'1. THE
REDEMPTION OF MAN
Man was
made of the dust of the ground, and placed on probation for endless life.
He was
told that if he disobeyed his Creator he should die. Of course if he obeyed he
would live—live forever.
But he
disobeyed; he took the fearful risk, and did that which his Creator told him,
in the most explicit terms, he should not do. In this transaction man subjected
himself to two great losses: 1. He lost his innocence, which was essential to
his happiness; 2. He lost his life—his very being.
The plan
of salvation and redemption embraced a work of recovery or restoration. Not,
however, merely to bring man back to the position which he occupied when he was
created and placed in the garden of Eden; but, to place him where God
originally designed that he should stand when he had passed his probationary
state.
In
probation he was subject to temptation; free to fall. In his final state he
will be placed beyond the reach of temptation, fixed in his integrity, no
longer in danger of falling; no more exposed to the liability to die. We cannot
imagine that the gospel of Christ will do less for man than was embraced in the
original purpose of his Maker. The method of restoring man to a state of
innocence and of complete happiness we have fully considered in remarks on
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H. Waggoner
Justification,
and on the Atonement itself. This embraces the forgiveness of sin, and the
renewal of his moral nature; a transformation of his will and affections. This
is a recovery from the first of the losses which he sustained in his departure
from the path of right. The second loss was entirely different in its nature.
It took hold on man’s physical being, and reduced him to his original elements;
it returned him to the dust of the ground. By this we would not be understood
as saying that either man’s moral or physical nature can be seriously affected
without affecting the other. When man perverts his moral powers he degrades his
physical system, and subjects it to untold evils. All the suffering that exists
and that ever has existed in the world, had its spring in that source. And,
when man abuses his physical system he weakens his moral powers. These
propositions will not be denied. But it is equally undeniable that that which
directly affects one may only indirectly affect the other. A man may pervert
his ways, and despise his Maker, and sear his conscience, and yet live many
years; though the end of these things is death. And justification from sin may
be received, with a purified conscience and a renewed heart, while yet the
physical system is subject to decay and death; though continuance in that
justified state—perseverance in the right—certainly leads to eternal life.
It is true
that the first step toward recovering man from the consequences of the fall,
looks forward to the complete recovery in all things; but there are progressive
steps in the work; one is taken before another. For reasons purely theoretical,
many in this age deny that death—the death of the physical man—is the result of
sin. They say that the man which was made of the dust of the earth would have
died if he had never sinned; that, being made of perishable material, he must
have perished, from the very nature of his being. But this statement is
defective and erroneous. (1) The material universe, the earth, is not
necessarily perishable. It may undergo great changes, but we cannot believe it
was ever made in vain, or to go out of existence. When it was created it was
pronounced very good, and over it “the morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy.” Nor is there any evidence that man, who is
The
Atonement - 190
“fearfully
and wonderfully made,” would have perished if he had not sinned. At the best it
is only a bare assumption, and not sustained by reason. But,(2) It is directly
contrary to the word of Jehovah himself, who said, as a sentence upon the sin
of man, because he had partaken of the tree of which he was forbidden to eat,
the earth from which he was taken, over which he was given the dominion, should
be cursed, and he should return unto it. And, to carry out this sentence, man
was shut out from the tree of life, lest he put forth his hand and take and eat
(a purely physical act), and live forever. If we regard the word of the Lord we
must admit that death, the death of the whole man, was the result of his
disobedience. And no other death but a literal or physical death was threatened
or could be inflicted. For, as we have already considered, spiritual death is
not an infliction, but a crime; it is not a penalty, but it incurs a penalty.
See page 67.'
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From page 67,68
From page 67,68
'It is
assumed that death, the penalty of transgression, is three-fold in its nature,
consisting of temporal, spiritual, and eternal death. If this assumption were
true, we should at once give up the Atonement as a thing impossible. Yet it has
been advanced by men of eminence, and incorporated into works recognized as
standard. Let us examine it. 1. The death of man is temporal only by reason of
a resurrection. But the resurrection belongs to the work of Christ, and as his
work was not necessary or a subject of promise till after the transgression, it
cannot have any place in the announcement of the penalty.
When death
was threatened to Adam, it was not said that he should die temporally,
spiritually, and eternally; nor that he should die a first or second death; nor
the death that never dies; but that he should surely die. It was death—simply
death. Had not a promise been given afterward, of “the seed” to bruise the
serpent’s head, it would necessarily have been eternal death. But Christ,
introducing a resurrection for Adam and his race, causes it to be temporal. But
since this time, this death, temporal, has not been the penalty for personal
transgression. This is evident for two reasons: (1) Infants die who never have
transgressed; and (2) In the Judgment we stand to answer for our deeds, and the
second death is inflicted for
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H. Waggoner
personal
sin. But on those who are holy, “the second death hath no power;”
Rev_20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the
second death hath no power
the
penalty does not reach them. So it appears the death we now die is occasioned
by Adam’s transgression, and is rendered temporal by the second Adam, and comes
indiscriminately upon all
classes and ages, thus precluding the idea that it is now a penalty, except as
connected with that first transgression, in which we are involved only by
representation. 2. Spiritual death
cannot be a penalty at all. A
penalty is an infliction to meet the ends of justice. But spiritual death is a state of sin, or
absence of holiness; and to say that God inflicts unholiness upon man is not
only absurd, but monstrous. That is confounding the crime with it punishment. God does not make man wicked or sinful as an
infliction; but man makes himself wicked by his own actions, and God punishes
him with death for his wickedness. Again, there will be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust; for as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive. Now if the penalty upon Adam included
spiritual death, the resurrection through the second Adam would be to spiritual
life, or holiness; and if all were restored to spiritual life through Christ,
there would be none to fall under the second death, for it falls not on the
“blessed and holy.” The text above quoted, 1Cor.15:22,“For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive,” has been “spiritualized” so much
that it has been fairly conceded to the Universalists by many who call
themselves orthodox. But it does not at all favor Universalism unless it is
perverted, and made to conflict with other scriptures. Jesus says, all that are
in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and come forth; they that
have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the
resurrection of damnation. The text in question (1 Cor. 15:22) says no more
than this, that all that have died shall have a resurrection; but if some are
unjust, and have a resurrection to damnation, that affords no help to
Universalism. But if death here means spiritual death (as we say it does not),
then the Universalists must have the truth; for to be made alive from spiritual
death is to be made spiritually alive, which is none other than a state of
holiness. This conflicts with the words of
The
Atonement - 68
Christ
just quoted, of a resurrection to damnation. Death is simply the absence of
life; all die and go into the grave,
and all are raised again from the grave, without respect to their character or
condition. There will be a resurrection of the just and of the unjust;
one class to eternal life, the other to the second death. The death of Adam
became temporal by reason of a resurrection, so we may say that the infliction
for personal sins, the second death, is eternal, because no resurrection will
succeed it. Thus, it appears plain that
from the beginning death was the penalty of the law of God, circumstances
determining the duration of it. This view, which is in strict harmony
with the Bible, really removes all difficulty in regard to Christ having
suffered the penalty due to sin.
(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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