Atonement: Made Right Before God

           As we continue to look at the workings of salvation, we move on to atonement. Christ atoned for our sins as believers. While that sounds nice, what does that mean? That is what we are setting out to tackle this month. There are six themes of atonement. Each of these themes explains an aspect of atonement and helps us to better understand it. We must also look at how to rectify our previous claim of election with an element of atonement.

            The first theme of atonement is ransom and redemption. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Christ came as the ransom price for us. We see in this theme our deliverance from bondage to sin and Satan. We also see the cost of our salvation. Christ had to die for us. Finally, we see God’s ownership of us. He has bought us for a price.

            The second theme is propitiation. In other words, God averting his righteous wrath by sacrifice. “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood, to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3:25). Propitiation is seen in the Old Testament. God required different sacrifices to atone for sin. When the animal was killed, God’s wrath would be averted from the person to the animal. In the same way, God’s wrath is averted from us to Christ on the cross.

            The third theme of atonement is expiation. Expiation is the removal of liability to punishment by covering over or removing sin. This differs from propitiation because it is manward by removing liability to punish, whereas propitiation is Godward and removes his wrath. This is pictured in the Old Testament through the sacrificial system.

            Reconciliation is the next theme of atonement. Romans 5:1-11 and 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 are a couple of many verses that talk about reconciliation. They explain the reality that enmity between God and man is removed, and they are reconciled. We must keep in mind that man is always the object of reconciliation. We are reconciled to God. God is not reconciled to us, nor does he ever need to be.

            Another theme of atonement is the cosmic victory that took place. Christ defeated sin, death, and evil spiritual powers. “But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10)

            The last theme of atonement is moral influence/example. That is to say, Christ is an example of humble sacrifice for believers to emulate. We ought to have the mind of Christ. He was willing to humble himself to come to earth to die in our place. We should follow his example of humility.

            The central truth of the atonement is substitution. Christ took our place. The wages of our sin is death. However, Christ came and took on that wage and paid it in full for us. This truth is the central truth of atonement and is bolstered by the other six themes.

            In the last blog posts, we explored the election. We came to the conclusion that God chose who he would save. He extends his grace to us in our rebellion, and we respond to that grace. After we respond to that grace, our sins are atoned for. That begs the question: Did Christ die for everyone, or did he die only for the elect?

            Scripture seems to say that he died for everyone. “But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9) However, Scripture seems also to say that Christ died for just the elect. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) While there are many ways to interpret this reality, for the sake of time and space, I will share the most likely way to interpret this reality. God intended to save only the elect, but he provided atonement for all men. Anyone can come to Christ for salvation if they want. However, no one outside of God’s grace is going to want to be saved.

            Why would Christ die for people whom God did not intend to save? Providing the possibility for everyone to be atoned for removes every barrier between a holy God and sinners. It unleashes in the world a power for good that restrains evil. We know this as common grace. It proved an additional just basis for the condemnation of unbelievers. It also offers motivation for the proclamation of the Good News to every creature. We ought to share the Gospel with everyone because Christ has provided atonement for them if they only accept.

            Isn’t atonement amazing news!? We are able to be reconciled to God and spend eternity with him. The central truth of atonement is substitution. Christ substituted himself in our place. We also see six themes of atonement that help to complete the picture. When studying the atonement, it is best to differentiate between the extent and the intent of the atonement. The extent of the atonement is universal. Christ died for everyone. However, the intent is for the elect. This helps us maintain a balance that is supported by scripture.