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Preaching the Atonement
Introduction How do we preach the Atonement to postmodern people? This depends on how we understand it. Historically, the Atonement has been understood in three ways. Each of these perspectives are biblical and complementary. Today, however, postmodern people reject one of the views in particular. In this article we will:
The Three Views of the Atonement The Gospels record Christ’s death but they do not discuss its meaning in any depth. This happens in the other writings of the New Testament. There, we find a variety of descriptions that complement each other. Each of these descriptions portrays the Atonement in relation to one of the following aspects of God's character: The Victory of God The Love of God The Justice of God
Historically, this led to the development of three distinct "views" or "theories" about the Atonement, each based on one of these aspects of God's character. VIEW ONE: Christus Victor (Christ the Victor) Christus Victor is the name given to the view that Christ triumphed over the spiritual forces of evil by his death and resurrection (see Hebrews 2:14-17 and Col 1:13-14). The early church especially loved this view as they battled demonic powers and defended God’s honor. Today, some theologians describe this as the “original view,” even though the other two views are also reflected in the biblical data. VIEW TWO: Abelard’s Moral Influence View While Christus Victor trumpets the triumph of God, Peter Abelard's view of the Atonement emphasizes the love of God. In Christ's sacrifice we see the love of God displayed. When we recognize this, we can learn to emulate it in our lives (see 1 John 4:7-12). Abelard was an early humanist who lived 1079-1142 AD. Historically, his view has been associated with humanist and liberal tendencies in Christianity. VIEW THREE: Substitutionary Atonement The third view of the Atonement stresses the justice of God. We have sinned against a holy God, who is our Judge. Our sin places us under God’s judicial sentence — what the Bible calls the "wrath of God." However, in love, God has commuted our sentence by his own action. Out of mercy, God provided himself to be the substitute. On the Cross, Christ experienced the wrath of God, providing an Atonement for us (see Romans 1:18-3:26). This view emphasizes the mercy and unmerited grace of God's salvation. Historically, it was emphasized in the Protestant Reformation. The Attack upon Substitutionary Atonement Today, the third view of the Atonement — substitutionary atonement — has come under vicious attack. Postmodern people: 1. sense no need for an Atonement since they don’t believe in sin 2. have lost an awareness of the holiness of God 3. do not believe that God is a judge 4. do not understand why Christ’s death was unique and important 5. consider blood sacrifices distasteful Accordingly, some theologians — including some from the emergent church movement — have sought to do away with substitutionary atonement. They: 1. regard it as a late development — reflecting medieval legal thought 2. react to it as "pagan" — the placating of an angry god 3. call it “cosmic child abuse” —an angry Father who tortures a Son 4. affirm that violence is not needed to effect redemption 5. link it to “abusive churches” who have a "theology of violence" 6. say it has “potentially vicious and disastrous social and political implications” (Kim Fabricius) 7. teach that atonement is better understood "relationally," not legally 8. offer a new, alternative view of the Atonement 9. emphasize the positive implications of this new view for human relationships The New View of the Atonement Today, a new view of the Atonement is being offered which totally disregards the judicial aspects found in substitutionary atonement. The new view is a re-packaging of "Christus Victor," with some "Peter Abelard" thrown in for seasoning. It asserts that Christ’s death is a display of the love of God that delivers us from the corrupting powers of this world. By the cross we learn how to live in God’s right way. The adherents of this new view are fundamentally opposed to substitutionary atonement. They affirm that Christ did not suffer God's wrath for us as a substitute, nor is Christ’s righteousness transferred to us. Rather, we become right with God simply by living in God’s right way. They also assert that: 1. Christ’s sacrifice does not appease God; instead, it "cleanses" us from evil. 2. The cross is not a legal transaction, but a display of the love of God. 3. God did not kill Jesus. Hate did. 4. God did not defeat evil with violence, but with non-violence. 5. Love overcame hate. 6. This leads to a "theology of reconciliation" that promotes peace in the world. The New View Evaluated The new view freshly emphases the victory and love of God. It fails, however, to respect the justice of God. It is not fully balanced. Consider the following: 1. In the Bible, substitution is the dominant image for the Atonement. It is not secondary and so it cannot be easily dismissed. 2. Similarly, the judicial aspects of the Atonement are clearly described in the New Testament and cannot be ignored. 3. No responsible theologian teaches substitutionary atonement to be “an angry Father who demands the death of a Son.” That’s a pagan conception and a clear case of “cosmic child abuse.” The actual teaching is that the demands of God’s holiness become satisfied in the depths of God’s love. The Incarnation and Atonement are God’s preordained plan for the redemption of the world. 