Atonement
Merrill Unger states, “…the
atonement is the covering over of sin, the reconciliation between God and man,
accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the special result of Christ’s
sacrificial sufferings and death by virtue of which all who exercise proper
penitence and faith receive forgiveness of their sins and obtain peace.”[2]
Paul Enns writes, “The
foundational meaning of the death of Christ is its substitutionary character.
He died in place of sinners that He might purchase their freedom, reconcile
them to God, and thereby satisfy the righteous demands of a holy God.”[3]
In
Scripture, we find other words that help us gain a better understanding of
atonement, words that cast light upon its meaning. We will look at these words
more closely in order to come to a better understanding of the meaning of His
death.
Substitution
Ezekiel
18:20 tells us that “The soul who sins
shall die” (NKJV). This is the law of God, a law He cannot set aside, yet
because of His indescribable love for mankind, a way was provided that would
satisfy the righteous demands of God. God provided a substitute, One who would
die in the place of sinners, in their stead. The Incarnate Word of God came to
bear the punishment due sinners, their guilt was imputed to Him. He died in our
place in order to satisfy the demands of the offended righteousness and
holiness of God. Jesus died as the sinners substitute, in the sinners place
(Isa. 53:4-6; Matt. 20:28 ;
Mark 10:45 ; Luke 22:19,
20; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 Pet. 2:24 ; 3:18 ).
Redemption
The
general idea for redemption from the words used in both the Old and New
Testament is basically the same, the freedom that results from the payment of a
price. The word redeem means to buy or buy back again, to purchase in the
marketplace. In the New Testament, the words translated “redeemed,”
“redemption,” and “bought” carry ideas that show progression.
(1) The first idea is the concept of the
believer being bought by Christ (e.g., 2 Pet. 2:1). The purchase price of the
believer was the blood of Christ (Rev. 5:9, 10). Because we have been bought,
we now belong to Him; we have become slaves of Christ (1 Cor. 6:19 , 20; 7:22 , 23). Leon Morris states, “The redeemed are paradoxically slaves, the slaves of God, for they
were bought with a price…Believers are not bought by Christ into a liberty of
selfish ease. Rather, since they have been bought by God at terrible cost, they
have become God’s slaves, to do His will.”[4]
(2)
The second idea is the concept of security. Paul stated that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
law” (Gal. 3:13 ). Not
only did Christ purchase us, but once purchased He removed us from the market
never to be on sale again. The believer has been set free from bondage to the
law and from the “curse of the law” or its condemnation.
(3)
The third idea is the concept of freedom (1 Pet. 1:18 ). The word “redeemed” here carries the idea that the
one purchased has been set free, he has been ransomed. He is no longer a slave
to sin and/or the devil, we were bought by the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet.
1:18 ) in order to “purify
for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good”
(Titus2:14).
Propitiation
The
righteous demands of God the Father were satisfied by the death of Christ.
Man’s sin offended the holiness of God and all men have sinned (Rom. 3:23 ). The only thing that would
meet His righteous demands would be a sinless sacrifice. Christ provided that
sinless sacrifice by providing Himself and shedding His blood in the place of
sinful man. The death of Christ allows God to act in love toward sinners
without violating His justice, righteousness, or holiness. Love was what
motivated God to send Jesus as a propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10 ). First John 2:2 tells us that
it was all-inclusive, “but also for the sins of the whole world.” Romans 3:25 tells us that those who put
their faith in Jesus find mercy for Christ has become our “mercy seat,” He is
the place where Holy God can meet sinful man.
Enns
writes, “Propitiation is related to
several concepts. (1) The wrath of God. Because God is holy, His wrath is
directed toward sin and must be assuaged to spare man from eternal destruction.
(2) God provides the remedy. God provides the solution to sin by sending Christ
as a satisfaction for sin. (3) Christ’s death assuages the wrath of God. The
gift of Christ satisfied the holiness of God and averted His wrath.”[5]
Reconciliation
Ryrie writes, “To
reconcile means to change. Reconciliation by the death of Christ means that
man’s state of alienation from God is changed so that he is now able to be
saved (2 Cor. 5:19). When a man believes, then his former state of alienation
from God is changed into one of being a member of His family. The extent of
reconciliation affects the entire world (2 Cor. 5:19) in the sense that
trespasses are not imputed and God is able to offer man His love in Jesus
Christ; but it affects believers in a saving sense so that when that gift of
love is personally received we are saved (Rom. 5:11).”[8]
The
parable of the prodigal son helps to illustrate reconciliation. The
relationship between father and son had been ruined by the son’s rebellion.
When the son returns, the father celebrates his return because reconciliation
has occurred: “For this son of mine was
dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate” (Luke
15:24 ). It illustrates
reconciliation because as in the parable, our relationship with God was ruined
because of sin which resulted in us becoming enemies of God (Rom. 5:10 ). The death of Christ and our
trusting Him as Lord and Savior fixed our broken relationship with God. Our sin
was erased and the relationship was restored resulting in us now having peace
with God (Rom.
