Q: Atonement means at-one-ment and that usually means propitiation. But the whole hammer illustration was presented to people who were still sinners and not reconciled.....I think you would agree that if you die in your sins then you basically do get the hammer so to speak right? That just seems weird and wrong. My teacher also said the whole idea of God being holy and not be able to deal with sin was derived from the feudal system where you have kings and filthy peasants.... I think the people (don’t remember the names) who suggested the penal substitution theory were influenced to make this conclusion about God based on their culture...so my teacher suggested.
A: My point in detailing the difference between atonement and propitiation was not so much to highlight the differences between the words, but to make the point that the sin issue is over between man and God. Even the lost are not having their sins held against them. That is why passages like 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 and 1 John 2:2 are so important because of their specific reference to the sins of the world being forgiven. The problem between humanity and God is not that men are sinners in need of forgiveness, but that men are spiritually dead and in need of spiritual life. The only sin not paid for by Christ on the cross is the sin of unbelief in Him. “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me (John 16:8-9).” Therefore, the “hammer” that unbelievers get is not because of their sins it is because they are dead to God. And what do you do with dead things? You burn them. God has done everything possible, short of dragging people into heaven, to make salvation available to us all. As I said earlier, this is an act of love on God’s part and why no man will have an excuse for not accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior.
God is most certainly able to deal with sin; otherwise, He would not have been able to take it away. This entire idea of trying to explain God’s relationship to sin to things like those of the “feudal system” is taking mans ideas and applying them to the Bible instead of applying biblical truth to mans ideas. There is a consensus within the halls of academia that humanity created the idea of God in order to explain the unexplainable within their societal structure. However, humanity is incurably religious. Wherever you go in this world you will find the local population worshiping something, whether it is an idol, a man, an animal or the creation itself. Our God is a holy (Lev. 11:44; 1 Sam. 6:20; Isa. 6:3), living and active God who has interacted with His creation on numerous occasions throughout history. Therefore, the cultures that have developed are a byproduct of the existence of God not the other way around. The Bible says that “since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:20).” The only conclusion that can be made is that humanity is, as the Bible says, suppressing the truth of what has been made clear to them.
Understanding forgiveness, and its relationship to the Gospel as a whole, is imperative for you to understand many other things that you will study in the Bible. The validity of the “feudal system” and the “penal substitution theory” has to be judged up against the Bible to see if they are truthful. This issue is more important than just how you fare in the classroom; it will affect your entire Christian life and the lives of those you witness to in the future. My prayer is that you do not go forward in your studies, in your walk with the Lord or in your evangelical pursuits, using man made theories to explain the forgiveness issue. The holiness of God and the sin issue between humanity and God are clearly explained within the pages of scripture. They are not so difficult as to need the explanations of theologians and teachers. As long as you take the opinions of man to determine the truth of scripture regarding forgiveness, you will continue to be confused about this subject and most other subjects in the Bible.
Aside from the passages mentioned earlier about forgiveness, there are more.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace…” Ephesians 1:7
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
“But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Colossians 1:22
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…” Colossians 2:13
“Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” Hebrews 10:17-18
“For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Romans 5:10
Again, when you read these verses, what do they say about the sin issue between humanity and God? I am of the opinion they clearly show that the sin issue is over between God and us. If Jesus took away our sins that means that there are no sins for God to “hammer” away at. God has already judged our sins. The verdict was guilty. The penalty was death. Jesus took the penalty for us. There is no more penalty for us to take. The hammer has been put away for eternity. Christians are free to approach God to find mercy in our time of need and unbelievers are free to approach Him for salvation that is only found in the resurrected life of Christ. I hope this helps you in your understanding of the forgiveness issue.
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