Chapter Eight

The Recognition of the Perfect Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ

           Recognition of the perfect atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ is essential to a correct understanding of salvation by grace through faith. To misunderstand the atonement causes confusion, doctrinal errors, and affects our service for God.  The witness of the Scriptures, and the good preaching of the Gospel, will encourage the hearer to believe the right view of the atonement and subsequently come to the Lord for salvation.  We see the work of Christ as the cornerstone of our faith.  Paul said,

 "For I have delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."  I Cor. 15:3,4

 The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was on the Cross that the debt of sin was paid once and forever.  In Paul's letter to Colossae he wrote,

 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."   Col. 2:14

 Jesus Christ obtained eternal redemption for us by His perfect payment for sin (shed blood).  This is the central truth in giving the Gospel to a dying world.  There are many (saved and unsaved) who have not realized this great truth.  First, there are religious groups that teach salvation by works.  Secondly, there are groups which say that the sacrifice of Christ is infinite, but still offer other sacrifices for sin.  Christian will probably not be familiar with all these groups, but he must be made aware of the greatness of the Gospel.  I want to answer these two groups and their concepts regarding the atonement, and then present an unlimited view of the atonement.  First, there are the groups which teach salvation by works. Under this category there are three different ideologies:

1. Those that teach that works may get you to heaven.

2. Those that teach that works will provide salvation for a        select few.

3. Those that teach that there is no hope in this life, but there may be hope in future lifetimes.

 All these false doctrines may be answered by the same infinite truths from the Scriptures.  Salvation is by grace alone through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our infinite and vicarious payment for sin (ie. the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus).  This truth is reiterated time and time again throughout the New Testament (Eph. 2:8-10; Heb. 9:22; I Pet. 1:18-19,23).

          The multitude of clear cut passages teaching salvation by grace is overwhelming.  Doctrinal errors manifest themselves when unregenerate or deceived men formulate doctrines by misusing and quoting Scripture out of its context in an attempt to explain away the myriad of concise passages.  Shall we base our doctrine for life upon a misused portion of the Bible or shall we understand the Bible based on the hundreds of clear sections of the Bible which leave no room for speculation?  The Apostle Peter taught that the end of our faith is the "salvation of our souls" (I Pet. 1:9).  It is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Peter writes,

 "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you."  I Pet. 1:10

 The Lord Jesus (God in the flesh) revealed Himself as  man to die for the sin of the world (God the Father's gift to mankind).

 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you" (I Pet. 1:20). cf. Mark 10:45; Heb. 2:9,14; 9:26).

 Christ's propitiatory death satisfied the justice of God, became the new covenant replacing the old covenant, and made it possible for man to be reconciled before a holy God (John 10:11; Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 10:10-14; Romans 5:8).  His death was the ransom payment for sin which would enable all men to be set free from their condemnation. This redemption price is referred to numerous times.  The word "ransom" denotes the price paid for a slave.  "When anybody heard the Greek word lutron, 'ransom', in the first century, it was natural for him to think of the purchase-money for manumitting slaves."¹  This ransom payment is emphasized by Paul when he states to Timothy that there is one

 "mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom, for all, to be testified in due time" (I Timothy 2:5-6).

           There is a second group who teach that the sacrifice of Christ was infinite in scope but continue to offer daily sacrifice for sin.  They have no real understanding of salvation by grace.  They use words and phrases that sound the same as biblical Christianity, but the definitions to those words and the emphasis of their worship is not biblical.  They substitute formalism for true worship and integrity with the Scripture.  Roman Catholicism practices this form of religion, which has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof.  Catholicism teaches that man is saved by works, maybe, and that he must perform the sacraments of the "True Church" in hopes of appeasing God's wrath.  Rome's catechism stresses the authority of the priesthood, with the priest being the representative of God on earth.  According to the Roman Catholic Church the priest has the power to grant absolution of sins and the power to turn the elements of the Lord's Supper in the actual body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation). During the Catholic mass the priest raises the bread above his head and states, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."  At this point in the mass the Eucharist (bread) becomes Christ Himself (His Body) and has become the infinite "God" who died for our sins.  This sacrament, along with six other sacraments, is the ecclesiastical means of receiving grace from God through the church.  When asked, what is the origin of this doctrine and continuing sacrifice, Rome answers, "The Church is the final authority over matters pertaining to salvation."  The Vatican II document indicates that the real Eucharist is a sacrifice will pleasing to God, and is a proper propitiatory payment for the sin of the living and the dead.  With man-made traditions contradicting the Bible, Rome has deceived millions.  The Bible clearly teaches that anyone offering any other sacrifice, other than the sacrifice that was once offered by the Lord Jesus should be destroyed. 

