The Atonement

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Category: The Gospel And Its Ministry | Mar 1979

"Preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2). In this concise phrase the veteran apostle defines the primary task of the Christian evangelist. Such a solemn responsibility is a constant burden, yet at the same time it is a stimulating challenge, to every true gospel preacher. He knows he must handle the word of God faithfully, and that if he fails to do so his ministry will be found wanting. It will be lacking in that indefinable quality which the Puritans referred to as 'unction'. The preacher's authority lies not in himself but with the Master who sends him. He may have a ready tongue, outstanding powers of persuasion, and a winsome personality. But whatever talents he possesses must be subservient to his main business, which is to preach the word. And if he is to do this he must, above all else, feed his mind from the Holy Scriptures, waiting humbly in God's presence for the Spirit's light on the sacred page. Thus only will he become, to use further words of the apostle Paul, "nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine ..." (1 Tim. 4:6).

The words of the Faith

The Christian Faith has been committed to us in words. In this series of articles some of the great 'key' words of the gospel will come under review. We will be searching for the meaning of these words because they are vital to the understanding of the authentic gospel. It may be well, then, to re-state briefly at this point the grounds on which our belief in the inerrancy of Holy Scripture is based.

Scripture is to be distinguished from all other writing in that it is "inspired of God" (2 Tim. 3:16). This phrase is the translation of the Greek word theopneustos (from Theos, God, and pneo, to breathe) God-breathed. We accept that Inspiration extends to the very words of the original autographs. Words are vehicles of thought, and profound thought needs precise definition. The mind of God is disclosed in the words used by the writers of the sixty-six books in our Bibles: "Men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). This does not mean that the writing was mechanical. The faculties of the writers were in full operation, the Holy Spirit controlling without superseding the human personality. We can go no further than this in defining how the inerrancy of Scripture was ensured. The divine and human blended in a way we cannot fathom: "In combining His divine power in perfect union with the exercise of man's faculties, God was surely able to effect results accurate in every detail in spite of natural fallibility. The divine ray, while using the human medium through which it passed, yet retained its own purity" (Westcott). We are fully aware that the doctrine of inspiration as defined above is now widely discarded, and that, to the dismay of many believers, it is being surrendered by some leading 'conservative' theologians. We submit that any view of inspiration which deprives the words of Scripture of their absolute integrity is untenable.

The Good Doctrine

Salvation, as was emphasized in the opening article of this series, is "by grace... through faith". It is not to be expected that the convicted sinner will grasp at once the great fundamentals of the Faith. But the preacher, if he is to be a competent workman, needs a working knowledge of what we might call (for want of a better term) the 'mechanics' of the gospel. That is to say, the principles on which it is based, how it is adapted to man's desperate plight, the perfection of its structure, the glory of its achievement, and so on. For this purpose the preacher will pay special attention to the apostle Paul's exposition of the doctrine of the gospel in the epistle to the Romans. The more he quarries in that mine of spiritual wealth the more he will be impressed with the magnitude and solemnity of the task he has undertaken, and of his need of divine grace to fulfil it. "No message can match the gospel in the vastness and profundity of the matters with which it deals... The master-themes of Scripture demand a lifetime of study, and will occupy a lifetime of preaching" (J.B. Watson). And if, in conscious weakness, the preacher cries, as did Paul, "Who is sufficient for these things?" let him take courage from this assuring answer, "our sufficiency is from God" (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5), and from the apostle's exposition of the role of the human medium in gospel preaching, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves" (2 Cor. 4:7).

Atonement

Contemporary theologians of the various schools use this word in a somewhat loose way. It is evident that it means different things to different people. Therefore it is most desirable to rid our minds of any ambiguity and be clear precisely what we mean when we use the word.

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word kipper is usually translated "make atonement". In the New Testament of the Authorised Version (1611) the word 'atonement' appears once only, in Rom. 5:11, where it is

the translation of the Greek noun katallage. The Revisers (1881) discarded the word 'atonement' (Rom. 5:11) and replaced it with the rendering 'reconciliation'. Why did they do this? Because, "Words are not static things, they change their meanings with the passage of time. Many words used in the A.V. no longer possess in current English the meanings they had in 1611. A most important example is the word 'atonement', one of the great technical terms of theology. When 'to atone' still had its etymological force 'to make at one' then 'atonement' (as in A.V.) was quite a suitable rendering for Gk katallage in Rom. 5:11. But 'atonement' has long ceased to mean 'reconciliation', and its continued use leads to confusion of thought on a theme of the greatest importance" (F.F. Bruce).

The Revisers were evidently right in preferring 'reconciliation' to 'atonement' in Rom. 5:11. W.E. Vine concurs, "The A.V. rendering 'atonement' (Rom. 5:11) is incorrect... We do not receive atonement. What we receive is the result, namely, reconciliation" (Vine's Expository Dictionary; see in full, helpful note under 'reconcile').See also Notes on Romans, "Reconciliation . . . is not atonement" (J. Miller).

