ATONEMENT

Now we will consider one of the most important features of moral government, the government of God; namely, the atonement.

We will discuss the following points as we take up this important subject:  We will:

1. Call attention to well-established principles of government that will guide our investigation of the subject.

2. Define the word atonement as we will use it in this discussion.

3. Examine what we call natural theology, a priori affirmations of the conscience of our spirit upon this subject.

4. Show the actual facts regarding the atonement.

5. Consider the design of the atonement.

6. Explain the extent of the atonement.

7. Answer any objections that may exist.

Call attention to well-established principles of government that will guide our investigation of the subject.

1. As we have previously seen, moral law is not founded upon some mere arbitrary will of God or of any other being in the universe; rather, the foundation of moral law is in the nature and relations of moral agents so that the rule of acting or willing which is imposed upon them is really a rule of their own conscience as understood by the intellect.

2. Since the will of no being, even God, can create moral law, then it also stands to reason that no being can repeal or alter moral law since it is just that rule of action which is agreeable to the nature and relations of moral agents.  For this reason moral law is as immutable as those natures and relations are.

3. We all know that there is a distinction between the letter and the spirit of the law.  The letter is known to relate to outward life or action while the spirit is known as the motive or intention from which the outward action proceeded.  As an example, the spirit of moral law is contained in the one word, disinterested benevolence-love.  The letter of the law is found in what we call the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and also in other precepts that we call outward acts.  When considered in this way, no one that is in the legal profession or in a public governmental office would even consider that moral law is the “establishment of religion” since it is part of the conscience of every living being and part of the nature and relations of all moral beings.

4. While the letter of the law may have certain exceptions, yet the spirit of the moral law allows no exceptions.  The spirit of the moral law may, at times, require that the letter be disregarded or violated, but the spirit of moral law itself must never be disregarded or violated.  That would be suicide for any culture.  A good example of the letter being disregarded is that precept which states that there should be no labor on the Sabbath day. The spirit of the law may actually require labor on the Sabbath Day or on Sunday.  Since the spirit of moral law is love or benevolence to God and to man, there may be things that require being attended to such as administering to the sick, relieving the poor, feeding animals, and many other things that are in the scope of the spirit of the law as the work of necessity or mercy so that it would be required on the Sabbath day as well as any other day. Christ taught this regarding helping one’s animal out of a ditch on the Sabbath as he was in the act of healing on the Sabbath as well.  The letter of the law may say, “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”  Yet in the spirit of the law where certain conditions of mercy are in action, the soul that sins will live.  The letter of the law is adamant and pitiless; it condemns as well as sentences to death all violators of its precepts with no regard to atonement or repentance.  On the other hand, the spirit of the moral law allows and even requires that when satisfaction has been made to public justice with a return of the sinner to obedience, then that sinner will live and not die.

5. When a lawgiver establishes a government and officially declares law, it is understood by all that the lawgiver has pledged himself to duly administer the law that he declares in order to support public order; and, for the promotion of public morals, the lawgiver will reward the innocent with his stated favor and protection while punishing the disobedient with the stated loss of his protection and favor.

6. All laws are made public property in the sense that every subject of the government has an interest in the outcome.  Those who are obedient subjects of government are interested in having the law supported and obeyed and they feel that wherever the law is violated the subjects of the government are injured and their rights are invaded.  They would obviously expect the government to duly execute the penalties of the law when that law if violated.

7. Let’s state here the important distinction between retributive justice and public justice.  To treat every subject of government according to his character is retributive justice.  It considers the intrinsic merit or demerit of every individual and treats them accordingly.  On the other hand, promoting and protecting the public interests by legislation and administration of law in such a way as to promote the public good is called public justice. Under public justice the penalties of law will be executed where a precept is violated unless something else is done that will just as effectively secure the public interests.  The criminal can receive pardon and have the penalty dispensed with if the demands of public justice are met by some other means.  Retributive justice, on the other hand, makes no exceptions; it punishes without mercy for every crime.  Public justice can make exceptions as often as required where public good is still satisfied; it has satisfied the spirit of the law.  Retributive justice makes no exceptions; it clings to the letter of the law.  It says, “…the soul t hat sinneth, it shall die.”

