The Atonement

The atonement is the work Christ did in His life and death to earn our salvation

1. The cause of the Atonement
   
   1. The scripture points to love and justice
      
   2. Scripture proof for love: John 3:16
      
   3. Scripture proof for justice: Romans 3:25
      
2. The necessity of the Atonement
   
   1. Was there any other way for God to save human beings than by sending His Son to die in our place?
      

      Note: The atonement was not absolutely necessary in the sense that God was not obligated to save anyone (2 Peter 2:4)
      

   2. As a consequence of Gods decision to save some human beings, the atonement was absolutely necessary. Called "consequent absolute necessity"
      

      Summary: There was no other way to save us than for Christ to die in our place
      

3. The nature of the Atonement
   

   The atonement is viewed as objective, that is, something that has primary influence directly on God Himself, only secondarily does it have application to us and only because there was a definite event in the relationship between God the Father and God the Son that secured our salvation.
   

   1. Christ`s obedience for us (Active Obedience)
      
      1. If Christ, (by His death on the cross), had only earned forgiveness of sins for us, then we would not merit heaven. Our guilt would have been removed but we would only have returned to the state of Adam and Eve before they had done anything good or bad and before they had passed a time of probation successfully.
         
      2. Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience for us in order to earn righteousness for us (Philippians 3:9)
         
      3. Not just a moral neutrality but a positive moral righteousness
         
      4. Christ our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 5:19)
         
      5. To fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15)
         
   2. Christ's sufferings for us (Passive obedience)
      
      1. In addition to obeying the law perfectly for His whole life on our behalf, Christ also took on Himself the sufferings necessary to pay the penalty for our sins
         
      2. He suffered His whole life
         
      3. He suffered the pain on the cross
         
   3. The meaning of the blood of Christ
      
      1. The clear outward evidence that His life blood was poured out when he died a sacrificial death to pay for our redemption. "The blood of Christ" means His death in its saving aspects.
         
      2. Its shedding was very clear evidence that His life was being given in judicial execution.
         
      3. Clear connection between Christ`s death and the many sacrifices in the Old Testament. These sacrifices all pointed forward to and prefigured the death of Christ.
         
   4. Penal Substitution
      
      1. He bore a penalty when He died
         
      2. His death was a substitution in that He was a substitute for us when He died.
         
      3. Christ`s death was vicarious because He stood in our place and represented us. As our representative, He took the penalty we deserved
         

         The biblical framework for penal substitution
         

• Exodus 12 (The Passover)
  
• Leviticus 16 (The day of atonement) (The scapegoat)
  
• Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (The suffering Servant)
  
• The gospel of Mark (Mark 10:45; Mark 15:33,34)
  
• The gospel of John (John 3:14-18) from Numbers 21:4-9(John 11:47-52) Caiaphas prophecy
  
• The book of Romans (Romans 3:21-26) Christ was set forth as a propitiation. (Romans 4:25) Christ was handed over for our sins (Romans 5:8-10) God condemned sin in Christ`s flesh (Romans 8:1-30
  
• Galatians 3:10-13
  
• 1 Peter 2:21-25 and 3:18 Christ bore our sins in His body
  

The four terms show how Christ`s death met the four needs that we have as sinners

1. We deserve to die as a penalty for our sin
   
2. We deserve to bear God`s wrath against sin
   
3. We are separated from God by our sins
   
4. We are in bondage to sin and to the kingdom of Satan
   

These four needs are met by Christ`s death in the following ways:

1. Sacrifice: Hebrews 9:26 – To pay the penalty of death that we deserved because of our sins, Christ died as a sacrifice for us
   
2. Propitiation: 1 John 4:10- To remove us from the wrath of God that we deserved, Christ died as a propitiation for our sins.
   
3. Reconciliation: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19- To overcome our separation from God, we needed someone to provide reconciliation and thereby bring us back into fellowship with God.
   
4. Redemption: Because we as sinners are in bondage to sin and to Satan, we need someone to provide redemption and thereby redeem us out of that bondage. (Ransom) Mark 10:45
   

1. The extent of the Atonement
   

   When Christ died on the cross, Did He pay for the sins of the entire human race or only for the sins of those who He knew would ultimately be saved?
   

   
    

   1. Scripture to support the reformed view:
      

      Christ died for His people. John 10:11,15; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32- Paul clearly limits the application of who will be saved in the next verse 8:33 and in the next verse mentions Christ death as a reason why no one shall bring a charge against the elect-8:34; Ephesians 5:25; John 6:37-39; 17:9, 20; Romans 5:10 speaks of reconciliation while we were still enemies to God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He says for "our" sake. Galatians 3:13 says God redeemed "us."
      

   2. General redemption or Unlimited Atonement
      

• John 1:29 says, "takes away the sin of the world
  
• John 3:16 says, "world" and "whoever"
  
• John 6:51 says, "life of the world"
  
• 2 Corinthians 5;19 says, Reconciling the "world."
  
• 1 John 2:2 says, "sins of the whole world."
  
• 1 Timothy 2:6 says, "a ransom for all."
  
• Hebrews 2:9 says, "taste death for everyone."
  

1. Points agreed upon