The Atonement

Did Jesus really PAY for our sins? Do we really OWE a SIN DEBT? Does God look upon sin as an account whose books must balance or the person who sinned goes to hell? Is that really what the Atonement is all about?

First, let's consider what it means to OWE A DEBT. There is not necessarily any shame connected with owing a debt, unless you fail to repay it according to the terms agreed upon. There is no guilt associated with owing a simple debt. We might make a case about whether it is God's will for us to borrow or not, but the point is no one is condemned in our day for borrowing or owing a debt, so there is no shame or guilt associated with it. To owe someone implies that they retained ownership and only LENT it to you for a period of time. God does not OWN sin or have a monopoly on it, it is an attribute that does not belong to Him at all, but to US.

All that makes it pretty hard to apply the words "debt" and "owe" to sin, because sin is the willful transgression of God's law. Now anyone knows that breaking the law requires that you suffer the penalty, not that you pay the debt. When you break the law you are not a debtor, but a criminal. You cannot go to the sheriff and pay your

way out trouble, unless he is crooked. But God is not crooked and justice WILL be done in the matter of sin and judgment.

God gave his law and set the penalty for breaking his law. He said, "Behold, all souls are mine . . . the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezek 18:4) The penalty is punishment for breaking the law. It is not a debt that can be paid. Sin cannot be PAID FOR! There is no price that can undo sin! The criminal does not PAY for his crime by spending his life in prison. What he has done can never be undone by any price or punishment! He goes to prison to receive his just reward, which is punishment for the crime he committed - not to PAY for what he has done. Sin has a PENALTY - NOT A PRICE. Therefore, we do not OWE A SIN DEBT, but we are condemned to suffer the penalty for breaking God's law.

Now you must admit that there is quite a difference between "owing a sin-debt" and "being condemned forever to die!" It entirely changes the way we look at what Christ did for us on the cross. You see, there was nothing in God himself that was "satisfied" at the death of his Son, but the Law of God was fulfilled when Christ suffered our penalty for us.

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. (Heb 10:5-6)

God did not desire the death of Christ, nor does He desire the death of the wicked. It is a matter of the government of God and whether it will stand or not. The Atonement is based on the love of God and his desire to redeem lost men who were created in his own image. It is not a matter of any "books" that must be "balanced" or on some bloodthirsty characteristic of God that must be satisfied. It is a matter of the Law of Almighty God being broken by men who must receive the just reward of their works.

God could not forgive sinners by simply laying aside the penalty of his law without making void his law and encouraging sin. God was right in the first place when He put such a penalty on sin, therefore to not enforce it would not only make God a liar, but would make his law and his word powerless suggestions, which would be ignored by sinners. What kind of King of the universe would God be under those circumstances? The only way for God's law to stand and hold it's power and force was for the law to maintain it's penalty. God himself came to suffer our penalty. He was made flesh and dwelt among us, tempted in all points as we are, but yet without sin.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Heb 10:12)

One preacher said it right when he put it this way: "Death said to Christ, 'They have broken your law, and your law says they must die.' Jesus was on the spot. He couldn't disagree with Death without denying his own law, so He said to Death, 'You're right, they've broken my law and they must die. So go ahead and inflict the penalty on them.' But then He stepped in front of us."

That is what the atonement is all about - the Just dying for the unjust; the Innocent dying for the guilty; God himself bearing the penalty of his own law to make possible a way for Him to forgive sinful men while keeping his law intact. This makes sin appear exceedingly sinful, doesn't it? It changes a lot of things when we look at it this way instead of as a mere financial transaction, or balancing books. It puts the power back in the message of the Gospel. It shows us the real goodness of God toward man that leads to repentance. It also shows the awful wickedness of ignoring the grace of God and neglecting this great salvation. To illustrate salvation as someone paying your debt for you is not correct. A better illustration, though yet crude, would be to liken it to being on death row for a crime you are guilty of committing. Some innocent person - say an innocent little child who has never committed any wrong - is put in the electric chair in your stead, and while you watch he suffers and dies, and you are set free. On your way out the door you laugh and turn and spit on the body of the one who just died in your stead. As bad as this sounds, it isn't nearly as bad as what sinners are doing when they resist the grace of God and reject the Gospel. They are trampling under their feet the blood of Christ. This poor illustration is only about breaking man's law and suffering only physical death. The matter of God's law and it's penalty pertains to eternal things. If the breaking of man's law brings fear and dread, how much more should the breaking of the law of Almighty God?

We are all concerned about the lack of Holy Ghost conviction in our day. People aren't convicted when they owe a debt, but they are convicted when they commit a crime. Do you reckon if we would preach the Gospel the Holy Ghost would convict sinners? Think about it.

___________________________________________________________________