8. Legal penalties are designed to secure obedience to the precept.  This is also why the penalty is executed when the precept is violated.  The lawgiver viewed the law has having enough importance that executing the penalty is his way of evidencing his sincerity in enacting, continuing adherence to, and his determination to abide by the principles of his government as revealed in the law; he abhors crime, has regard to public interests, and is determined to carry out, support, and establish the authority of his law.

9. History shows that when mercy is exercised in order to set aside the execution of penalties, because of the potential for danger extreme delicacy is taken in extending mercy.  The reason is that all subjects are influenced by the law and they must feel that even when mercy was extended that the law was still duly carried out.  If a government exercises mercy only, with no atonement made to satisfy the demands of the law, the government is weakened immeasurably.  It makes those who are tempted to violate the law hope for impunity, or an escape from the consequences.  The result is that the government stands to lose control over its subjects and the law becomes nothing more than advice as we have stated.  It is no longer law.

10. In any instance where the precept is violated the head of the government is pledged to promote and protect the public interests by due administration of the law.  In order to do this, if there is any instance where he would dispense with the penalty for some reason, then public justice requires that he will provide a substitute in such a manner that the public will consider that he has secured something just as effective as if the execution of the penalty were carried out on the offender.  There can be no weakness here.  Either the soul that sinneth must die or a substitute situation must be provided in accordance with the spirit of the law so that the public interest still sees that the law is not violated.

11. Public justice is satisfied as long as the lawgiver can reveal that in his determination to support the execution of the penalty no inference can be made that the violators will have the possibility of escaping the consequences.  The sinner can be returned to obedience and public justice will demand that the penalty be set aside as long as these conditions can be fulfilled.  While the sinner still deserves to be punished according to the principles of retributive justice which would punish him according to his crimes, yet the public good demands that the sinner be spared and pardoned in the spirit of the law as long as the conditions above are met.

12. An offender may repent but that would not be enough when the law has been violated and execution of the penalty must be carried out to satisfy public justice.  If mercy and pardon is extended it must be in such a way that the offender has no power of his own to obtain the pardon.  If all that was needed were repentance on the part of the offender, then he could sin repeatedly with no consequences, only going through the motions of repentance over and over again.  The atonement, on the other hand, shows that the execution of the penalty is carried out, not on the offender, but on a substitute.  This puts the pardon out of his hands by placing it in the hands of the one that takes the execution of the penalty on his behalf.

13. Mercy and pardon cannot be extended unless it is clear to the public that the execution of the penalty was not dispensed with merely because the offender repented.  Islam believes in this and that is precisely why Islam is a false religion. They have no atonement, nor do any other false religions have the atonement.  Only Christianity has the atonement.  When mercy and pardon is extended and the public knows that the offender had no power to escape the penalty without the conditions of fulfilling the penalty being satisfied outside of his own power, then public justice has been satisfied because other offenders know that they cannot escape with impunity within their own power.  All must know that the execution or a substitute has been carried out totally outside the power of the offender.

14. Once mercy is extended to the offender of law, the public would demand that there be no repeat of the crime committed or the atonement that had been made would be completely undermined by the continual commitment of crimes where there is no repeat atonement available for a repeat offense.  If the offender were one that is prone to repeat offenses the wise thing to do would be to replace him with the one making the atonement so that the offender would be considered dead and the substitute would be considered living in the place of the offender, thereby nullifying any future possibility of a repeat offense.  If it were possible for the offender to make a repeat offense and not be removed from the society by a judicial replacement, there would never again be a chance for another atonement which would mean that the offender would be faced with retributive justice instead.  This would be infinitely worse than no atonement since public justice should have been avoided and retributive justice exercised instead.  This means that the offender must allow himself to be considered dead and buried and removed from society.  He must go through a change in identity.  Society must never see him again.  He has been removed.  Now public justice has been completely satisfied.