4. No responsible theologian teaches that God killed Jesus. Although the Atonement is a part of God’s preordained plan, human hate killed Jesus. The violence of the cross is solely ours. Substitutionary atonement is not a theology of divine violence, but of divine love. 5. Accordingly, substitutionary atonement does not cause a church to be “abusive” and a promoter of violence. To say so is itself violent and prejudicial since these churches often do many acts of mercy and justice. 6. The new view eliminates the need for an Atonement. Who needs a death to know God’s love and follow God’s way when we could simply listen to God’s teaching? But this turns Christianity into a moral code. “The Atonement protects us from our native tendency to replace religion with morality.” (Mark Dever) Atonement in the New Testament What does the New Testament say about the Atonement? The following are representative verses about the meaning of the death of Christ. All three classic views of the Atonement are seen in these verses, although substitutionary atonement appears to be the dominant image. Jesus considered his death to be a part of God’s plan: Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Compare Mk 8:31 and Lk 9:22). Matthew 17:22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." (Mk 9:31, Lk 9:44) Matthew 20:18-28 "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" ... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mk 10:33-34, Lk 18:31-33) Jesus considered his death to be a ransom: Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus describes his death as a substitution: John 3:14 "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." Paul describes Christ’s death as a part of God’s plan: From 1 Cor 15:3-8 ... Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve ... Paul considered Christ’s death to be substitutionary: 2 Cor 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Rom 3:20-25 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. ... From Rom 5:6-11 ... But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Rom 8:3-4 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Eph 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding Phil 3:9 ... and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Col 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Perspectives from other New Testament writings: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Heb 2:14-17 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Heb 9:26-28 But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. These verses show that Christ's death is: 1. a sacrifice 2. an atonement 3. a substitution 4. the plan of God 5. the fullest manifestation of God's love 6. a propitiation (averting the wrath of God from us) 7. an imputation of Christ's righteousness to us 8. God's way of reconciliation with us 9. the conquest of Satan 10. a deliverance from bondage to sin and emptiness 11. the creation of a new humanity Teaching the Atonement Today How do we preach the Atonement to postmodern people? All three classical views of the Atonement are needed to comprehend the death of Christ. In the Atonement we see displayed God's Victory, Love and Justice. As Mark Dever said, “A Christ who wins victory over the powers of evil, whose death changes us, and whose death propitiates God is not only conceivable, he seems to be the Bible's composite presentation.” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/may/9.29.html). The New Testament clearly describes Christ’s death as a substitution. The Bible's stress on the utter holiness of God, the reality of sin and the truth of God as a judge can only be resolved in a substitutionary atonement. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21). Judicial imagery occurs because we have sinned and God is a judge. Still, legal imagery does not convey the full meaning of Christ’s death. It is not a mere legal transaction — "your sin for God's pardon. Deal done." We dare not speak in cold, forensic terms. People also need to experience and feel the Power and the Love of God. Brennan Manning is a contemplative priest and author. His favorite verse is Luke 15:20, about the Prodigal Son. He renders it as: "While they were still a long way off, his father saw him and was deeply moved with compassion. He ran to him, clasped him in his arms, and he couldn't stop kissing him. He simply could not stop kissing him." When we give people the Gospel, we want them to feel the Father embracing them and kissing them and not being able to stop. They need to see justice and mercy come to them. They need to feel our compassion and involvement. Many of us know the story of Maximilian Kolbe, the priest who volunteered to die in a Nazi concentration camp for another prisoner. Can you imagine being the man who lived because Fr. Kolbe died? His name was Franciszek Gajowniczek. Every day, as he woke up, what would he feel like as he remembered the Sacrifice? In 1972, 150,000 people made a pilgrimage to the Auschwitz camp to honor the memory of Fr. Kolbe. At that time Gajowniczek said the simple but heartfelt words, "I want to express my thanks for the gift of life." In 1994, a year before his death, he said as long as he has breath in his lungs, he would consider it his duty to tell people about the heroic act of love by Maximilian Kolbe. When we preach the Atonement, we want our listeners to feel like Franciszek Gajowniczek. Article Photo: 'Cross on Mt Erebus', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/erebus-cross, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 15-Nov-2007
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