MARCH, 1946
i "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures“ (1 Cor, 15:3). T HIS is the doctrine of the atonement The word another, in this world; When we have Offended someone, it is necessary for us to make amends, to apologize, to make restitution, or, in other words, to appease the per* son who has been wronged. Technically speaking, in the Christian faith, atone ment deals with that reconciliation wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ by His incarnation, death and resurrection. It centers almost entirely about the death of Christ on the Cross, for it was on the Cross that the Lord Jesus carried the penalty of our sins. , In human relationships, reconciliation of individual with individual is essential. Leviticus 6:14 declares that when one man wrongs another, he must make restitution to the person as well as to obtain the forgiveness of the Lord. It would be well in approaching this subject of atonement to apply its requirements to our own particu lar experience; entirely too many people think that they can live acceptably before God without making a recon ciliation to other human beings whom they have wronged. The atonement about which we are speaking, however, deals with our guilt before God, which produces a sense of unworthiness. The very fact of the atonement implies the existence of sin, of estrangement from God, condemna tion of man, and offense toward God. Christ's Death Satisfied Justice What of expiation? Generically, the word means to appease by a religious ritej but in Biblical theology it indicates the appeasement or satisfaction of God by the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. The atonement was absolutely necessary; not merely conditionally essential, because of the very nature and being of God, because of His righteousness, His justice, the nature Of His law and the guiltiness of sin. If God is righteous, then He cannot overlook the existence of sin, which is an affront to His holiness, the authority of His law and the well-being of the universe. Individuals may arbitrarily forgive sin, but the Judge of all the earth cannot. Even if a person forgives sins committed against him, he nevertheless feels their effect, although the one who perpetrated the wrong may not suffer the conse quences. Either the evildoer or his victim must bear the results of the wrong. If one owes you a thousand dollars, and you forgive the debt, you ar-e poorer by one thousand dollars. You have taken the blow yourself. It is exactly this which the atonement makes necessary. When we speak of sin against the law Of God, we must remember that, unless the moral universe is to crumble and disintegrate, there must be satisfaction of righteous ness and of justice. The changelessness of law demands satisfaction. There can be no relaxation or adjustment of its demands in the moral universe. Someone has to bear the consequences o f sin; and if the sinner, the one who has transgressed the laws of God and the universe, does not bear them, then someone else will. If, therefore, God forgives our sin, He has to take that penalty into Himself and that is exactly what God did. “atonement” means to make reparation, amends, satisfaction for wrong. It is not only necessary in our relationship to God, but in our relationship to one
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