15. The spirit of the law cannot be eliminated or repealed.  Even the spirit of the law requires that the penalty be executed or something must be done that will be just as effective.  It can never be thought that one can escape the penalty for sin which would be true under the execution of the law.  For this to be true in a practical sense consider the following:

l Sin cannot be forgiven merely because the offender repents; it would put the power of forgiveness in the hands of the offender and he would think that he could sin further with impunity.

l Sin can not be repeated either even if there is an atonement or it would still give hope of impunity.

l The sinner can never be allowed to continue in society without being replaced by one that is without sin for forgiveness must extend to all worlds and it could never do so as long as the offender remains in the public eye.  Public justice demands that after the atonement is made that there be no more crimes committed for there can never be another atonement.

l For mercy to be such that the sovereign offers clemency, the above conditions would need to be understood and agreed to by the offender and the sovereign judge.

Define the word atonement as we will use it in this discussion.

The English word atonement is synonymous with the Hebrew word cofer. The verb for the word is caufar, to cover. On the Ark of the Covenant, the lid was called the cofer. It was the Mercy Seat.

Strong’s Concordance has it this way:

H3722

ë?ôø

ka?phar

kaw-far’

A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: – appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).

H3722

ë?ôø

ka?phar

BDB Definition:

1) to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch

1a) (Qal) to coat or cover with pitch

1b) (Piel)

1b1) to cover over, pacify, propitiate

1b2) to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for

1b3) to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites

1c) (Pual)

1c1) to be covered over

1c2) to make atonement for

1d) (Hithpael) to be covered

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Same Word by TWOT Number: 1023, 1024, 1025, 1026

In the New Testament the word used is katallage.

G2643

καταλλαγη?

katallage?

kat-al-lag-ay’

From G2644; exchange (figuratively adjustment), that is, restoration to (the divine) favor: – atonement, reconciliation (-ing).

G2643

καταλλαγη?

katallage?

Thayer Definition:

1) exchange

1a) of the business of money changers, exchanging equivalent values

2) adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to favour

2a) in the NT of the restoration of the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ

Part of Speech: noun feminine

A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G2644

Citing in TDNT: 1:258, 40

When we examine both of these words, we see several beautiful things.  First, the covering of the mercy seat is significant.  The glory cloud dwelt in the Holy of Holies over the Mercy Seat.  Under that Mercy Seat was placed the broken tablets that Moses brought down from the mount and broke when he saw the Children of Israel in sin dancing before an idol that they had made.  They were representative of broken laws or sin.  When the High Priest brought the blood of the atonement into the Holy of Holies once a year, it was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat symbolizing the covering of sin by the blood of the Sacrifice so that when God looked down upon the Mercy Seat, the blood stood between Him and the broken commandments, or between Him and the sin.  It shows that the atonement had been made by the death of a lamb in behalf of all the people.  This is the same thing that Jesus did as the Lamb of God in shedding His own blood and sprinkling it before God in Heaven upon the Heavenly Mercy Seat to cover our sins with His own blood.  The second part is also quite symbolic with the Greek word symbolizing an exchange.  The Bible says it this way:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;”  (1 Peter 4:1)

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”  (Romans 6:1-18)

As any can see from the passages of scripture and as we defined the terms, there is an adequate execution of the penalty in order to satisfy the Public Justice and then an exchange is made whereby the offender exchanges identities with the Sacrifice and even considers himself dead and risen with the Sacrifice who died and then raised from the dead.  That effectively satisfies the Public Justice in executing the penalty and then in assuring that the crime will no longer be committed in the future through all ages since the offender has had his identity changed and his crime has been paid by the atonement.  Then, in an act of public declaration, the offender publicly renounces his life and sins at a ceremony where he is literally buried for all to see and then risen again to live under a new name and identity for the future into all eternity.  The name under which the crime was committed is buried and a new name with a new identity emerges putting him in the family inheritance and association with the sacrifice.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”  (Romans 8:1-11)

“And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.”  (Isaiah 62:2)

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”  (Revelation 2:17)

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  (Romans 6:6-7)

Examine what we call natural theology, a priori affirmations of the conscience of our spirit upon this subject.

