A Study On Salvation And The Atonement

• Introduction: 

           -Different theories on the atonement of Jesus Christ have been developed throughout the history of Christianity. Examples of theories on the atoning work of Jesus Christ are the "Ransom Theory," "Moral Influence View," "Governmental Theory," and the "Example Theory." These developments were all attempts to understand how the atonement of Christ works.

           -The following excerpt was taken from a study by William D. Barrick, Professor of Old Testament: "The Septuagint (LXX) evidences a pre-Christian Jewish understanding of atonement (especially in the use of the Hebrew words for atonement, 19 [kipper) and 19 [koper]) as propitiation since it employs é u dokopci (exilaskonal) 83 times for translating kipper." Summing up a detailed analysis, Morris deduces that the basic meanings of kipper and ĆELA.COkouci involve the thought of the offering of a ransom which turns away the divine wrath from the sinner." In addition to ransom and divine wrath, kipper "denotes a substitutionary process... so plain as to need no comment in the cases where life is substituted for life. Since the OT reveals the reality of divine wrath, it cannot be ignored or explained away as impersonal wrath, mild displeasure, mere irritation, or capricious passion. In nearly 600 OT texts more than 20 different Hebrew words provide a rich wrath vocabulary. Divine righteousness, holiness, and justice require divine retribution. Without divine retribution, divine mercy becomes nothing more than a vestigial appendage without function or purpose."

• Defining The Biblical Doctrine Of Atonement: 

           -Vicarious Atonement, which is also known as penal substitutionary atonement, means that Jesus Christ died in our place to pay our debt of sin. He paid the penalty for our sin on the Cross. He bore the punishment that we deserve in our place. In exchange, He gives to us His perfect righteousness. That idea is known as imputed righteousness. The one sacrifice of Christ satisfied God's wrath and righteousness. Justification is a free gift offered by God to those who trust not in their own efforts but in Him (Romans 3:27-28).

           -To atone for sin involves us being reconciled to God through the sacrificial work of His Son Jesus Christ. We are in need of a redeemer because our hearts and minds have been corrupted by the fall of Adam (Romans 5:12). The Law condemns us because it requires moral perfection. We have fallen short of that standard by violating it. Our sinful nature, not the Law, is the problem. Only Christ can resolve this problem.

           -In the Old Testament, bloody animal sacrifices were needed to atone for willful sins such as idolatry or errors made out of ignorance (Numbers 15:22-29; 16:47). The high priest offered sacrifices on behalf of himself and Israel. Consider the Day of Atonement, which is known in the Hebrew language as "Yom Hakippurim" (Leviticus 16). All of these bloody animal sacrifices pointed to the final, perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:1-4). Everybody, including the high priest, needed a true and perfect sacrifice that only a High Priest with those same characteristics could provide (Hebrews 8:3-6; 9:6-15).

           -In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is presented as being God's ultimate provisional sacrifice for our redemption. He is described as being our reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:18). His work is described as being propitiatory in nature (1 John 2:1-2), which means that it satisfies the wrath of a holy God towards sin. Christ's life was given as a ransom of the people (Matthew 20:28). His blood was "poured out" for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28).

• The Origin Of The Vicarious Atonement Theory: 

           -Penal Substitutionary Theory was a further development of Anselm of Canterbury's Satisfaction Theory (also known as the "Commercial Theory of the Atonement") by the Protestant Reformers of the sixteenth century. It best fits with the language of Scripture and was articulated most explicitly by them.

• Background Information On The Commercial Theory Of Atonement:

          -The Atonement Theory of Satisfaction teaches that because sin robs God of His honor, it was necessary for Him restore His honor by either punishing sinners or through atonement work. Since He chose to make atonement for sin by offering His Son Jesus Christ on a cross, He was able to fully recover His lost honor. Any surplus honor remaining from Jesus' sacrifice was given to God in our place, only if we do good works.
          -"Scholars such as F.W. Dillistone have observed that Anselm's view of the atonement is set within the context of criminal law, where concepts such as honor, debt, and satisfaction feature prominently. The Reformers, by contrast, set the atonement within the context of criminal law, emphasizing guilt, punishment, and substitution. Yet both systems involve forensic interpretations of the atonement." (Nathan Busenitz, Long Before Luther, p. 141)

• A Patristic Exposition Of The Doctrine Of Penal Substitutionary Atonement:

