BIBLE DOCTRINE II
LECTURE 9
CHRISTOLOGY – THE ATONEMENT II
The following are excerpts from Robert Sargeant’s ebook “Landmarks of Baptist Doctrine”
TERMS OF ATONEMENT
There are a number of words, mostly Biblical terms, which are used to describe the nature of our Lord’s death on the
cross. One word will not do justice to the great atoning work of Christ. [The following are words that are found in the
Bible that relate to and better explain ‘the atonement’: Substitution, Propitiation, Redemption, Reconciliation,
Sacrificial].
Substitution
Christ’s death was a substitutionary death, which means He died in the place of another. “Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8)
[Were we suppose to die on the cross? No. His death on the cross was what God the Father required in order for sinful
man to be saved. Jesus surely was not going to suffer in Hell for eternity for us. Thus, this substitution is not a direct
one in every aspect.]
(Is 53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.
(2Co 5:21) For he hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.
Christ’s death was vicarious . This is another word for substitution and means Christ died on behalf of another.
A vicar is one who takes the place of another and acts in his stead. (Hence the blasphemy of the papal claim to be the
“Vicar of Christ” on earth!)
Christ did not die for His own sins, but for the sins of others.
(1 Peter 2:24) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
(1 Pe 3:18) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust….
Propitiation
Christ’s death was propitiatory. Propitiation means to ‘appease,’ ‘placate,’ or ‘pacify.’ Jesus Christ appeased the wrath of
God by becoming our Covering. He hides our sinfulness, making us holy in the sight of God. When God looks at the
Christian He does not see a sinner, but Christ.
(Ro 3:25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.
(1 Jn 2:2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Christ’s death was expiatory. This [is another term which means ‘to appease’]. Christ’s death was expiatory in that sin
was fully paid for and satisfied the Law of God. His death removed the guilt of sin by canceling and purging it.
Redemption
Christ’s death was redemptive . The word “redemption” or “redeem” has to do with the thought of purchasing, buying
back, or ransoming. The ransom is not paid to Satan, but to the Justice of God. The sinner is enslaved by sin, but Jesus
Christ has paid the price in full.
(Matt 20:28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for
many.
(Gal 3:13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:…
(Titus 2:14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works.
(Eph 1:7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,…
Reconciliation
Through the death of Christ, man is reconciled (“restored”) to fellowship with God.
(Rom 5:10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
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(2 Co 5:18-20) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
Sacrificial
[A sacrifice involves a giving of something significant in order for the betterment of another; Jesus sacrificed His
physical life for the eternal redemption of all].
(Eph 5:2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweetsmelling savour.
(Heb 10:12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
(Heb 9:26) …now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(John 1:29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world.
There was great suffering through Jesus’ persecution and crucifixion, but the ultimate suffering was when His Father
turned His back upon Him!...
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
Note: One of the cornerstones of Pentecostal and charismatic theology is that there is physical healing in the atonement. These groups
generally believe that the death of Christ provides both spiritual and physical salvation, primarily based upon 1 Pe 2:24, “Who his own self
bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed”. But,
the context of this is dealing only with spiritual healing (salvation)… nothing is directly mentioned about physical healing.
THE BLOOD OF THE ATONEMENT
Like Cain of old, man naturally wants a bloodless gospel — a way of salvation based upon personal labor. The thought of
the bloody cross is an offense to the sinner, because it (above all else) declares his true condition in the sight of a
thrice-holy God. Bible-believers have long been ridiculed for their “slaughterhouse religion.” Several modern
(per)versions of the Bible omit references to the blood of Christ, along with a number of the newer Hymn books
produced by modernistic and contemporary organizations.
According to the Bible, the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to the atonement.
(Lev 17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for
your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
The shed blood of Jesus Christ has done so, so very much for our salvation:
We are ______ by the blood of Jesus Christ: justified (Ro 5:9), propitiated (Ro 3:25), redeemed (Eph 1:7), cleansed (1 Jn
1:7, reconciled (Col 1:20), sanctified (Hb 10:29), victorious (Rv 12:11).
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Blood and Death
Heb 9:22 … and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Matt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Furthermore, God has plainly indicated that both death and the shedding of blood are necessary and essential in
atonement. The Passover Lamb illustrates this truth. In Exodus 12:13, God said, “when I see the blood, I will pass over
you ‘not “when I see the death!” However, the shedding of blood also required the life of the lamb, for if the blood
alone was all that was necessary then the lamb could have simply been bled. God’s prescribed penalty for sin is death by
the shedding of blood. Jesus Christ had to bleed and then die!
Rom 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
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Col 1:20-22 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him,
I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
OT vs. NT
Like a crimson cord, the doctrine of the blood runs through the Bible. It begins immediately after the entrance of sin and
the fall of man in Genesis 3:21, and continues through to the last book, Revelation (1:5; 19:13).
The offerings and sacrifices detailed in the Old Testament were blood sacrifices. The Book of Hebrews explains these to
be types (shadows), pointing to God’s perfect sacrifice in His Son Jesus Christ.
Heb 10:4-7 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings
and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to
do thy will, O God.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the
way, nailing it to his cross;
Heb 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say
unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, … 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Note: The student is encouraged to obtain a copy of The Blood of His Cross by Dr. Al Lacy (if at all possible) for a discussion on the
physiological aspects of human blood and the transmittal of the bloodline through the father.
AN UNLIMITED ATONEMENT
For centuries there has been much heated controversy over the ‘value’ of Christ’s atoning [blood and] death. Calvinists
teach a “limited atonement”— holding the death of Christ to be sufficient only for the elect. [Thus, they believe that
Jesus’ blood was not shed for all men’s sins, just for the elect’s. So-called “Four-point Calvinists” reject the notion of a
limited atonement, but this is somewhat academic since they believe that only the elect can be saved.
During the 18TH and 19TH centuries, English Baptists were divided over this issue: the Particular Baptists believing in a
limited atonement for a particular group (the elect), and the General Baptists holding to a general atonement.
The atonement of Jesus Christ is unlimited in invitation, but limited in its application.
John 1:29 …Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Heb 2:9 …that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name:
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1 Tim 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
[Just because Jesus made atonement for the soul of every man, not every man is automatically bound for heaven. They
each mus personally have that blood applied to the doorposts of their own heart: repentance and faith.
THE FINALITY OF THE ATONEMENT
The atonement of Christ was complete, final, never to be repeated!
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, IT IS FINISHED: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (Jn
19:30).
Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this
he did once, when he offered up himself (Hebrews 7:27).
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But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God ... For by one offering
he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Heb 10:12,14).