Some consider that the position that has been stated does not lie in the realm of natural theology with a priori affirmations.  However, there are things in history that one can refer to that give us a picture of what has been said.  Natural theology does not have comprehension of the type of atonement that is being discussed here, but any that know the true character of God would assume that such a provision would be made since God is known to be disinterestedly benevolent and wishes only the best end for all of us which would require an atonement or we could never reach our best end.  It just fits his character.  We can also assume from his character that not only would God find a way to redeem the offender but he would also find a way to make them holy at the same time.  An example might be drawn from a story called “The Tale of Two Cities” in which the rich royal that was condemned to die was lovingly replaced by his look-alike who gladly died in his place.  The royal was whisked away to assume a new identity and his behavior from that day on had to be guarded or he would risk exposure and eventual death at the hands of the public.  In a similar way, God has to find a way in natural theology to replace the offender, eliminate him from the scene, and then change his identity while keeping him aware that his position is most delicate but can be sustained as long as he abides by certain guidelines.  There is a state that a person lives in after the atonement that may be described as follows:

1. We can reasonably state that it is not a state of retribution since the penalty has been paid but as in a natural court of law a person who had been given mercy would naturally be put on probation.

2. God has a purpose which is to make a change in the behavior of mankind and if discipline is necessary, He will do what is necessary.

3. God will always follow up existing revelation with new revelations of His will so that we would be able to observe if the offender that has been freed is truly repentant, he will follow suit by accepting and following new revelations as they are made to him.  This is a good way for the society that cannot see the heart of the individual to ascertain if repentance was genuine and if a genuine change of identity has taken place.  Remember, in the natural world, if a person is given a new identity and then they “blow their cover,” as it were, they could incur the wrath of the society which now wants them to pay for the crimes that they had been absolved of.  In a similar way, God gives tests along the way and gives new revelations of his will to the repentant one that will cause a positive reaction in the one who was genuine, but it may cause a reverse reaction in one that was only going through the motions.  The will that has the best end of God and of the universe as the foundation of obligation will take any new revelation of the will of God or of a growth in the knowledge of God as a positive way to further know God and promote His best end.  On the other hand, one that is only feigning repentance will balk at new revelations eventually to the point that eventually they will apostatize by returning to their original wicked identity and ways.  To see just what natural theology would teach in an a priori way let us say:

l That the human race lives by the law of selfishness, a fallen state, and not by the law of benevolence.  This is the law of selfishness to what unconverted men conform their lives.

l That God is benevolent which means that mercy is an attribute of God.  With mercy He could pardon sin as long as it can be done safely with no harm to the divine government.

l That however merciful God may be, he is holy and cannot look on sin which would explain why a covering would be required before an offender could be given mercy and allowed to approach unto God.   He will, however, allow one to be pardoned if it can be done without any harm to His holiness.

l That God has to be careful that when He does extend mercy He is not doing so at the risk of encouraging further sins by encouraging impunity in the commission of sin.

l That God must administer his government in such as way so that the fullest confidence throughout the universe is still placed in him because he states his law, its penalty, and His adherence to the spirit of the law without faltering or weakening his authority in carrying out the penalty.  The universe depends upon this fact.

l That since sin cannot be pardoned without something more than the repentance of the sinner through the power that lies in him alone or the divine law would have to be repealed.  This could trample on the divine authority, especially if a sinner got a false sense that his forgiveness was secure when he had not fulfilled the conditions of that forgiveness.  He only fulfilled a single condition that required none but him to perform.

l That God could not be just to his own character or to the universe to offer forgiveness without providing a substitute of sufficient nature to impress upon the whole universe just how deeply serious God is in executing the penalty and yet make it possible for God to have mercy.  The reason for the penalty is prevention of sin.  So, for them to only repent without showing them another taking their place in the execution of the penalty would be the same as to repeal the law; so why would there even be the necessity of having the law in the first place.  “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26)  God wants to be able to justify the sinner without damaging public justice.  As the verse says, God wants to be a just justifier.

l That all nations of the world have their own version of a sacrifice of some sort. There have been many types of ransoms offered for souls by every nation under heaven.

l That even the wisest of heathen religions have seen the necessity of animal sacrifices and yet they held the position that God could not forgive sin.  This proves that they felt that an atonement was more than just an animal sacrifice, or even a human one for that matter since all humans fall under condemnation of sin.  They were unable to under4stand how sin could be forgiven.  Islam has no atonement nor do they have an effective way to get sins forgiven.

l That public justice requires either an atonement be made or that the law executes the offender and that would include every offender.  God has pledged in writing and also by implication that he regards the public interests so highly that he would administer his government so as to secure, and promote individual happiness.