 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."  Galatians 1:8

 Further the writer of Hebrews points to the perfect one time atonement of Christ and its far reaching effects on doctrine and biblical understanding:

 "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 the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting til his enemies be made his footstool.  For by one offering he hath perfected forever them are sanctified."   Hebrews 10:10-14

 It is impossible to believe the doctrine of transubstantiation as taught by Rome unless the Scriptures are perverted.  The humanism of man and his pervasive philosophy should not predominate over the Scripture.  The Bible plainly teaches that Jesus Christ died one time, for the sin of the world, forever, and this can never be repeated (Hebrews 10:10-14).  This clarity of the Scripture, coupled with its obvious authority, enables the reader to refute the perverted doctrines of Rome and any other religious system which attempts to destroy the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, stating,

 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

 The third area dealing with the atonement is whether the sacrifice of Christ is limited to a select group of people.  Proponents of "Divine Election" teach that God, in His mercy, chose (elected) some to eternal life (and sent Christ to die for them), while condemning the rest of the world to condemnation.  Rev. C. Victor Barnard, in his pamphlet entitled, "Divine Election,” states that “one may search all the religions of the world and in none of these will he find the idea that God in purest grace and in strictest disregard of human worth or merit and according to His own discretion has chosen a few to eternal life and left the rest in a reprobate condition."² 

          It seems inconceivable, and in direct opposition to the character of God for Him to indiscriminately choose some to salvation and others to damnation. Akin to election is the limited view of the atonement.  The Calvinists see the atonement as sufficient for the elect only.  Although it is certainly true that the doctrine of election is a Bible doctrine, it is also true that election must be understood by studying many other facets of biblical truth: the atonement, the grace of God, the will of man, the dispensations, etc.  It is only then that we get a sound view of the calling of God upon the soul of man. 

          The reasons given for holding to the limited view are numerous: Jesus'  teaching that He gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11,15), for His people (Matthew 1:21), and for many (Mark 10:45), for the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27) and for the elect (Romans 8:32-35). This is a restrictive view.  These passages of Scripture seem to teach that Jesus died for the elect only!  How can this be?  Is there a contradiction in the Word of God?  Does God contradict Himself? The obvious answer is no He does not!  What is the answer to this difficult question?  The following Scripture passages show that Jesus died for the world: John 3:16; 1:29; Romans 11:25; 2 Cor. 5:19; I John 2:2; 4:12 (plus many more).  It would be impossible to say that all these passages referred to only the elect.  Beyond this the Scripture also teaches that Jesus died for all men: I John 2:2; Romans 5:18; 2 Cor. 5:14,19; I Tim. 2:4-6; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2;21; 10:43).  It is clear that "all" means all.  It is commanded that all should repent (Acts 17:30), and that "whosoever" may call upon the name of the Lord for salvation (Rom. 10;13).  With this in mind Berkhof states that it is not the job of the preacher is

 "to harmonize the secret counsel of God respecting the redemption of sinners with His declarative will as expressed in the universal offer of salvation.  He is simply an official ambassador, whose duty it is to carry out the will of the Lord in preaching the Gospel to all men indiscriminately...The universal offer of salvation serves the purpose of disclosing the aversion and obstinacy of man in his opposition to the Gospel, and of removing every vestige of excuse.  If it were not made, sinners might say that they would gladly have accepted the gift of God, if, it had only been offered to them."³

