Preaching the AtonementThe Atonement is the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross for our sins. As 1 John 2:2 says, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
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Through the centuries, the Atonement has been understood in three different ways. These views are all biblical and they complement one another. All three views are also needed to do redemptive preaching.
The Victory of God
First, the Atonement has been understood as the Victory of Christ. Crucifixion was the most shameful form of execution in the Roman world, yet Christ's death on the Cross was his triumph over Satan.
So, Hebrews 2:14-15 reads:
The Victory of God
First, the Atonement has been understood as the Victory of Christ. Crucifixion was the most shameful form of execution in the Roman world, yet Christ's death on the Cross was his triumph over Satan.
So, Hebrews 2:14-15 reads:
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Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of 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.
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In our preaching, when we direct people to the Victory of Christ on the cross, it will especially help those who are facing evil. These people may feel paralyzed by fear. We can tell them that although the worse happened to Christ — even death itself — he rose again. And we are able to assert that when we trust in Christ, no matter what happens to us, we can have a hope that will never be taken from us, since we also will rise again.
Christ’s Victory, then, gives us hope. But it also gives us confidence. Since Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness, they are actually powerless, even though they might seem momentarily omnipotent. When we trust in the Victory of Christ, it motivates us to serve and pray in the confidence that Christ will always be more powerful than evil.
The Love of God
The Atonement has also been understood as the Love of God. John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." When we know God’s love for us through the Cross, it also changes our deepest motives. Instead of living for our pride and self-centeredness, we begin showing the same sacrificial love to others that God showed to us.
As 1 John 4:10-11 explains:
Christ’s Victory, then, gives us hope. But it also gives us confidence. Since Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness, they are actually powerless, even though they might seem momentarily omnipotent. When we trust in the Victory of Christ, it motivates us to serve and pray in the confidence that Christ will always be more powerful than evil.
The Love of God
The Atonement has also been understood as the Love of God. John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." When we know God’s love for us through the Cross, it also changes our deepest motives. Instead of living for our pride and self-centeredness, we begin showing the same sacrificial love to others that God showed to us.
As 1 John 4:10-11 explains:
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This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
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Many of us know the story of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, the Catholic priest who volunteered to die in a Nazi concentration camp for another prisoner, Franciszek Gajowniczek. In 1994, a year before Franciszek Gajowniczek died, he said that as long as he could, he would tell people about the heroic act of love by Fr. Maximilian Kolbe. He was motivated by Fr. Kolbe's sacrificial love. When we preach about the Love of God in the Atonement, it similarly motivates our listeners to serve God out of gratitude.
The Justice of God
The third view of the Atonement stresses the justice of God.
We all fall short of the glory of God and lay under God’s indictment. In the Cross, however, God commutes our sentence. Christ fulfills the legal requirements of God's violated laws by becoming our substitutionary atonement (see Romans 1:18-3:26). The pardon we receive from God is not only a full pardon, it is also totally merciful and completely unmerited.
This view of the Cross helps us as we live in an unjust world. On our own, we will not love, care nor pray for evil people. We would rather see harm come to them instead, but then the Cross reminds us that we, too, are unjust. When we realize that God has forgiven us solely for the sake of Christ, it changes our motivation. It gives us the strength to forgive and the power to work for the redemption of every person. Knowing that there is a God of justice to whom all must one day give account, it frees us from seeking vengeance or retribution.
Summary
Postmodern people will reject Christianity when it is presented as a mere code of ethics. But they will respond when we preach the redemptive work of the Cross. Having said that, all three aspects of the Atonement are needed to cause this inner transformation in our motives to happen. The Victory of God gives us hope and confidence. The Love of God motivates us to live sacrificially for others. And the Justice of God enables us to forgive and to work for the redemption of all people, even our enemies.
The Justice of God
The third view of the Atonement stresses the justice of God.
We all fall short of the glory of God and lay under God’s indictment. In the Cross, however, God commutes our sentence. Christ fulfills the legal requirements of God's violated laws by becoming our substitutionary atonement (see Romans 1:18-3:26). The pardon we receive from God is not only a full pardon, it is also totally merciful and completely unmerited.
This view of the Cross helps us as we live in an unjust world. On our own, we will not love, care nor pray for evil people. We would rather see harm come to them instead, but then the Cross reminds us that we, too, are unjust. When we realize that God has forgiven us solely for the sake of Christ, it changes our motivation. It gives us the strength to forgive and the power to work for the redemption of every person. Knowing that there is a God of justice to whom all must one day give account, it frees us from seeking vengeance or retribution.
Summary
Postmodern people will reject Christianity when it is presented as a mere code of ethics. But they will respond when we preach the redemptive work of the Cross. Having said that, all three aspects of the Atonement are needed to cause this inner transformation in our motives to happen. The Victory of God gives us hope and confidence. The Love of God motivates us to live sacrificially for others. And the Justice of God enables us to forgive and to work for the redemption of all people, even our enemies.