l God could have required only the execution of law with administration of rewards for the righteous and punishment for the wicked even in a strict administration of public justice.  Yet, to more effectively prevent sin and promote holiness which just the infliction of a penalty would not easily do, God elected to provide an atonement as a way of more efficiently meeting the necessities of government.

l Since the fall of man had put man into a relationship with God that was full of obstacles-a relationship of rebels and outlaws, an atonement was needed to remove these obstacles and freely manifest his benevolence toward the race.  God, the executive magistrate of the universe, decided that an atonement would be the reason that conditioned his favorable treatment of mankind after they had broken his original law in the Garden of Eden.

l This atonement was also needed to further promote the glory and influence of God in the universe as we shall see later.

l The atonement was needed to provide overpowering motives for repentance and confidence in God.

l The atonement was needed so that when God offered pardon it would not appear like connivance at sin.

l The atonement was important in showing God’s sincerity in His legal enactments.

l The atonement was needed to make it safe to present the offer and promise of pardon to the offenders.

l Natural theology tells that if a lawgiver could actually condescend to men of low estate to such a degree that because of his own regard for the law and also because of his determination to support that law by actually suffering the curse himself to such a degree that it was consistent with his character and relations and also to demonstrate a great lesson that sin cannot be forgiven merely because one is repentant but that the only way to duly execute the law and fulfill the rule of law under his government and satisfy public justice and yet forgive sin, then he could safely forgive sin and remove the penalty from the offender.

l Show the actual facts regarding the atonement.  Since the concept of the atonement is given to us by revelation, we must appeal to the Bible, the scriptures to establish the knowledge of this truth.

Ø The Bible, especially the Old Testament-Jewish Scriptures-attests to the necessity of an atonement which was practice in symbolism on a regular basis by offering up animals symbolic of One who would present Himself in the future as a “lamb of God.”

Ø The New Testament also gives testimony to the same point, especially where Paul says, “…without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.”

“For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”  (Hebrews 9:19-28)

The Bible is quite clear that Christ was God manifest in the flesh.  “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”  (1 Timothy 3:16)  We will cite verses that show the vicarious nature of the death of Christ’s death showing that it was for public justice for our sins that his blood was shed.  These passages show that the atonement and the redemption that came through is was a matter of understanding and a covenant between the Father and the Son of God.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.”  (Psalms 89:3-4)

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt 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 of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”  (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”  (John 6:37-39)

“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”  (John 17:6-11)

The next passages will show that if sinners are to be saved at all it must be through an atonement.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”  (Acts 13:38-39)

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them 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 there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”  (Romans 3:19-20)  “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”  (Galatians 2:16-21)

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”  (Galatians 3:10-12)

“For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.”  (Galatians 3:18-21)

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”  (Galatians 3:24)  “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”  (Hebrews 9:22-23)

The following verses show that the death of Christ was a vicarious death and that redemption is through His blood.  “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:5-6)

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”  (Matthew 20:28)

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  (Matthew 26:28)

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:14-15)

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  (John 6:51)

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”  (Acts 20:28)  “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”  (Romans 3:24-26)

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”  (Romans 5:9-11)

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”  (Romans 5:18-19)

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”  (1 Corinthians 5:7)

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”  (1 Corinthians 15:3)

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  (Galatians 3:13-14)

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”  (Ephesians 2:13)

“And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”  (Ephesians 5:2)

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to 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?”  (Hebrews 9:12-14)

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”  (Hebrews 9:22-28)

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”  (Hebrews 10:10-14)

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;”  (Hebrews 10:19-20)

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation 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)

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”  (1 Peter 2:24)

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” (1 Peter 3:18)

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  (1 John 1:7)

“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”  (1 John 3:5)

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”  (1 John 3:9-10)

These are a good many verses but one could quote many more on the subjection of the atonement and the redemption of the race by the death of Christ.  This is the great wonder of eternity and the theme of the Bible.  No other religion has such love or sacrifice with the God of Creation coming down in human form to die for the offenders of his moral law.

