Atonement of Jesus Christ, and Term Paper

" This means that God indeed hates humans because of the sins that we commit, and we do have to trust in God and in salvation, otherwise, we would be deemed to suffer an eternal torment in Hell. When Jesus Christ, He happened to save all of us unworthy human beings form the severity of God's wrath, which would have descended on us if this supreme sacrifice by Jesus Christ had not been made on time. More people have to be taught this truth, and this is the one way in which the way to salvation can be presented to them, and this without showing them what exactly they need to be saved from. If the truth of Jesus Christ's great sacrifice was to be ignored, then this means that His act of courage and sacrifice is being effectively ignored, and as a consequence, being devalued. Therefore, it can be stated that the death of Jesus Christ is so very good because of the fact that it served to effectively rescue and save human beings from the great wrath of God. In other words, it can also be said that the good news is so very good just because of the fact that the bad news is so very bad.

In this context, the bad news is the fact that God hates all sinners, and the good news is that God can also make Himself love all sinners, and this is the main reason why God happened to send Christ down to earth so that some of His righteous anger and wrath could be taken away. However, Christ's death did not in any way make God love us; this could not happen because of the truth that He already loved us. What Jesus Christ's death happened to achieve was the fact that God's wrath against us could be removed so that we could experience the full love of God, without encumbrances. This truth is found at the very heart of the Gospel, and what it says is that we must all be thankful and grateful to God because of the fact that, if we have indeed come to Christ, then it means that we would have nothing more to fear, because of the reason that Christ's sacrifice would have endured God's great wrath, just so that we would be safe. In essence, Christ's sacrifice has removed all our sins and guilt from us forever, and it has also removed God's justified wrath at us from us, forever. Jesus Christ was substituted for human beings, and we were absolved. Amazing are the workings of God and the sacrifices of Jesus Christ. (a Nature of the Atonement, a Look at what Christ did when He died)

The next step is 'reconciliation'. This means that while expiation had as its primary focus the need that had been created by our sins and out guilt, and propitiation had in focus the need that had been created by God's righteous wrath upon us, 'reconciliation' focuses on the need that has been created by the sense of alienation that God feel because of our sins and our guilt. The fact is, because of our sins God effectively alienated Himself from humankind, and the innate truth is that just as we humans had turned our backs upon God, in the same way, God had actually turned His back on us, and effectively alienated Himself from us. Reconciliation therefore refers to the work that was done by God through the death of Christ, just so that He would be able to overcome His alienation from us, and become reconciled. God, therefore, had separated Himself from us, His own creations, but managed to reconcile Himself again, to us, His creations. This fact is demonstrated by Romans 5:10-11 where this statement makes it clear: we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, and because of this reconciliation, we shall be saved form our sins and our guilt.

The final step is that of 'redemption', wherein deliverance is made with the imposition of a price. That is, our sins had made us recede into a position of captivity, and we had to be effectively delivered from this position of captivity. This release had to come with a price, and this is what is known as 'ransom'. Romans 3:24 states that Jesus Christ had accomplished this redemption, and it can be said that the redemption was secured in Christ too. There were in actuality three main things that human beings needed to be released from, and these were the following: the curse of the law, secondly, the guilt of our various sins, and thirdly, the power of the various sins committed by us. Human beings were in a situation wherein they were bonded or captivated by these three things, and when Jesus Christ sacrificed His very life so that we would be released form all these things, this is known as redemption.(a Nature of the Atonement, a Look at what Christ did when He died)

In a lecture by Phil Johnson in the year 2003 at a Shepherd's Conference, an attempt was made to understand the nature of the atonement, and this is what the lecturer had to say. What was the extent of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us, human beings? Christ's death was in fact, a shocking and a punishing sacrifice for us, and it can also be said that Jesus Christ actually had to pay for our sins. In addition, He had to bear the fury and the wrath of God, and He took upon Himself what we human beings richly deserve, without complaints, and even afterwards, He gave us all His blessings as if we deserved them, when it was in fact He who so richly deserved blessings. Those who are united with him are united in such a way that it was His death that had to pay for all our sins, and now, His own righteousness almost covers us like a warm blanket, offering us immunity and protection and safety. The five heads of Doctrine that apply to this great sacrifice are arranged under the name TULIP, and these are: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and finally, the Perseverance of the Saints. The first term does not mean as it may imply that all sinners are totally depraved; it rather means that sin has managed to pervade all the various aspects of their personality, and this means that the sinner's mind, his emotions, his will, and his very body become affected by his sins. (the Nature of the atonement: why and for whom did Jesus Christ die?)

Therefore, depravity becomes almost completely total, and this in turn means that the sinner has virtually lost any ability that he may have had to do any good that would put him in God's favor. The second term, unconditional election, means that God will choose who will actually be saved from their sins and guilt, and this choice is never based on the good that He may see in the sinner; Ephesians 1: Verse 4 says: 'He has chosen us in Him' before He happened to found the world, and this only means that He will be totally unconditional when He chooses who He will save. John 15: Verse 16 states that Jesus Christ in fact said that it was not that we had chosen Him, but that He had chosen us, and this is the very essence of Unconditional Election. Limited Atonement, the third term in the TULIP, means that Atonement in itself is limited, and the fourth term, irresistible Grace, deals with he idea that those whom God has chosen to save will most definitely be saved, and that saving grace is always the best and the most effectual. The perseverance of the Saints means that one can profess to be a great believer in Christ but fall at the wayside, and still remain secure in the idea that he will be ultimately saved. What is especially important is that those whom God has chosen will never be failed, and God's grace will always persevere. (the Nature of the atonement: why and for whom did Jesus Christ die?)

There are few things in life that are more profound and deep than the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful revelation that is put forth in the Scriptures, wherein initially; the need for the propitiation of sin is established, then the idea of the atonement of sins is brought out, and then the role that Jesus Christ played in this atonement is revealed to us human beings. (the Atonement in its Relations to God and to man) However, there are different opinions on this, and one of them is that the nature of….....