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Usually the doctrine of
atonement is defined within a discussion about original sin. It goes something like this: The first Adam sinned and
brought the death penalty upon all, for we all have sinned and now have
an inherited sinful nature. Some
say the sinful nature is passed along genetically, others don’t know
how it is passed along but it is inherent in some way within a human
being from the moment of conception.
At any rate, sin itself is not acceptable to God in such a
profound way that He cannot dwell with it or even look upon it, and His
perfect justice requires it be punishable by death of the perpetrator.
Thus, unless someone completely sinless steps in to pay that
death penalty for the rest of us, we will all die, since our own sinful
ways can never atone for anything.
Others say that the idea
of anyone paying the penalty for someone else is ridiculous; that the
death of Jesus the Messiah benefited us only as an example of how we
should let no sacrifice stand in the way of living according to the
moral precepts of God.
However, I want to show
that there is no reason for such a controversy to exist once we have a
different view of what happened with regard to the nature of Adam's sin.
We will then be able to see the atonement from a completely
different perspective, and answer questions of why we need it and how it
helps us in a real, practical, and deep sense.
The generally accepted
interpretation of what happened in the Garden is that when Adam and Eve
ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were in effect
rebelling against God's authority.
In still other words, they were desiring to live separated from
God—to be their own gods, as it were.
Their nature fell to a lower level and they were now inherently
and incorrigibly sinful. And
since God demands the payment of death for sin, all men will die unless
someone completely sinless dies in their place, to make atonement.
I suggest there is no
reason to accept this view, except on the tradition of Greek church
fathers who were immersed in pagan philosophy.
An alternate view would be explained this way: Eating of the
forbidden tree symbolized Adam and Eve accepting a relationship with God
based on the knowledge of good and evil.
Their own justification (with God and within themselves) began to
be seen as primarily dependent on their knowledge of, and by extension, their
performance of, good versus evil. This
perception of one's relationship with his or her Father is not only
inaccurate and unfair to Him, but it also brings to bear on the
conscience of the child a sense of self-worth that is grounded in
something other than the Father's love and acceptance of them. This in
turn results in a type of shame-driven life that tends to produce
self-absorbed people.
Quite simply, and
consistent with God's revelation overall, a system of justification by works became the accepted
reality of mankind by and in which sin is prolific.
It was not God's reality, but man chose it through deception.
That which started out as a perception, became the reality experienced;
a reality of shame and fear. God created the heart and mind of man
to process ideas and information in this very logical, cause and effect
manner. And the shame and fear that began within the heart of one
set of parents, has been handed down from parents to children, one generation
after another, from Adam to the present day.
Now, under such a
system, it is necessary that the rules are followed, or penalties will
be exacted from the violators. He
who does them (the laws) must live by them.
It is as simple as that. The
faulty system itself requires something that a grace-based system (the
one intended by God) would not—a penalty to be paid for infractions
committed. It is a
perfectionist system allowing no room for an imperfect, incomplete child
of God. Thus the penalty of
death comes upon all men, for all men fall short of the glory of God.
Only a perfect human being could pay the penalty for the sins committed under such a performance/based system.
Jesus, the Messiah of God, paid that penalty, but in a much more
profound way than those sacrifices prescribed under the law of Moses.
His sacrifice was made to set our minds and hearts free of the
justification-by-performance system that enslaves us to sin and death.
His death was meant to change our perception of what drives our
relationship with God and more appropriately define our own created
worth. A new perception allows us to begin experiencing a new reality.
Again, perception creates reality.
And it IS a reality that will be fully experienced in the Kingdom
of God, which the Son of God will usher in at the close of this present
evil age.
Can we see the profound,
yet simple difference in what is being presented here, as opposed to the
traditional view? The
current system which was supposed to bring life (so said Satan), brought
sorrow and sin instead. And,
the penalty of not perfectly living according to this knowledge/performance-based
system, was death. What
else could it be!? Either
one is perfect in behavior and lives, or one is not and dies.
There is no middle ground, it is cut and dried.
Under and within that system, an atonement must be made
for deliverance from the penalty. Jesus
made that atonement within the faulty system which required it. We are now not only delivered from the penalty of death
required within that system, but we are actually delivered from the
system itself which held us captive to sin to begin with. As stated in
the last paragraph, our consciences are now set free, our perception
having been given the opportunity to change.
We now are required to believe the kingdom gospel for our own
good; because in believing we will find renewed hope, courage, and
strength in it, and in the things concerning Jesus who frees us to live
under the new covenant. A
sound, healthy system must start with the grace of the Father, and faith
of the children in this God of grace.
The children need this kind of security; knowing their Father
loves and accepts them in the imperfect condition He created them. Meaningful, lasting growth depends on it.
In summary, then, the
death of Jesus paid the penalty of sins committed under the system of
knowledge/performance. We
have been set free into a system of rest, grace, and faith, wherein the
Holy Spirit places us in a relationship wherein we cry out, "Abba
(Daddy), Father!" The
resurrection of Jesus gives us assurance that there will come the
kingdom he promised through his good news message.
It will be a kingdom based on the new system he himself believed
in, lived, and died by. |