Consider the design of the atonement.  We have anticipated this question and state as follows:

1. The fact that Christ obeyed the moral law was great and it showed that He was without sin, but doing good works is not the atonement.

l God has put Himself under the same standard as we, obedience to the Moral Law.  It was not a choice but a requirement that he be perfectly benevolent as would be required of any moral agent.  We can’t take the position that because He is our substitute and lived a perfect life under the law that it absolves us of our responsibility.  In that way supererogation does not work.  It has to do with our being baptized into His death as it says in Romans:  “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  (Romans 6:1-7)

l If the fact that Jesus obeyed the moral law worked in a way that it absolved us of the responsibility to live holy, it would have eliminated the need for the atonement.  His life of perfection did not take away our responsibility to live after the spirit and mortify the deeds of the flesh.   “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”  (Romans 8:13)  What it did was to qualify him as our substitute and thus make the atonement acceptable to God and to public justice.

l Again, if Jesus obeying the law was acceptable as our substitute, then why would God ask us to live according to the spirit and to live a holy life?  Why would that be one of the essential ingredients that proves a person has been saved?

l Any who would think that Jesus obeyed the law for us are almost making salvation by works, the works of Jesus.  It is as if he must obey and then suffer as if he did not obey, then require our repentance and return to personal obedience. What kind of grace would that be?  That would be requiring the debt to be paid many times over which is not grace at all.

l The atonement was not a commercial transaction.  Some consider the atonement as a merely business transaction like paying a debt where Christ purchased the souls of men from the Father by paying with the same amount of suffering as those souls would have paid if they had died in hell.  Let’s examine this theory:

l If this were true, then Jesus would have been required to satisfy retributive justice. Since we are talking about an eternity of suffering in hell, Jesus would need to suffer in hell forever, multiplied by the number of souls that have lived since the beginning of the world and since suffering is eternal, Jesus would literally have replaced all the souls in hell for all of eternity.  This could never happen and it has not happened.  God never intended that Jesus spend eternity in the fires of hell.

l Another part of retributive justice is that one suffer until he is no longer guilty and that could never happen under the definitions as we have given them earlier.

2. The atonement of Christ was intended to satisfy public justice.

l Moral law is not something that God willed into existence but it is part of his immutable nature.  The five senses are a part of our nature, they just are, and they cannot be changed by making new rules for their use.  In a similar way, God cannot repeal or alter moral law which is a part of Him.  There may be exceptions to moral law as far as the letter is concerned as long as the spirit remains unchanged.  God cannot, therefore, repeal moral law or set aside the sanctions of moral law.  Changing or repealing the sanctions would be the same as eliminating the law altogether.  God could not, nor would he do such a thing. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”  (Romans 3:24-26)  This passage gives the reason for the atonement.  It was given to justify God when He pardons the sin of the sinner.  It was given to justify God when He dispenses with the execution of the law.  “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt 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 of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”  (Isaiah 53:10-12)

l Public justice requires-

Ø That the penalty will be matched to laws that are of equal importance to the precept.

Ø That when such a penalty is incurred that it will be inflicted for the public good as an expression to show that the lawgiver has a regard for the law that created the penalty.  It shows that he is willing to support the public order so that by due administration of justice he has secured the highest well-being of the public.  One of the leading reasons for sanctions is prevention, and executing sanctions is demanded by public justice.  As we have seen previously, sanctions, remunerative and vindicative, are designed to prevent disobedience and to secure universal happiness.  This is done by a revelation of the heart of the lawgiver which simultaneously shows his heart so as to inspire awe and at the same time inspires confidence and love to Him as well.

Ø Whatever there is that can reveal God, show His hatred of sin, show his love or righteousness, show that He is determined to support moral government and law, and promote the holiness and happiness of his creatures, as execution of his law would do, is the full satisfaction of public justice.

Ø Atonement is a very influential part, therefore, of moral government.  It does not take the place of the execution of law, for that still holds a big place in moral government.  Fallen angels and lost souls will experience the full execution of the penalty of divine law.  The atonement adds powerful motives to moral law to live holy and keep the law; it gives motives to induce obedience.  It can be considered an auxiliary to law which adds to the precept and sanctions an overpowering exhibition of love and compassion.

Ø The atonement is an illustrious exhibition of commutative justice, where the government of God, by an act of infinite grace, commutes or substitutes the sufferings of Christ for the eternal damnation of sinners.

