|
HOUSMAIL HM113 22
January 2004 WHAT DO YOU MEAN
-- ATONEMENT? In the Bible, "Atonement" is a word which
is used to describe what happens when sinners are reconciled to God through a
process of repentance and forgiveness. Although some tender hearts have great
difficulty with the concept of "blood sacrifice" of any kind, (and others
make rather too much of it!) it is nevertheless true that in the Bible, forgiveness
of sin, and payment of a "ransom" by a "blood sacrifice" are
inextricably bound together. So also are the requirements for an appropriate heart's
response to the conditional offer of forgiveness, with its non-negotiable call
to radical obedience, as taught by Jesus in His Gospel. (Good News) It is unfortunate that what Jesus managed to say in
just a few one line quotes, and Paul and Peter later "explained" in
a handful of verses scattered over several epistles, has since been "expanded"
by so called "scholars" into countless thousands of pages of conflicting
theories about how it works. I simply cannot believe that one must read and sort
out the tangle of all that complicated theological gobbledegook, in order to be
"saved". It has to be much simpler than that. THE
ATONEMENT IS FOR "BABES". It is
interesting to note that the word «atonement» appears in the New Testament ONLY
ONCE! Jesus Himself did not use the word at all, when preaching the Good News!
Of course that does not mean that he said nothing about being reconciled to God!
Nor does it mean that it is not in the Bible elsewhere. Nor does it mean that
it is not important. But it does mean that Jesus thought He could preach the Gospel
to "babes" (Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21) without using the word
itself! (makes you think doesn't it!) WHAT
DOES THE WORD MEAN? To understand
what the Bible says about this subject, we should start with the meaning of the
word itself. ENGLISH Our
English word AT-ONE-MENT, comes from OLD ENGLISH which means the state of being
AT ONE. i.e. those so related, have a common cause. It is thus a fitting word
to describe what Christ has achieved for us. If we accept its conditions we can
be at one with God -- in heart, mind, and will!! HEBREW In the
Old Testament, it is two Hebrew words (KAPHAR and KIPPUR) which mean "cover"
or "covering". KAPHAR
refers more specifically to the personal blood sacrifices which were required
from individual sinners, as part of the process by which they could be forgiven. KIPPUR
does have other uses, but the best known is a reference to a special annual Jewish
religious festival, called the "Day of Atonement". (Yom Kippur) This
was a feast ordained by God, when an annual blood sacrifice was offered by the
High Priest, to "cover" the sins of the nation. We don't
have space here to discuss all of this in detail. However it might be helpful
to briefly consider the personal blood sacrifices made by individuals, in order
to receive forgiveness and pardon. Leviticus 1:1-4 tells us that the repentant sinner was required to bring an animal
from his herd, lay his hand on its head and kill it before the LORD. It was then
to be laid on the altar and consumed completely as a burnt offering. It is
not difficult to see the intended meaning. By laying his hand on its head, the
sinner identified himself with the animal about to be slaughtered. He was offering
the animal in place of himself. He was confronted with the reality of death! He
was confessing that in truth, he was the one who should be dead, just like the
animal he was offering. And instead, through accepting the death of the animal
in his place, God was forgiving his sin and pardoning him from the penalty which
would otherwise be his. Problem though! An animal life is NOT an equal exchange
for a human! Solution? We read in Hebrews, that it all pointed forward to the
reality of Jesus as the HUMAN fulfilment of the prophecy which lay behind the
symbols in those Old Testament ritual sacrifices. GREEK In the
New Testament «Atonement» is a Greek word (Katallage)
which appears in the Greek text four times but is translated as "atonement"
only once. (Romans 5:11 KJV) On
the other three occasions it is translated "reconciliation", (twice),
and "reconciling", (once). According to Thayers
Greek Lexicon, the basic meaning is "exchange". It has to do with the
business of money changers, and the exchange of currencies to equivalent values
in others. It is thus a fitting word to describe what happens when a sinner is
"translated" from the "dominion of darkness" to the "Kingdom
of Christ" through a change in inner spiritual nature. WHAT
IS IT MEANT TO ACHIEVE? The
common "Scholar's mistake" is to concentrate too much on the "mechanical"
theory of HOW IT WORKS. However, reconciliation with God is a practical living
relationship -- NOT mental assent to a technical theory. Its usefulness is to
be measured by whether or not the desired results have been achieved in actual
real life practice. Has God really come down from Heaven to make His home with
us? (John 14:23, 2 Corinthians 6:16-18) The Good News is meant
to teach us how to make that happen. THE
GOALS Atonement
has the following specific goals: 1. It is God's response to the convicted and repentant sinner's heart's
cry for forgiveness and reconciliation. 2. It is God's way of changing our heart's attitude towards Himself
in order to establish a friendly personal relationship -- but it can do that only
if we believe and respond to the commandments inherent in the Good News preached
by Jesus. 3. It is God's doorway of entry to a life of discipleship, in which
Jesus can prepare us to share His inheritance in the Kingdom which will be established
on earth, in the "Age to Come". 4. It is the public confession that the sinner has broken God's law,
and that a death penalty has been incurred. 5. It is God's provision for the sinner to be forgiven, and thereby
be released from the overwhelming burden of a guilty conscience. 6. It is the public confession that what has happened to the sacrificial
animal, offered in "blood sacrifice", is a demonstration of what should
really happen to the sinner if the sacrifice is not accepted. 7. It is the outward token and expression of a broken spirit and a contrite
heart. (Psalm 51:17) 8. It is the means by which sin is forgiven, a pardon is granted, and
the penalty is cancelled. (Note that all three of these are part of the "process".
None of them can stand alone without the others) 9. It is the means by which God publicly expresses the justice of His
past and continuing "forbearance", while the sinner is permitted to
work out his probation for conditional immortality. (Romans 2:6-9, Romans 3:23-25) THE
"BEGINNERS VERSION" OF THE ATONEMENT At its
simplest "beginner's version" bottom line, the sacrifice of Jesus, and
the meaning behind His use of the word «ransom» (Mark 10:45) can probably be condensed
to THREE simple questions and answers. Q1.
Who was on the cross? A. Jesus. Q2.
Who should have been on the cross? A. If
I got what my sins deserved, I should have been there on that cross! -- NOT Jesus.
Q3.
What has it achieved? A. At
this point each of us must speak personally and honestly before God for ourselves.
RECONCILIATION
WITH GOD -- THE DESIRED RESULT The
bottom line is that the Atonement is meant to reconcile us to God,
and if we are truly Brethren, it is also supposed to reconcile us with each other
-- sacrificially! (John 13:34) Note
that both of these are necessary! They are the TWO most important commandments
of all! (Matthew 22:36-39, Luke 10:25-28) You cannot have one without
the other! (1 John 4:20-21) Our
heart's attitude towards our brother, is a mirror of the quality of our love for
God. If it
hasn't done THAT for us, we haven't understood it yet at all! And we certainly
haven't believed it in a way which could save us from enslavement to our sins,
and from the penalty which is reserved for unrepentant sinners at the final Judgement. In John's
Gospel, Jesus allows the WORLD the right to judge the quality of our Discipleship
-- by that simple test. God is LOVE -- the presence of that sort of love in us
is the evidence that God lives within the temple of our bodies. PRAISE GOD! The
fulfilment of that Gospel promise lies at the very heart of all the rest of it! Allon |