Preaching on Justification and Atonement
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to deliver two messages on the biblical doctrine of justification. My goal was to expound on the historic and biblical teaching of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. James Buchanan explains the importance of this doctrine:[The biblical doctrine of justification] is an attempt to solve the deepest problem, and to answer the most anxious question, which conscience continually prompts men to raise, but which their minds strive in vain to determine--'How shall a man be just with God?' or, 'How can God be just,' and yet 'justify the ungodly?' That great problem may seldom occur to those that are habitually unmindful of God, and of their relation to Him; and should it be suggested to their minds, it will probably be lightly dismissed, as long as they cherish slight views of sin, and have little or no sense of their solemn responsibilities and prospects as subjects of the righteous government of God. ... The Gospel of Christ alone has presented that problem in all its magnitude, and in its just proportions; and the Gospel of Christ alone has offered a solution of it, based on a full view of the Attributes of God,--of the unalterable requirements of His Law,--of the principles and ends of His Moral Government,--and of the state, character, and prospects of man, as a dying yet immortal being, chargeable with past guilt, and still depraved by inherent sin. (James Buchanan, Justification, pp. 405-406, Banner of Truth, 1997 -- reprinted from the 1867 original)Justification is not a subjective, inward, progressive moral change within us, but rather an objective, forensic (legal), one-time declaration from God's sovereign tribunal that our sins are pardoned and we are accepted in His sight. The best theologians have always been careful to maintain this distinction between justification and sanctification. The sole ground of our acceptance is not anything righteous wrought within us or done by us, but the extrinsic, perfect righteousness of Christ that is reckoned or imputed to us by God's legal act. By faith, the sole instrument of justification, we receive and rest in the person and work of Christ alone, renouncing any confidence in ourselves. We do not place our faith in faith itself, but in Christ and His work.
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The mere statement of such a problem, and of its indispensable conditions,--including the glory of God, the honour of His law, and the ends of His moral government, as well as the pardon of sin, and the salvation of sinners,--is peculiar to the Gospel of Christ, and may well be regarded as a proof of its superhuman origin: but the solution of it, by the Incarnation, Substitution, and Satisfaction of the Son of God Himself, is such a marvellous manifestation of divine wisdom as 'it could never have entered into the mind of man to conceive.' For none other than the infinite mind of God was capable of such a conception, either of Love, or of Justice, as that on which it is based; and far less of carrying it into effect in the stupendous work of Redemption. It may be esteemed as 'foolishness' by those who have never seriously considered, or sufficiently realised, the conditions of the great problem; but no sooner is any one brought, under the teaching of the Word and Spirit of God, to apprehend them aright, and to apply them in earnest to the case of his own soul, than that which hitherto seemed to be 'foolishness,' is seen to be the 'wisdom of God.' Hence,--while the very repugnance with which it is regarded by many affords ample evidence that it could never have been invented by men,--the best and most convincing evidence of its divine origin is discerned, when it is seen to be worthy of the infinite perfections of God, as well as adapted to the most urgent wants of man; and when 'He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, shines into our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' (Ibid., pp. 407-408).
Last week I preached the first of two messages on the biblical doctrine of the atonement. The source of the atonement is God's love and His own eternal purpose, stemming from His free will. Nothing above or outside of God required Him to make provision for the redemption of a people for Himself, but He chose to do so from eternity for His own glory. Atonement is a covering for guilt, and from the Old Testament we learn that expiation involved the removal of guilt (liability to punishment) accruing to sin; sacrifice was the provision for the removal of this guilt. Christ fulfilled His office of Priest by offering Himself up as a sacrifice, once and for all without spot to God, securing eternal salvation for all who believe. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will preach on the propitiation, whereby Christ was given by the provision of the Father to appease God's wrath; reconciliation, whereby Christ removes the alienation between God and sinners; and redemption, whereby Christ purchases or ransoms His people out of bondage. I will conclude with a discussion of the extent and efficacy of the atonement, demonstrating that limited atonement is an inescapable biblical reality; either the extent or the efficacy of the atonement is limited, and Christ's priestly work of oblation is no less effective than His present work of intercession for His people. The atonement is efficacious to secure expiation, propitiation, reconciliation, and redemption for all, throughout the world, for whom it was intended. This was a particular multitude of people, whom God chose from eternity.
I started a blog last year to document some of my studies on justification and the atonement.
I have found John Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied to be particularly useful on the topic of the atonement. Also, not to be neglected, is John Owen's treatment, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, considered one of the best non-inspired Christian works ever written.
posted by C.S. Hayden @ 11:46 AM
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