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Doctrine 6: the Atonement

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Doctrine 6: the Atonement CALL TO ARMS • SOLDIERSHIP TRAINING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY • LEADERS NOTES DOCTRINE 6: THE ATONEMENT RECRUITS BOOK PAGE 16 “WE BELIEVE THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HAS, BY HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH, MADE AN ATONEMENT FOR THE WHOLE WORLD SO THAT WHOSOEVER WILL MAY BE SAVED” Big Ideas → Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way for humanity to be reconciled to a loving God → Biblical analogies for the atonement; ransom, punishment, sacrifice, victory and love → Understanding the generosity of the atonement should motivate us to evangelise To die on a Roman cross was a grisly and humiliating end for anyone, even more so for the Son of God—it was the ultimate act of blasphemy. How did the torture implement par excellence of the Roman Empire become the symbol of God’s love for humanity? Why do Christians wear this symbol around their necks? Why are churches across the world decorated with these Roman execution devices? Why is it that the murder of God himself in Christ is held up by Christians as the central point of God’s saving work for humanity? Leader’s Note – We can become blasé about Jesus’ death after a while. It has been a fact of history for over 2,000 years, but we need to come back to the fact that it was an astounding event which really bends the fabric of creation. In Christ, the God of the universe submitted himself to death. We should never forget how shocking that is. He who is life itself allowed himself to be killed for love. It is rather an odd claim; however it stands at the heart of the Christian faith. Paul described the paradox this way, “Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24 NRSV). To this day it can be difficult to understand why Jesus had to die, and there are many outside the church for whom this is an insurmountable difficulty. However, in the middle of it all we can say with certainty that “Once and for all, Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way for humanity to be reconciled to a loving God” (The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, p. 127). The bible doesn’t give us a single model for understanding the atonement. Rather it uses a number of different metaphors and analogies to help us understand what was going on in Jesus’ death and resurrection. This means that there is no simple way of understanding the atonement, and that each metaphor gives us part of the picture. The Salvation Army Handbook of CALL TO ARMS • SOLDIERSHIP TRAINING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY • LEADERS NOTES Doctrine highlights five of those biblical analogies and images, which taken together provide insight into the meaning of the atonement: • Ransom – the payment made to secure our freedom (Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6) In this model God made the payment to Satan to secure our freedom. The deal that Aslan makes with the White Witch inThe Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to free Edmund is an example of the Ransom model of the atonement. This view has limitations because God does not owe anyone anything, but it is a useful metaphor if you don’t push it too far. The ransom metaphor’s strength is in highlighting that when we love someone there is no ransom too high to be paid to secure their freedom if they have been taken prisoner. That is the way God feels about us and our enslavement to sin. • Punishment – the punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53:5; John 10:11- 18; 15:13) this model sees sin as a legal problem. Justice demands punishment or reparation for sins committed. Under this metaphor for the atonement the punishment for our sins is death and Jesus has taken that on himself so that in exchange we can have life. This is sometimes referred to as the “Penal Substitution” theory of the atonement. • Sacrifice – the sacrifice that restored fellowship between God and humanity (Hebrews 10:10-14; Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:25, 26; 2 Corinthians 5:21) There are two ways that sacrifice bring about reconciliation. Sacrifices of propitiation affect a change within God such that he can forgive us. Sacrifices of expiation affect a change in us such that we can be in relationship with God without guilt and shame being a barrier. • Victory – the victory over sin and powers of evil (Colossians 2:13-15) this metaphor sees sin and the devil as the enemy that keeps humans enslaved. Jesus’ death was God’s victory over sin and the kingdom of darkness. This understanding of the atonement is sometimes referred to as the “Christus Victor” theory. It was widely held by the early Christians. • Love – the self-giving love of God (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19; John 3:16; Romans 5:18, 19) ultimately the atonement is God’s act of unconditional love for all people everywhere. There is no part of human existence that Christ has not entered into and shared with us. As he lived and grew up as a human being, he has also shared in our death and separation from God. When we receive Christ in faith we then share in his resurrection life, and we come into a new relationship with God through grace. The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine reminds us that recognising the generosity of the Atonement should help us to recognise the “depth and gravity of our sin” and in repentance to “discover the joy of our salvation in Christ”. The Church’s mission then is to share the message of God’s amazing generosity to everyone in Christ and to live the message out, so that the atoning power of the Cross can be seen in our lives (pp. 132-3). Our Passover lamb In the gospel of John, Jesus’ death is understood within the Old Testament context of the Passover. In Exodus 12 God gave Moses instructions for the CALL TO ARMS • SOLDIERSHIP TRAINING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY • LEADERS NOTES first Passover. After many plagues on Egypt, Pharaoh still had not freed the people of Israel. As a final plague, God sent an angel of death through Egypt to kill all the firstborn. In order to protect the firstborn of Israel God instructed Moses that each family was to take a lamb without blemish and slaughter it on a certain day. They were to take the blood of the lamb and put it on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. They were then to eat the lamb roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. When the angel of death saw the blood on their doorposts it would pass over their home leaving them all alive. John’s gospel tells us that Jesus was crucified the day before Passover, at the time the paschal lamb was slain. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul refers to Christ as “our paschal lamb” who has been sacrificed. At the last supper when Jesus said “This is my body which is given for you” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” this was an allusion to the Passover lamb. It was Jesus saying that his death is the fulfilment of the Passover. Just as the blood of the first Passover lamb protected the firstborn of Israel from death, so Jesus’ blood protects us from eternal death. Putting belief into practice When we grasp the power of the cross means for us, to save and transform us, it should motivate us in love to share this with others. A deep understanding of the cross must result in a deep hunger for evangelism. Lifestyle commitment 8: I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up The Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in his name caring for the needy and the disadvantaged. Go for souls Evangelism is the heart and soul of Salvationism. William Booth was relentless in his pursuit of the salvation of every human being. There was no one too far outside the kingdom that they could not be brought in. “Go for souls. Go straight for souls, and go for the worst” he said. (N.B. in Booth’s time, the word soul was used to refer to the whole person. This quote refers to saving whole persons). Booth was single minded in his task, everything else in life could take care of itself, because he saw his business as getting the world saved. To be a soldier in The Salvation Army is to join in that great fight. Just in case you don’t feel called to evangelism, Booth has this to say: “‘Not called!’ did you say? ‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonised heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.” CALL TO ARMS • SOLDIERSHIP TRAINING FOR THE SALVATION ARMY • LEADERS NOTES So how do we go about doing evangelism? What are some principles? • Be ready to give an answer – 1 Peter 3:15-16 instructs us, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
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