When considering New Testament terms that refer to the death of Christ we should always bear in mind that the thought of the apostles was steeped in concepts from the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant, all of which foreshadowed the one great Sacrifice. Further, the Spirit who guided the prophets to portray the coming One, and the salvation He would accomplish, was also in control of the New Testament writers. Under His guidance they interpreted the significance of the types and shadows of the Mosaic economy which, although superseded, are on record "for our learning". Moreover, the New Testament writers were familiar with the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament and with the Greek terms used in that version as the equivalents of the original Hebrew. This, too, influenced their thought and their writings. The Septuagint was used by God to prepare for the dissemination of the gospel world-wide. Hitherto Greek had been a pagan language. This translation, however, "did most to fix the idiom and form of the Greek for the expression of religious ideas. ... For two centuries and a half this Greek Bible worked into the hearts and minds of the dispersed Jews, and words that before in pagan Greece and Rome meant little beyond the mortal and perishable of this world, took on a new meaning - fired with the flame of the sacred Hebrew" (Huddilston). So, under divine guidance, Greek became the language in which the New Testament was written. It was spoken and read throughout the Roman world. It has been called "the flower of all languages". And modern research has established that the Greek of the New Testament was that of the marketplace, the everyday speech of the people, more readily translatable into other tongues than its Classic parent-speech.

"Propitiation"

We now comment briefly on this important term. Reference has already been made to the Hebrew word kipper which is used frequently in the Old Testament and rendered mostly "make atonement". Two variations of this rendering ('pitch', Gen. 6:14, and 'appease', Gen. 32:20) give a clue to the meaning of the Hebrew word. Noah was commanded to cover the ark with pitch. When Jacob went to meet his brother Esau he approached him under cover of the present he sent on before. The purpose of this was to turn away Esau's anger, to 'appease' him. There is an easy transition of thought in these two renderings. In the Septuagint, the Greek equivalent to kipper is hilaskomai.

Hilaskomai is used twice in the Greek New Testament: Luke 18:13, where it is translated "be merciful", and Hebrews 2:17 "make propitiation" (R.V.). The noun hilasmos is used twice, 1 John 2:2; 4:10, translated "the propitiation", and hilasterion, twice: R6mans 3:25, "a propitiation" and Hebrews 9:5, "mercy-seat". Of these New Testament references four only are directly related to the death of Christ. But frequent references throughout the Scriptures to the "wrath" of God demonstrate that if guilty men are to be reconciled to Him means must be found to avert that wrath. Man's fearful guilt and God's perfect hatred of everything that is evil have created a gulf which from the human side cannot be bridged. And a just God can "by no means clear the guilty". This grave problem can be resolved in one way only, by means of a propitiatory sacrifice.

The publican who went into the Temple to pray perceived what all sinners who seek peace with God must learn; that propitiation is the only way of bridging the gulf between a holy God and His sinful creature. "God", he prayed, smiting his breast, "be merciful (be propitiated, R.V.M.) to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

Sin - its nature and consequences

In his article in last month's Needed Truth our co-worker J.L. Ferguson examined the fearful nature of sin and its consequences to mankind. He showed from Scripture that the sins of individuals are the fruit of the universal depravity of Adam's race. This is known to theology as Original Sin. Actual sin is the acts committed by such and such a person at such and such a time. Original Sin is the state of alienation from God which lies behind.

The social consequences of sin are as appalling in this late 20th century as they have ever been. Because sin is a plague wherever man is found it is accepted as inevitable - something to be tolerated and lived with. If in some degree it can be brought under control, or kept in check, so that men can live together in reasonable amity, that is the best to be made of the situation. This shallow conception of the problem of sin is behind all human expedients to come to terms with it. But the Scripture treatment of sin exposes its most damning feature, that all sin is anti-God. It is the challenge of the creature to his Creator. Not until this is recognized can the true guilt of man, and his desperate plight, be appraised. King David's terrible lapse is a case in point. Even a man after God's own heart can succumb to the worst of crimes (2 Sam. 11). His offence against Uriah the Hittite was the ultimate in infamy. But when his sin was exposed to his awakened conscience he cried in deep distress, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in Thy sight" (Psa. 51:4). And, if never before, it now came home to him that, like all other men, his heart was desperately wicked. "Behold," he exclaimed, not as an excuse for his sin but in the realization that it arose from the very depths of his nature, "I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (v.5).

Before setting forth the exceeding grace of God to sinners, the apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, embarked on a thorough analysis of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Every true preacher of the gospel will not only study that analysis but also recognize in it a picture of himself. This is a superficial age. One of its 9utstanding characteristics is the lack of a sense of sin. This emphasizes the need to keep in the forefront of the message the desperate plight of the sinner. One notable feature of the Puritans' preaching was their heavy emphasis on 'the terrors of law and of God'. Some have thought the emphasis was excessive and produced an inevitable reaction. Whether that be so or~ not, there can be no doubt that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. This shift of emphasis may have contributed to the complacency of many uncommitted believers. Shallow preaching will not result in deep spiritual response. "Where there is no vivid consciousness of the guilt of sin, there can be no deep craving for the Forgiveness of sin, no serious sense of the need of an Atonement for sin, and no real belief in the awful fact that Christ died for the sins of the world" (Dale).