          -"And so, when our unrighteousness had come to its full term, and it had become perfectly plain that its recompense of punishment and death had to be expected, then the season arrived in which God had determined to show at last his goodness and power. O the overflowing kindness and love of God toward man! God did not hate us, or drive us away, or bear us ill will. Rather, he was long-suffering and forbearing. In his mercy, he took up the burden of our sins. He himself gave up his own Son as a ransom for us—the holy one for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, the righteous one for the unrighteous, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. For what else could cover our sins except his righteousness? In whom could we, lawless and impious as we were, be made righteous except in the Son of God alone? O sweetest exchange! O unfathomable work of God! O blessings beyond all expectation! The sinfulness of many is hidden in the Righteous One, while the righteousness of the One justifies the many that are sinners. In the former time he had proved to us our nature's inability to gain life; now he showed the Saviour's power to save even the powerless, with the intention that on both counts we should have faith in his goodness, and look on him as Nurse, Father, Teacher, Counselor, Healer, Mind, Light, Honor, Glory, Might, Life—and that we should not be anxious about clothing and food." (Mathetes to Diognetus, 9)

• The Biblical Basis For The Theory Of Vicarious Atonement: 

           -Isaiah 53 speaks of Christ being "pierced" for our transgressions and "crushed" for our iniquities. Romans 3:25-26 says that the atonement of Christ is the way that God can forgive our sins without compromising His holiness. Texts such as Romans 4:25 and 1 Corinthians 15:3 speak of Christ dying on our behalf for sin. Ephesians 5:2 employs rich sacrificial imagery to communicate the same idea. 1 Peter 2:24 speaks of the wounds of Christ as being the cause of our sins being forgiven.

          -Consider how Abraham ended up offering a ram as a sacrifice to God instead of his son Isaac (Genesis 22:13). An animal was offered in the place of Abraham's son. This typology reveals the relationship between the application of the work of Christ and the sinner.
          -Jesus Christ made the propitiatory sacrifice to satisfy God's wrath which occurred as a result of us breaking His Law. He is the propitiation for our sins. His sacrifice is a legal act. It reconciles those who believe to God, who is holy. Christ is our advocate before the Father.

• What Is Justification?: 

          -God declares a sinner righteous by his faith (Romans 4:1-11; 5:1). It is done apart from meritorious works. Justification is an undeserved, free gift of God (Galatians 2:16-21).

• When Is One Justified?: 

          -A person is justified when he first believes. In other words, Christians are saved from eternal condemnation the moment that they place their trust in God and His work. Thus, justification is not a process, but a one time event (Luke 18:14; 23:39-43; John 5:24; Romans 5:1; Acts 13:38-39; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 3:14). Justification is not something that increases or like an earned wage that can be depleted.

• What Is Sanctification?: 

          -This is the process of being set apart for God's work and being confirmed to the image of Christ. We contribute to sanctification through human efforts by the Holy Spirit's power (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 9:13-14).

          -This process occurs after justification (only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life) and ends at the moment of physical death.
          -To sanctify means to be set apart for holy use (1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:9-11). We are called for the purpose of sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:7) and are therefore expected to act in a holy manner (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26).
          -Even if we do not live a perfect life, we are still justified. There may be times in life where believers may stumble into sin, but they turn themselves to God in repentance and keep moving forward in their spiritual walk.
          -So, while we are more holy at the end of our life than the beginning, we will never be perfectly holy until we are in heaven. As long as we are on this earth, we still exist in fallen human nature. In Jesus Christ, God sees us as without blemish because we are covered in His blood.

• What Is Glorification?: 

          -This is the end of the sanctification process and takes place when we get to heaven (1 John 3:2; Ephesians 3:15; Philippians 3:20-21). We are then in an eternal state and have been fully perfected in our nature.

• Confusing Justification With Sanctification: 

          -Certain professing Christian groups such as the Mormons and International Churches of Christ teach that a person is not justified until the final Day of Judgment when he is rewarded after his works are evaluated. Only then has he been found worthy of his place with God in heaven. The cults blur the meanings of justification and sanctification by equating them to mean the same thing. This kind of theology results in a works-based salvation.

• Labeling Justification As Being A Process Is Highly Illogical: 

          -How could justification be a process? How would it work? It would make no sense to claim that a person could be a little justified now, or a little more, or less, justified tomorrow. If we are found guilty in God's eyes, then we have incurred His divine wrath and thus eternal condemnation in hell. We cannot be both justified (and thus going to heaven) and unjustified (and thus going to hell) at the same time. In other words, we are either justified or not justified at all. The false notion that justification is a "process" amounts to a works-based system of righteousness because at the moment of physical death, God would be adding up our works to determine whether we performed enough good deeds to earn our entrance into the pearly gates of heaven. But this does not even constitute a valid theological definition of justification. Such a description only provides us with a process (with an unknown name) leading up to justification.