Paul
tells us that in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19 ), that Jesus’ death was the
means of our reconciliation (Rom. 5:10 ),
and that Christ, the sinless One, was made to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21 ). It was man who needed to be
reconciled to God and God who initiated that reconciliation.
Forgiveness
When a
sinner trusts Jesus for his salvation and receives Him as his Lord and Savior,
at that moment that sinner receives forgiveness for his sins. Since Christ has
made atonement for those sins, the penalty due the repentant sinner is erased.
Colossians 2:13 teaches
that our debt has been cancelled and we have been made alive in Christ. Our
debt was nailed to the cross; the charge against us no longer stands, for
Christ has already paid the debt by dying in our place. When God forgives us,
He releases us from judgment. We are no longer indebted to God for our sins,
for God has now judicially forgiven us all our sins (Acts 10:43 ; Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13).
Positionally, God’s forgiveness extends to all sins; past, present, and
future (Col. 2:13). Practically, in order for the believer to continually experience
the joy of his salvation and uninterrupted fellowship with God, there must be
daily cleansing (1 John 1:9).
Justification
Without
a doubt, the doctrine of justification is one of the most important doctrines
of the Christian faith. In forgiveness something is taken away, in
justification something is added to the believer.
Norman Geisler states, “Justification
is the act of God by which we who are unrighteous in ourselves are nevertheless
declared righteous before God. It is a judicial (legal) act of pronouncing one
to be right in God’s sight.”[9]
George E. Ladd declares that “The root idea in justification is the declaration of God, the
righteous judge, that the man who believes in Christ, sinful though he may be,
is righteous—is viewed a being righteous, because in Christ he has come into a
righteous relationship with God.”[10]
So,
because of our position in Christ, God declares us righteous (Eph. 2:13 ), for the righteousness of
Christ is imputed to us (Rom. 5:17 ;
2 Cor. 5:21 ). It is not,
as some often believe, God now seeing us as if we had never sinned, but rather
as sinners to whom the righteousness of Christ has been added. In justifying
us, God doesn’t pretend we are something we are not. His righteous demands were
met in Christ, therefore He remains just while justifying us (Rom. 3:25 -26). Our sins were imputed to
Christ and Christ’s righteousness credited to our account.
It is
imperative to note that the Bible is very clear in teaching that man is
justified by grace alone (Rom. 3:24 ;
Eph. 2:8), through faith alone (Rom. 3:22 ,
28; 5:1; Gal. 2:16 ), in
Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12 ;
1 Tim. 2:5-6).
Adoption
The word
adoption as used in the Pauline epistles is a declaration by God in which He
accepts those who have been born-again, as sons who have the legal rights of
inheritance in Christ. Geisler states, “Adoption
means ‘placing as a son’; it signifies, literally, ‘a legal child’ (Ex. 2:10 )…Theologically, adoption (Gal.
4:5) refers to the act of God that places a person as a son in God’s family.
Adoption is a term of position whereby one becomes a son by the new birth (John
1:12-13), is redeemed from the bondage of the law (Gal. 4:1-5), and, although
only a child, is by adoption made an adult son, which is fully manifested at
the resurrection of the body (Rom. 8:23; cf. 1 John 3:2).”[11]
The New
Testament commentator William Barclay states that in the legal Roman ceremony
of adoption, four things happened, “(a)
the adopted person lost all rights in his old family, and gained all the rights
of a fully legitimate son in his new family. (b) He became heir to his new
father’s estate. (c) The old life of the adopted person was completely wiped
out. For instance, legally all debts were cancelled; they are wiped out as if
they had never been. (d) In the eyes of the law the adopted person was
literally and absolutely the son of his new father.”[12]
In his epistles, Paul describes the believer’s new
status in Christ by using the Roman background.
The
Christian shows evidence of sonship by his submission to the leading of the
Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14 ), by
his separation from the world (2 Cor. 6:14 -18),
by overcoming (Rev. 21:7), and by the Father’s discipline in his life (Heb.
12:6-8).
[1] Alan Cairns Greenville
[2] Merrill
F. Unger, The New Ungers Bible
Dictionary, R. K. Harrison, ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1988), p. 123.
[3] Paul
Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago:
Moody, 1989), p. 323.
[4] Leon
Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the
Cross, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), p. 54.
[5] Enns, p.
325.
[6] Wendell
G. Johnston, “Propitiation,” The
Theological Wordbook, Charles R. Swindoll, ed., (Nashville
[7] Cairns
[8] Charles
C. Ryrie, Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago:
Moody, 1972), p. 122.
[9] Norman
Geisler, Systematic Theology, vol. 3
(Bloomington
[10] George
Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p. 437.
[11]
Geisler, p. 226.
[12] William
Barclay, The Letter to the Romans (Edinburgh:
Saint Andrew, 1957), pp. 110-111.
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