We're looking at the unique nature of Christianity. Christianity differs from all other religions in a lot of ways, but the key area is "saved by grace through faith in Christ." What doctrines are essential to the structure of Christianity and why are they essential? We have now seen that the Bible is mandatory as a source document. I've discussed the condition of Man and why that's important. Now what?
The next plainly obvious doctrine of key importance is the doctrine of the Atonement. Given the condition of Man -- sinful to the core and justly deserving damnation -- what hope is there? If we asked the question solely from the position of God's justice, the answer would be "None." But God (one of my favorite phrases in all of Scripture) is also merciful and gracious. Now, He cannot violate His own nature, and justice is part of His nature, so God had to plan a means of satisfying both His justice and His merciful grace. Enter the Atonement.
According to Colossians 2, "You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the certificate of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:13-14). There was, then, a "certificate of debt" -- something we owed -- and that debt was set aside by "nailing it to the cross". Paul wrote that we "are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:24-26). In this passage we see the term "redemption", an oft-repeated concept throughout Scripture in which we are bought back from a slave condition. There is also the lesser known word, "propitiation". This term references the appeasement of an angry God. Christ, "by His blood", bought us back from slavery to sin and removed the just anger we faced from God. This whole concept (called "the Atonement") was designed by God as a demonstration of His righteousness "so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." In sending His Son to pay for our sin on our behalf, God satisfied both His justice and His mercy.
Now, please note. There are a few necessities for this doctrine to be in place. First, the price that was paid was the death that was required for sin. Second, that price could not be paid by someone who owed it, or it would cover only their debt. Christ, then, had to be sinless or He would have owed His own debt. Third, for this payment to cover more than one man, Christ had to be more than a man. Well, you can see that this is going someplace ... later.
Take away the atonement and what do we have? We have no payment. We have the problem of Man's condition without a solution. If God is just, He must carry out the just sentence of death. If God does not receive payment for our debt and simply forgives the debt, we would certainly say He is merciful, but He is not just. A "saved by grace" of this sort violates the nature of God and, thus, produces no salvation at all. It simply produces a lesser god who is warm and merciful but not just. It isn't the God of the Bible. And Christianity collapses on the injustice of mercy.
The Atonement has been debated quite a bit. Most of the debate is not about its reality, but its particulars. In other words, most of those debating it aren't asking, "Was the price paid?" Without a price being paid, we have no hope. The debate is over to whom the price was paid. That would qualify as "non-essential". Remove the Atonement and there is no means by which we can be at one with God. If the certificate of debt is not paid and no propitiation made, God will remain in His necessary wrath against sin. We may disagree about some particulars of the Atonement, but the fact of the Atonement is not negotiable. It is an essential element of Christianity.
More Reading on the Atonement:
The Doctrine of the Atonement
The Atonement
The Atonement of Christ
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