Pardon from an offended God

Since the gulf between a rebellious race and an offended God can never

be bridged from the human side, any initiative must come from the offended One. And if mercy is to be extended and pardon granted it must be on grounds consistent with the righteousness and judgement that are the foundation of His throne. The principle of substitutionary sacrifice was embedded and exemplified in the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. It was the basis of God's relations with His people, Israel. And it was clearly prophetic, pointing on to the one great Sacrifice which would be the basis of reconciliation and peace with God. The good news to be proclaimed is that God took the initiative and, according to promise, provided that Sacrifice, and thus demonstrated finally and gloriously that His love for man is unquenchable. The great sacrificial Victim on the cross "bore the wrath to sinners due", and God's anger was averted from the sinner. His death was the means of propitiation. "Love found a way"!

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and

sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

In its scriptural connotation the term propitiation does not imply that man uses the death of Christ as a means of appeasing God. Propitiation is God's work, God's provision. "It is an act initiated by the grace of God on behalf of sinners. It is not something that sinners have to do in order to appease God" (F.F. Bruce).

The terms 'penal', 'vicarious' and 'substitutionary' are among the terms used by theologians in discussion of this aspect of the death of Christ. Space forbids discussion of them here. (Appended to this article is a short Bibliography. Students wishing to study these points in greater depth will be enriched by referring to one or more of these books. And they will be better equipped to assess and combat the serious errors which are prevalent on this all-important subject).

One other matter we should refer to is whether the translation 'expiation', preferred to 'propitiation' in some modern versions, is an adequate one. It is conceded that the Greek verb hilaskomai and its nouns may have either meaning, yet the context of their use in the New Testament strongly favours the rendering 'propitiation'. 'Expiation' which means, "to pay the penalty of, or make satisfaction for", is a much weaker word. It does not necessarily imply a substitutionary sacrifice. If its use in place of 'propitiation' is designed to exclude that aspect of the death of Christ which has to do with the turning away of divine wrath from the sinner, then it fails to do justice to the Scriptural concept. Thus, "One fears that modern translators have been influenced by their refusal to admit the wrath of God" (J. Stafford Wright).

The doctrine of the Atonement as outlined in this short study is offensive to the so-called 'liberal' theologians. The arguments they use are set out, and adequately refuted, in the books listed in the Bibliography. In the main they reject the doctrine of inspiration, as outlined at the commencement of this article, and then proceed to pick and choose from the document which is the foundation of the Christian Faith. When a professedly Christian teacher expresses himself, "Sometimes I think Paul is wrong, and I have ventured to say so" (C. H. Dodd), then we prefer Paul to the learned doctor. But it is the more disconcerting when a 'conservative' scholar, widely respected by evangelicals as a reliable Bible expositor, admits that the penal substitutionary view of the meaning of the cross is found in Scripture, yet rejects it on other grounds as untenable. "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?"

Returning now to our earlier question, What do we mean when we use the word 'atonement'? The answer, we suggest, is that in its present common use 'atonement' means, "The satisfaction offered by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of men". In this use it is the foundational truth of the gospel. All the Christian blessings (forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, justification, sanctification) depend on atonement. Often the term THE ATONEMENT is used in an inclusive sense, not improperly, we suggest, to comprise the whole content of Salvation. Thus,

THE ATONEMENT -->

PROPITIATION (Gr.hilasterion) -->

Forgiveness Redemption -->

Reconciliation Justification -->

Sanctification

In concluding this study the writer invites readers to pause so that together we may reflect on the amazing grace of God demonstrated in His saving work. Consider, first, our personal involvement in the guilt of our race, and then, the agonizing unavoidable consequence that Another must be "stricken, smitten, and afflicted" in our stead. That at the cross, where sin was exposed "in all its blackest hue" by the foulest crime in human history, the One "wounded for our transgressions" was none Other than the Son of God Himself. It was, wrote Paul, "the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself up for me". Amazing, yet gloriously true! My salvation and yours was worked out by the Son of God as He hung on that Roman cross. In lonely grief, forsaken by God, He uttered the cry all creation awaited, "it is finished". As we reflect, may Paul's noble resolve echo in each of our hearts:

"Far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ"

(Gal. 6:14).

Bibliography

*The Atonement (R. W. Dale).

*The Scripture Doctrine of The Atonement (Prof. T. J. Crawford).

The Death of Christ (James Denney).

The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Leon Morris, very valuable).

Notes on Romans (J. Miller).

*The Gospel and its Ministry (Sir R. Anderson - the chapters on Grace and The Cross are worth their weight in gold).

*These are out of print but second-hand, copies are worth searching for.

T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Mar 1979
The Gospel And Its Ministry