another reason for
preferring the atonement to the punishment of sinners must have been, that sin
provided an opportunity for God to manifest an incredible amount of virtue. As a result, God manifests forbearance,
mercy, self‑denial, and suffering for His enemies. All these virtues are within His own
power, and He manifests these virtues even for those, from whom, He can expect
no equivalent in return.
It is impossible to
think of a more important order of virtues than those exhibited in the atonement
of Christ. It is vastly desirable
that God should take advantage of such an opportunity to demonstrate His true
character, and show to the universe what is in His heart. The strength and stability of any
government depends on what the subjects think of their ruler. It is therefore indispensable, that God
should take advantage of the opportunity sin has provided, to manifest and make
known His true character, and thus secure the highest confidence of His
subjects.
6 In the atonement, God
consulted His own happiness and His own glory. To deny Himself for the salvation of
sinners is a part of His own infinite happiness, always intended by Him and
therefore always enjoyed by Him.
This is not selfishness in Him, since His good is infinitely more
important than the good of the whole universe. Besides, He should regard and attend to
His own happiness and good because of its supreme importance all by itself.
7 The atonement would
present to his creatures the best possible reasons to be virtuous. The highest moral influence that one can
demonstrate is through example. If
God, or any other being, wants to make others love one another, He must manifest
love Himself. If the unselfish love
manifested in the atonement does not subdue the selfishness of sinners, their
situation is hopeless.
8 The circumstances of
His government make the atonement necessary because executing the law does not
prevent sin. Annihilating the
wicked would not suit the purposes of government. The circumstances of the universe call
for a full revelation of mercy, blended with the appropriate exhibition of
justice.
9 Nothing could be more
highly calculated to establish and confirm the confidence, love, and obedience
of holy beings, than this unselfish manifestation of love to sinners and
rebels.
10 How
could anything be more directly designed to silence all accusations, and to shut
every mouth, and forever shut all opposing mouths, than such an exhibition of
love and a willingness to sacrifice for sinners?
11 The
fact that God executed His law against the rebel angels, did not stop and can
not stop the progress of rebellion in the universe, proves that something more
must be done to support the authority of the law than simply executing the
penalty of the law on rebels. While
executing the law may help prevent loyal subjects from rebelling and help
restrain rebels, yet penal inflictions do not subdue the heart under any
government, whether it is human or divine.
In
fact, the law was only angering rebels, without confirming holy beings. Paul stated that the action of the law
on his own mind, while he was unrepentant, was to produces, in him, all kinds of
strong desires. One good reason for
giving the law was to develop the nature of sin, and to show that the carnal
mind is not and cannot be subject to the law of God. Therefore, God gave us the law so that
the offence might abound, that the law would demonstrate that without the
atonement there could be no salvation for rebels under the government of
God.
12 The
nature, degree, and execution of the penalty of the law, made the holiness and
the justice of God so prominent, that it drew too much public attention to be
safe. Those features of His
character were so fully revealed when He executed His law on the rebel angels,
that to pursue the same course with the inhabitants of this world, without the
offer of mercy, might have had a harmful influence on the universe, by creating
more fear of God than love of God and His government. Hence, a fuller revelation of the love
and compassion of God was necessary to guard against the influence of slavish
fear.
His taking on a human
nature, and being obedient unto death, is a good reason for Him to treat us as
righteous. It is a common practice
in human governments to reward distinguished public service by giving favors to
the children of those who have rendered this service, and treating them as if
they had rendered it themselves.
This is both benevolent and wise.
Its governmental importance, its wisdom and excellent influence have been
most abundantly witnessed in the experience of nations. And, for the same reason, this same
principle prevails under God’s government.
All that belong to Christ, are children of God who belong to Him and are
received for Christ’s sake, treated with favor, and the rewards of the righteous
are bestowed on them for His sake.
And the public service that Christ has rendered to the universe, by
laying down His life to support God’s divine government, has made it extremely
wise that all who are united to Him by faith should be treated as righteous for
His sake.