Ø The atonement was needed and it was doubtless designed to contradict the slander of Satan.  It was Satan that seduced Adam and Eve by claiming by insinuation that God was selfish by forbidding them to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Now the great self-denial of God would refute this slander of Satan even more than the execution of the penalty of God’s law

Ø Now confidence in all the offers and promises of pardon by God are inspired by the atonement.  No matter how guilty or no matter how selfish a man is, when he views the atonement with Jesus Christ hanging on the cross for him, he cannot help, though deeply convicted of his sin, but believe that God loves him and that his offer and his promise of salvation is really true after all.  Only a God of truth and love would offer his own son to die for his enemies. The atonement was needed as the only means of sanctifying sinners:–

3. The atonement was needed, not that God needed it to make him more merciful, to reconcile pardon with the due administration of His justice.  We will repeat some things that have been said before.

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”  (Romans 3:22-26)

We will present several further reasons why the atonement, in the case of the inhabitants of this world, was preferable to punishment; it was preferable to the execution of the divine law.  We will add to those already given, some from the Bible and others by inference from what the Bible says with still others from inference by the very nature of atonement itself.

l The prime reason for the atonement was God’s great disinterested love for sinners themselves:  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

l It must also have been his love for the universe since such love would have a profound influence on every living creature in the universe no matter what world they lived upon as long as the fact of the atonement was known to all.

l Substituting the sufferings of Christ for the eternal damnation of sinners so that their suffering might be prevent is a powerful reason.  When one looks at the relationship of Jesus Christ to the universe and the atonement can form the expression of God’s hatred of sin on one side and then of his eternal love to all his subjects on the other, the amount of suffering that Christ endured was infinitely less an amount of suffering in Him than would have been inflicted on sinners and yet the influence that it would provide in support of the government of God would be vastly more than the suffering of the offenders would have been.  What a powerful picture was given of the lawgiver, Christ Jesus, suffering in behalf of the sinners;  it is the lawgiver and executive magistrate suffering in the place of the rebellious ones in his vast empire, taking their punishment.  It showed that he would not yield the authority of the law and yet it also showed his great disinterested love for rebellious subjects.

l This substitution gained immense good by restoring the eternal happiness of all that were saved from sin along with augmenting the happiness of all that had never sinned, all because of this glorious revelation from God through the atonement.

l Another reason for the fact that the atonement was a better show of the virtue of God is that the existence of sin gave the opportunity for God to show forbearance, mercy, self-denial, and suffering for enemies on His own power where the enemies for whom He suffered could expect to do nothing in return, making it truly disinterested benevolence.  Nothing could be higher than the virtues that God exhibited in the atonement of Jesus Christ.  The fall of man was a great opportunity for God to exhibit before the whole universe the depth of all the attributes of benevolence that were in His heart.  The estimation in which subjects hold the sovereign is what builds strength and stability for hiss government; it is that which secures the highest confidence of the subjects.

l God desired the atonement over punishing the offenders, also, because He had a desire to lay his heart open for imitation and inspection by moral beings.  It would help them to know Him, and as the scripture says to know Him is life eternal.

l Still another reason for desiring the atonement over the penalty for sin is that God prefers mercy whenever it can be safely exercised;  the Bible often presents Him as delighting in mercy, as being longsuffering, and willing to “repent” of any evil that he would pour upon the offender.  He thus prefers mercy to judgment so that He would willingly be the sinner’s substitute so that because of His atonement He can offer pardon to the offender while still administering justice.

l When God accomplished the atonement, He consulted His own happiness and His own glory so that to deny himself for the salvation of sinners became part of His own infinite happiness.  This was always intended by him and thus always enjoyed; it was not selfishness since the well-being of God is of infinite value greater than that of all the universe combined, but it was also true that his happiness and glory is of supreme and intrinsic value and He sought to treat it as such.

l In providing the atonement God did all in His infinite wisdom to promote, with all things considered, the highest degree of universal good.

l The best way to get all creatures in the universe to have the highest possible motives for virtue is through the atonement.  A good example gives the highest moral influence that can be exerted.  God could not make others benevolent if He could not show the same virtue in Himself.  It the sacrificial death demonstrated in the atonement does not subdue selfishness on the part of sinners then they are beyond hope.