 It is illogical to believe that the loving and righteous God of the universe would cast millions into the lake of fire for the rejection of His Son if the Son had not first died for them personally!  How can a lost sinner reject Christ's death and the free offer of salvation when it was never offered to begin with? Could the sinner then say to God: "Jesus' death was not for me, I was never called by the Holy Spirit, I was not the elect, and Christ did not pay for my sins; therefore how can I be condemned to hell not receiving the payment for my sin?”  The most logical answer is that Christ died for all men from Adam to the end of the world age, that all men are guilty before God and without excuse (Romans 1:17-21).  When the lost stand before the Lord they will be without excuse for they have rejected the one perfect living Son of God who died for their sins, and have turned their backs upon the only possible redemption that was in the plan of God for the ages!   Dr. Boettner states "The nature of the atonement settles its extent."⁴   The nature of the atonement lies in the perfect love of God and His great mercy and Divine justice.  The Old Testament pictures this beautiful and unlimited atonement revealed in Christ:

 "the 'merits' of the scapegoat were, as we have seen, strictly limited to those whose sins had been confessed upon its head. But if a heathen stranger, on hearing of the holiness and terribleness of Jehovah God who 'dwelt between the cherubim' demanded whether it were safe to sojourn in the camp of Israel, he would have been told of the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat."⁵

 This same redemption pictured in the Old Testament is seen in the New Testament as the satisfactory payment for sin (propitiation) found in I John 2:2; 4:10; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:5; 2:17.  Dr. Lightner gives a short but clear account of how election and the atonement relate:

 "Christ most certainly died to secure the salvation of those who believe - the elect - and it is our conviction that the Bible teaches that Christ died to provide a basis for salvation for all men.  To those who are the elect and who therefore believe in Christ, this provision serves for them their eternal salvation, when they believe.  For those who do not believe and thus evidence the fact that they are the non-elect, the provision exists as a basis of condemnation."⁶

 I believe that there are two key passages of Scripture which show the balance between election and the unlimited view of the atonement.  The first passage is in 2 Corinthians where Paul mentions an important balance, which will help us to understand the delicate relationships between election and the free offer of salvation to all men.

 "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

 Paul differentiates between "us" and "all" and "all" and "they" in this passage, indicating that there are two different people being discussed.  He also states the "all" and "they which live" are the two groups for whom Christ died.  He died for all (the world) and He died for them which would live (those who would actually come to Christ for salvation). 

 The second passage is also written by Paul and found in the book of Romans.

 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Romans 8:29-30).

 God is infinite and eternal.  He sees all time as present, and there is nothing which is hidden from His sight.  For God "to be God" He must have all knowledge throughout all eternity.  Therefore, He knows who will freely come to Christ for salvation.  In His foreknowledge he "looked" in to future history and "saw" who would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  He then, before the foundation of the world, predestinated them to become conformed to the image of His Son.  God then called them unto Himself (in eternity and at the point of conviction).  God sees His work as already accomplished.  We are already glorified and seated in the heavenlies.  We are forever redeemed by the blood of Christ forever to live in His presence and glory. What privileged people we are to have these promises made by the immutable God and our Savior.  We are the elect. We are the children of God, and it behooves us to look forward with anticipation to the great and mighty things which He has in store for us from before the worlds were created.

Footnotes - Chapter Eight

 1. H.C. Thiessen, Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949), page 240.

 2. C. Victor Bernard, "Divine Election" (Grand Rapids: Jehovah Jirah Ministries), page 1.

3. L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1939-1940), page 398.

 4. R.P. Lightner, The Death Christ Died (Des Plaines: Regular Baptist Press, 1967), page 34.

 5. Anderson, Redemption Truths (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1980), 55,56.

 6. Lightner, op. cit., page 46.