Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. (1 Cor 15:1-5)Basic to the gospel ("of first importance") is the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It is the core of what we call "the Atonement." My favorite text on this is in Romans 3.
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:19-26)(Sorry about the length. You need the full thought.) Since works don't justify, we need an alternative. The alternative God came up with was "through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." How? We are "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith." Through faith, Jesus's blood bought us back from sin ("redemption"). Through faith, Christ's blood serves to propitiate -- to appease an angry God -- for our justification. In that, we have peace with God (Rom 5:1) -- Atonement. In this magnificent act of grace and mercy, God became "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." In Christ's death on our behalf, God achieved both justice and justification.
"Is that all you got? Does that prove that Christ died on our behalf to save us?" Well, to those of us who believe Scripture as it is presented, yes, but ... it's not the only proof. Take, for instance, the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. You know, the one to which Christ is compared (e.g., John 1:29)? Hebrews assures us "without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22), as the entire bloody sacrificial system of the Old Testament testifies. Isaiah famously prophesies of the Christ that He bore our griefs and was pierced through for our transgressions (Isa 53:4-6). Jesus Himself said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:28). Paul, of course, is the biggest biblical proponent of this concept of Atonement (see above as well as many others), but it doesn't depend on Paul. It doesn't depend on Anselm. It doesn't depend on conservative Christian denominations. It's a fully biblical concept.
Lots of people like to argue the point. It is, however, in Scripture from Adam and Eve to the final judgment, from Genesis to Revelation. The problem is huge (Rom 3:23). The curse is real (Gal 3:10). And it is God's amazing grace of supplying a satisfaction of justice in His Son (Heb 2:17; 1 John 4:10) that saves. It's not a new idea. It's not a manufactured notion. It's the biblical position. Jesus Himself said so. And the magnitude of the biblical version of the Atonement is breathtaking when embraced at face value. As we saw yesterday, Paul argues for it and pronounces anathema on any lesser gospel.
(For a well-written examination on the subject, you might try this.)
3 comments:
It is this concept that makes Amazing Grace my favorite hymn. Christ's atonement is the only thing that makes Christianity worth anything. Without it, we are to be pitied. Without it, we limit ourselves in obedience to a God that has not provided a way to salvation. Without it, life is vanity of vanities and we might as well eat, drink, and be merry. But God...
“Since works don't justify, we need an alternative. The alternative God came up with was ‘through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.’” What good news! In my own instance of coming to true faith, it was a joyous relief to learn that my efforts to please God through works-based religious activity were unnecessary--in fact, ineffective!--and that instead the Lord provided Jesus’ blood as my atonement, without any striving on my part required beyond trusting in it (Matt. 11:28-30)--I can do that! And as I became familiar with the entire Bible, I could clearly see how this gracious provision of God was planned from the beginning and confirmed so clearly in the four Gospels by Jesus Himself and then further clarified in the apostles’ writings--“a fully biblical concept,” “from Adam and Eve to the end,” in your words. How sad to miss this good news, whether out of ignorance, misunderstanding, pride, rebellion, or deception! I for one certainly want neither another gospel nor a lesser gospel--just the true gospel!
P.S. Thanks for providing the additional reading material on your topic. There I learned who Anselm was (who you mentioned in passing but was an unknown to me).
I think that the power of the 1 Cor passage is that Paul is asserting that he has the authority to speak on this matter due to his interaction with the eyewitnesses as well as with Christ.
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