l Providing an atonement instead of the penalty for the offenders is a way to produce the highest kind and degree of happiness by leading them to contemplate and imitate His love.

l Under the circumstances of the government of God, to annihilate the wicked would not answer the purposes of government in the matter of preventing sin in the subjects.  The best way to do that would be through a revelation of mercy blended with an exhibition of justice which would then promote his character to the universe.

l One of the greatest reasons for the atonement was that it would create holy beings. There is nothing more powerful to encourage confidence, love, and obedience on the part of holy beings than to see the manifestation of love to sinners and rebels.

l Another reason for the atonement would be to confound God’s enemies.  What else could silence devils and demons and make all the world stand guilty before a Holy God with their mouths stopped than such a powerful demonstration of love and a willingness to sacrifice for sinners?

l God had a just and necessary regard for His own reputation; that caused Him to prefer the atonement to the punishment of sinners.  What else would inspire such an affectionate confidence in God as this?  It was most agreeable to God and most beneficial to the universe at the same time.

l The atonement gave God the opportunity to show his kindness for sinners by giving them a means for salvation, forgiving and saving them when they repent without the danger that throughout the universe the inference could be made that He did not have sufficient abhorrence of sin.

l The atonement was also a powerful way to counteract the influence of Satan who had powerfully polluted the world with and promoted selfishness.

l Another reason for the atonement was that God could make the final punishment of the wicked more impressive and extremely more severe in light of the fact that He had offered the love and mercy of God and the opportunity for pardon through the atonement and the only reason that any wicked person could possibly suffer the final punishment is that they had spurned the mercy and love of God.  Thus the contrast is much like a white dot on a black background, God’s love versus the punishment of the wicked.

l The atonement is also the highest example in the face of selfishness of true disinterested benevolence on the part of God, His own example.  Through the atonement God bears witness against selfish with his selfless gift.

l The atonement more fully satisfies public justice than the execution of law since it shows God’s express regard to the interests of His subjects to the extent that He would go to such extreme lengths in order to offer them mercy thus greatly satisfying public justice.

l The atonement also makes a full demonstration of the attributes of God so that there is a full circle of motives that can influence the minds of all moral beings.  Remember, moral beings make choices and understanding more fully the attributes of God makes the choice easier to comprehend and makes God easier to put confidence in.

l The atonement exhibited Christ’s heart to two worlds, the one where He was with the father, and the one where he became flesh with a human nature.

l The atonement was needed because just the fact of executing the penalty for the broken law of God had not and would not arrest the progress of rebellion in the universe as exemplified by the rebellion of Satan and the angels the fell and also by the example of Adam and Eve.  Something else was needed to enhance the support for the authority of God’s law, something more than mere execution would do.  The problem with having only the execution of law, which does have a strong tendency to prevent rebellion and restrain rebels, is that such execution and control does not subdue the heart in any government, human or divine.  The law, as seen in the example of past history, exasperated rebels without confirming holy beings.  Paul the apostle said that he had the law but he was still wicked and persecuted the church.  He writes that the law was like a school master, it could be used to show the nature of sin and that the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither can be.  The law was given to expose the offenders in bright lights so that it might be demonstrated that the only way to save rebels and change their hearts was through the atonement.

l The fact that God had already executed His penalty on the rebellious angels made the holiness and justice of God so prominent that to pursue the same course on the human race without any offer of mercy would have had the injurious influence of creating more fear of God than love of Him and His government.  The atonement was thus the way for God to reveal his love and compassion and guard against slavish fear.

l Why else would he not be treated as righteous, He that took on Himself the nature of humans, He that obeyed unto death, and endured such pain and suffering?

l It is a common practice in human governments, a practice which fits the laws of the mind, to rew2ard distinguished public service by conferring favors on the children who rendered the service as if they had rendered it themselves.  This has been wisely and successfully done with manifold influence as attested by the experience of many nations.

l The same is true of the Christian world and for the same reason.  All Christ’s children who belong to Him are received and treated with favor and the rewards of righteousness as bestowed upon them for His sake.  Because of His public service which was rendered for the whole universe, the fact that He laid down his life for the support of the divine government has made it eminently wise that all who are united with Him by faith should be treated as righteous for His sake.