The Atonement

by P.L. Hickling, Liverpool | Category: Contending For The Faith | Jun 1971

The doctrine of the Atonement is only intelligible in the light of an appreciation of the nature of God, and the nature of sin. A currently fashionable heresy depicts God as a vague, all pervading influence - "the ground of our being"-bereft of personality, will or executive power. Those who propound this theory see that the Incarnation, as taught in the Scriptures, is inconsistent with their philosophy, and so Christ is reduced to the status of a wise teacher and good man, whose death was a tragic example of undeserved suffering nobly borne. Sin becomes an offence against social custom, or against the rights of an individual. Against these half-truths the Scriptural doctrines of the personality of God, the nature of sin, and the atoning work of Christ need to be asserted.

Sin

The incarnation and death of Christ would not have been necessary if sin had not entered the world, for He was manifested to take away sins (1 John 3:5). This does not imply that God was deflected from His purpose by Adam's sin; He foresaw the act and its consequences before the world was created, and brought greater glory to Himself through overcoming sin than could ever have come had sin not been committed (1 Pet. 1:19,20). It is commonly thought that an action is sinful only if it results in some mental, physical or financial harm to one's fellows; this kind of thinking has led to the "permissive society". This is not the Biblical conception of sin. Sin is basically disobedience to God, as can be seen in the account of the very first human sin (Gen. 3). Adam and Eve did harm to no-one but themselves, but God's authority was rejected by them, in wishing to be "as God" and to be rulers of their own destiny. David recognised the nature of sin when he confessed to his guiltiness in adultery and murder and said, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in Thy sight" (Psalm 51:4).

Sin therefore is the proper object of the wrath and judgement of God. This is not a sporadic emotional anger like ours, but a fixed and resolute opposition to an affront to His divine authority. Rom. 5:12,19 makes it clear that the sin of Adam, the federal head of the human race, is transmitted to all men. Men commit sins because they are sinners, and so individually deserve the condemnation that falls upon the race as a whole. The bondage of sin (Rom. 6:6) is one from which men cannot release themselves, and thus man's natural state is hopeless apart from divine intervention.

God's Love in Action

The response of God to the rebellion of man shows the humility of divine love. Instead of consigning all to eternal death He determined to save from the consequences of guilt those who believe the gospel. The writers of Scripture seem to be searching for fitting words to describe the riches and glory of the grace and love of God towards sinners.

Because of God's holy nature, He cannot ignore sin; this would be unjust. Sin must be judged, and the punishment upon it, i.e. death, duly executed. Before ever our world came into existence, God had determined to provide a sacrificial Victim who was able to bear this punishment (1 Pet. 1:19,20), and He began to reveal His purpose to His Old Testament people by commanding them to offer sacrifices of animals as an atonement for sin. The word "atonement" is used in the Old Testament to translate the Hebrew word "kippur" and its derivatives, whose basic meaning is "to cover". Although the shed blood of animals was of no efficacy in itself (Heb. 10:4), it served for the covering of sins, and for a pointer to what God was to do in the future. A sacrifice which would finally propitiate God's righteous wrath must fulfil several conditions:

(1)It must be sinless-otherwise the life of the sacrifice would be forfeit for its own sin.

(2)It must be identified with the human race, the sinners.

(3)It must be able to discharge a debt involving death.

(4)It must be a sacrifice of a worth commensurate with the magnitude of the offence.

Any sinless being would satisfy the first condition, but to satisfy the second it must have human personality and intelligence. The third condition requires One who having immortality yet could take the sinner's place and die for him, and, as sin is an offence against the authority of God, the fourth requires a sacrifice of the status of God Himself. The Sacrifice must therefore possess full deity and full manhood. The only Person who fulfilled these conditions was the incarnate Son of God, for "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). Thus it was that God, in His great love, "gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Aspects of the Atonement

Christ lived and died on the earth as a representative of humanity, and His life and death were in perfect obedience to the will of the Father (Luke 3:22). Just as Adam was the federal head of the race of men who became sinners because of his sin, so Christ is federal Head of the new race of men, those who have received life because of His free gift (Rom. 5:15-19). Scripture views believers as having been crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised with Him. His death was not only representative, it was substitutionary; He "bore our sins in His body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness" (1 Pet. 2:24).

The death of Christ may also be viewed as an act of redemption-deliverance by payment of a price since He gave Himself "a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28). To whom was the ransom paid? Psalm 49:7 seems to imply that the ransom is paid to God, and the ransom paid satisfied God because of the intrinsic worth of the Person of Christ. Believers are redeemed from the curse of the Law, which those who are debtors to do the Law have brought upon themselves by their breach of the Law's requirements.

Christ has been considered in the foregoing as the Sacrifice, the Substitute, and the Ransom; all three terms help us to understand something of the value which God places upon the death of Christ, and the pleasure and satisfaction which He obtains from it. However Christ's death is considered, it should be particularly noted that it is one single act which can never recur. The Scripture is most emphatic that no further sacrifice for sins can ever be offered, for He "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Heb. 10:12). Christ Himself can never be re-offered, for "once at the end of the ages hath He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb. 9:26) and "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10).

Consequences of the Atonement

The atoning death of Christ is the sole ground on which God justifies men, and remits their sins. The act is entirely one of grace on God's part, and it cannot be merited or attracted by any act or profession on the part of the sinner (Rom. 3:20-31). A man is justified by faith, but faith is the means by which he receives the grace of God, not the ground of the offering of that grace. God imputes the righteousness of Christ to a sinner when he accepts Christ's work by faith; the sinner recognizes Christ as his representative and substitute. The question of the scope of the Atonement is a difficult one which is not to be discussed here, but it is apparent from the Scripture that God wishes all to be saved and will not turn away any who will call on Him (Rom. 10:18). The preacher must urge all to call on the Lord for salvation, for no man knows who shall be saved. Once a believer has been thus justified by God, he is eternally secure, because the action has been taken by God, who will not undo it (Rom. 8:31-39). The believer possesses everlasting life (John 3:16) He is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), having been re-created by God. This new creature is reconciled to God because of the death of Christ, since there no longer exists between man and God that barrier of sin which made communion impossible.

The atonement is also the source of cleansing, both for individuals and for things (Heb. 9:22,23). It is evident from Col. 1:20 and Rom. 8:19-23 that the value of the work of Christ extends beyond the redemption of men to the deliverance of the whole creation from the bondage of corruption. The whole of Christian privilege, and the whole of God's purpose for this planet, rest on the atoning work of Christ for foundation; only by accepting the Scriptural doctrine can we see our sin and God's grace in proper perspective, and appreciate the magnitude of God's love towards us.

P.L. Hickling, Liverpool | Jun 1971
Contending For The Faith