(Excerpt)
We have
seen that in speaking of justification by faith, or of the exercise of grace
through the blood of Christ for the remission of sins past, the apostle clearly
divides between faith and works, and excludes works entirely. It is faith
only—works not at all. But when he speaks of the future life of the justified,
he speaks in a different
The
Atonement - 86
manner.
Then he teaches to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Phil.
2:12. This is evangelical truth as well as the other; but it is an order which
could not be given or obeyed relative to justification for past offenses, of
which he is speaking in Rom. 3; for no one could work out a justification for a
past offense.
But can it
be that God regards future sin with any more favor than he does past sin? We
think not. And if he does not, it would be reasonable to expect that his plan
of salvation contemplated prevention as well as cure; and so we find it.
Jesus
saves from sin; puts away sin by the sacrifice of himself; says to the
justified one, Go, sin no more; he is not a minister of sin, but of
righteousness; therefore we shall not continue in sin that grace may abound.
Both are
in the gospel plan. Thus, man is under condemnation for sin; he also has a
carnal mind, which is enmity against God, and not subject to the law of God;
Rom. 8:7; by position, a sinner—in disposition, sinful.
It would
not be sufficient to forgive past transgression and leave the sinful
disposition, as we should become again involved in sin and brought under
condemnation. Nor would it be sufficient to remove the sinful disposition and
leave the burden of past sin upon us, for that would condemn us in the
Judgment. Therefore Christ becomes a Saviour to us in both respects.
He freely forgives our past sins, so that we
stand free and justified; and he takes away the carnal mind, which is enmity
against God, and not subject to his law, and makes us at peace with God—subject
to his law; he writes it in our hearts so that we may delight in it.
Then “the righteousness of the law” is
“fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,” the carnal mind, “but after
the Spirit.” Rom. 8:4.
The
following remarks by Andrew Fuller are pointed, and worthy of careful
consideration:— “An atonement has respect to justice, and justice to the law or
rule which man has violated. “If the doctrine of the atonement leads us to
entertain degrading notions of the law of God, or to plead an exemption from
its preceptive authority, we may be sure it is not the Scripture doctrine of
reconciliation. Atonement has respect to justice, and justice to the law, or
the revealed will of the Sovereign, which has been violated;
- 87 - J.
H. Waggoner
and the
very design of the atonement is to repair the honor of the law. If the law which has been transgressed were
unjust, instead of an atonement being required for the breach of it, it ought
to have been repealed, and the lawgiver have taken upon himself the disgrace of
having enacted it.
Every
instance of punishment among men is a sort of atonement to the justice of the
country, the design of which is to restore the authority of good government,
which transgression has impaired. But if the law itself is bad, or the penalty
too severe, every sacrifice made to it must be an instance of cruelty. And
should a prince of the blood royal, in compassion to the offenders, offer to
suffer in their stead, for the purpose of atonement, whatever love it might
discover on his part, it were still greater cruelty to accept the offer, even
though he might survive his sufferings. The public voice would be, There is no
need of any atonement; it will do no honor, but dishonor, to the legislature;
and to call the liberation of the convicts an act of grace, is to add insult to
injury. The law ought not to have been enacted, and now it is enacted, ought
immediately to be repealed.
It is easy
to see from hence, that in proportion as the law is depreciated, the gospel is
undermined, and both grace and atonement rendered void. It is the law as
abused, or as turned into a way of life, in opposition to the gospel, for which
it was never given to a fallen creature, that the sacred Scriptures depreciate
it; and not as the revealed will of God, the immutable standard of right and
wrong.
In this
view the apostles delighted in it; and if we are Christians we shall delight in
it too, and shall not object to be under it as a rule of duty, for
no man objects to be governed by laws which he loves.”—Atonement of
Christ, from the works of Andrew Fuller, pub. by Am. Tract Society, pp. 124,
160, 161. These remarks are just, and well worthy the consideration of all. We
close our examination of this subject by quoting the emphatic language of
inspiration as to the effect of justification by faith: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we
establish the law.” Rom. 3:31.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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