Thoughts on the Atonement
Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:47 pm
Recently I was struggling with trying to piece together all the main points of the atonement, so I decided to write up a short explanation for myself of what the atonement is all about. It is meant to be a summary and not an in-depth treatise. I am posting it below for feedback and discussion.
Just a quick note on my methodology. I often find it more helpful to restate things in my own words rather than quoting Scripture. Being a Bible translator has taught me that often I don't have a good understanding of the real meaning of many Scriptural words, and it is only when I try to restate them in my own words that I get a fuller grasp of their meaning. For that reason, I do not quote Scripture in my write up. At the same time, I believe that my write up is fully based on Scripture.
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There are three consequences of our sin: (1) we become indebted to God (2) we become stained by sin and (3) we become imprisoned to sin, death, and Satan.
The debt that we owe to God is greater than we could ever repay. But God in his love, mercy, and grace, freely forgives the debt that we owe him, when we turn for our sins and trust in Jesus. Although God freely forgives the debt of our past sins, we still have the problem of the stain of our sin. The stain of our sin prevents us from coming into the presence of a Holy God. We are unable to cleanse ourselves from the stain of sin. But the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse us from the stain of our sin. Thus it was necessary for Jesus to shed his blood on our behalf, thereby cleansing us from our sins. Even though God forgives the debt of our sins and Jesus's blood cleanses us from the stain of sin, we still have the problem of our imprisonment to sin, death, and Satan. Yet, Jesus, by his death, gave himself as a ransom to procure our release. And by his resurrection, he demonstrated his victory over sin, death, and Satan. Thus he freed us from our captivity and transferred us into the Kingdom of God. But Jesus came not only to shed his blood to cleanse us from sin, and to rise from the dead to overcome the power of sin, death, and Satan, he also came to teach us how to live our lives in full obedience to God. While our entrance into the Kingdom of God is conditioned upon our repentance from sin and faith in Christ, our remaining in God’s Kingdom is conditioned upon loving and faithful obedience to our king, Jesus. Those who have been transferred into God’s Kingdom and then willfully and unrepentantly disregard the words of Christ will be removed from God's Kingdom, while those who walk in faithful obedience will remain in God’s Kingdom for eternity. Those who find themselves outside of God’s Kingdom on judgment day will be subject to God’s wrath, as he permanently removes sin, death, Satan, and all causes of evil from His Kingdom. Thus, by transferring us to God's Kingdom and teaching us the path of obedience to remain in God's Kingdom, Jesus also, in effect, saves us from God's wrath.
Just a quick note on my methodology. I often find it more helpful to restate things in my own words rather than quoting Scripture. Being a Bible translator has taught me that often I don't have a good understanding of the real meaning of many Scriptural words, and it is only when I try to restate them in my own words that I get a fuller grasp of their meaning. For that reason, I do not quote Scripture in my write up. At the same time, I believe that my write up is fully based on Scripture.
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There are three consequences of our sin: (1) we become indebted to God (2) we become stained by sin and (3) we become imprisoned to sin, death, and Satan.
The debt that we owe to God is greater than we could ever repay. But God in his love, mercy, and grace, freely forgives the debt that we owe him, when we turn for our sins and trust in Jesus. Although God freely forgives the debt of our past sins, we still have the problem of the stain of our sin. The stain of our sin prevents us from coming into the presence of a Holy God. We are unable to cleanse ourselves from the stain of sin. But the blood of Jesus is able to cleanse us from the stain of our sin. Thus it was necessary for Jesus to shed his blood on our behalf, thereby cleansing us from our sins. Even though God forgives the debt of our sins and Jesus's blood cleanses us from the stain of sin, we still have the problem of our imprisonment to sin, death, and Satan. Yet, Jesus, by his death, gave himself as a ransom to procure our release. And by his resurrection, he demonstrated his victory over sin, death, and Satan. Thus he freed us from our captivity and transferred us into the Kingdom of God. But Jesus came not only to shed his blood to cleanse us from sin, and to rise from the dead to overcome the power of sin, death, and Satan, he also came to teach us how to live our lives in full obedience to God. While our entrance into the Kingdom of God is conditioned upon our repentance from sin and faith in Christ, our remaining in God’s Kingdom is conditioned upon loving and faithful obedience to our king, Jesus. Those who have been transferred into God’s Kingdom and then willfully and unrepentantly disregard the words of Christ will be removed from God's Kingdom, while those who walk in faithful obedience will remain in God’s Kingdom for eternity. Those who find themselves outside of God’s Kingdom on judgment day will be subject to God’s wrath, as he permanently removes sin, death, Satan, and all causes of evil from His Kingdom. Thus, by transferring us to God's Kingdom and teaching us the path of obedience to remain in God's Kingdom, Jesus also, in effect, saves us from God's wrath.