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Doctrinal pointers by Gerald B. Stanton, Th.D. Prof, of Systematic Theology, Talbot Theological Seminary Reconciliation
entral to one’s appreciation of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus is his understanding of the Bibli cal doctrine of reconciliation. It is of the deepest significance that “God . . . hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18; cp. w . 19,20). Whatever this reconciliation is, it is evident that it comprises the way back to God, and when found, it comprises the Chris tian’s message to a world which has drifted far from her Maker. Theologically, reconciliation speaks of man, out of fellowship with God and alienated from Him by wicked works, but now transformed and brought back into a right relation ship with God by the saving work of Christ upon the cross. Reconciliation brings man back into adjustment with an offended God. Fellowship, broken, and lost in Adam, is renewed and restored in Christ. Potentially, recon ciliation extends to the world and has done so from the moment of the death of Christ, but experimentally it belongs to the individual sinner at the moment of saving faith. Actually, there are three sides to the transaction which we call Salva tion. The Godward aspect is Propiti ation (discussed last month) where by God the Father is infinitely satis fied with the work of Christ His Son as the adequate solution to the prob lems caused by sin. The sinward as pect is Redemption, whereby the slave of sin is forever liberated by Another who pays the ransom price (see this column next month). But the manward aspect of Salvation is Reconciliation, by which the two of fended parties, God and man, are restored to harmony and fellowship. Who is reconciled? Among con servative men, three distinct answers have been advanced to this question, and interestingly enough, the prob lem has divided the three great Cal- vinistic theologians of the nineteenth century: Shedd, Hodge, and Strong. Shedd takes the position that God is reconciled to man, basing his argu ment upon the usage of the Greek
verb in literature outside the Bible, and ignoring the main passage on the subject (2 Cor. 5:14-21) and the obvious fact that the Bible always speaks of God reconciling man to Himself (Wm. G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, 11:395-97). The second view is that reconcilia tion affects both parties; they are re stored to each other as peace is se cured (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, 11:514). The third and best view holds that God is offended, but man alone is reconciled. God does not change; it is man who has wan dered from God, from which position of estrangement he needs to be brought back (A. H. Strong, System atic Theology, pp. 777-886). This seems to be the clear teaching of Scripture, which uniformly repre sents the fact that it is the sinner who must be adjusted and restored to fellowship with God (2 Cor. 5:18- 20; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20,21). The essential elements of reconcili ation. The need of reconciliation is seen in the fact that his sinful na ture and sinful acts have alienated him from the place of fellowship and privilege originally intended by God; The means of reconciliation is the substitutionary work of Christ, spe cifically His death for sin on the cross (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-21). The object of reconciliation (as we have seen) is man, who, when he believes on Christ, is restored to a position of harmony with God by the removal of the cause of the offense. This is a legal restoration—much more than a mere change of attitude on the part of God. The extent of reconciliation, in keeping with the doctrine of unlimited atonementj is the whole world (Col. 1:20). This, of course, is in the provisional sense that the death of Christ has ren dered the whole world “ savable” be fore God. The results of reconcilia tion are the removal of the offense of sin, restoration to favor, fellowship regained, and the basis established for justification, the baptism of the Spirit, positional sanctification, and ultimate glorification. END.
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