Atonement is a doctrine much-discussed these days, with some writers
challenging traditional views on the subject. Weighing in on the debate
is the new book Atonement (P&R Publishing), edited by Gabriel
N.E. Fluhrer, which includes chapters by pastors and theologians such
as J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson, Alistair Begg and many
more. It is a valuable collection of insightful articles by some of the
most gifted evangelical thinkers of our day.
During
the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England,
sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to
take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the
bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancé had climbed into the belfry
and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from
striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions,
she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands.
Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, “Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!”
The
bell sounding the time of our execution will never ring for those who
trust Christ. He took our place. He bore our punishment. And even now
He continually intercedes on our behalf.
As told in Steven J. Lawson, Absolutely Sure (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 1999).
_________________
Brian Hedges is Senior Pastor of Fulkerson Park Baptist Church in Niles, MI.
Gordon Moyes, pastor of Wesley Mission in Sydney, Australia, said in a recent sermon:
“Taking life, even to eat, is never a trivial thing. God tells Moses: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Leviticus 17:11)
“The word translated “atonement” means to “make an atonement to make reconciliation.”
“Reconciliation” expresses the result of an atoning sacrifice. To comprehend the basics of sacrifice, let’s look carefully at a sacrifice for purification from sin by a common person. When anyone is guilty in any way, he must confess in what way he has sinned and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the Lord a lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. Leviticus 5:5-6 “If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all the fat, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.” Leviticus 4:32-35
“From this analysis of a sacrifice for sin I see several principles: confession or acknowledgement of sin is a necessary part of the sacrifice. A sacrificial animal is costly to the sinner. Forgiveness is not free. There is a close identification between the sinner and the sacrifice. The imparting of sin by the laying on of hands suggests that the animal becomes a substitute for the sinner. Killing the animal is very personal. It is not done for the sinner but by the sinner himself. So our sins can be forgiven, but only at a cost that is borne by another.”
(You can read the entire sermon by going to http://www.wesleymission.org.au/ministry/sermons/030323.asp)
When C.H. Spurgeon was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, he had a clear sense of the justice of God, and sin became an intolerable burden. He didn’t fear hell as much as he despised the reality of his own wrong doing. He said, “All the while I had upon my mind a deep concern for the honor of God’s name and the integrity of His moral government. I felt that it would not quiet my conscience if I could be forgiven without justice being satisfied. But then came the question: ‘How can God be just and yet justify me with all my guilt?'” Spurgeon finally came to see that substitutionary atonement was the answer. He said, “I believe that the doctrine of Jesus paying for my sins is one of the surest proofs of the inspiration of Scripture, for who would or could have thought of the just Ruler dying for the unjust rebel?”
Modern Jews call the Day of Atonement “Yom Kippur” and regard it as the holiest day on their calendar. On Rosh Hashanah, it is believed that God writes a “book” of each person’s actions during the past year. Eight days later, on Yom Kippur, these “books” are irrevocably sealed. The eight days known as “Days of Awe,” are a time to repent and be cleansed from sin, and thus to alter the judgments inscribed in the “books.” During this time, many Jews wear white as a symbol of purification. It took place around September of October, in between the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month of the Jewish year.
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest washed carefully, put on special garments, and made sin offerings for himself and the community. He sprinkled atoning blood throughout the tabernacle area and publicly confessed the sins of the nation. The people were required to rest and fast. They were to “deny” themselves in the sense of humbling themselves before the Lord about their sin.
Today in the Word, July 2003, p.23