What is your theory of the atonement?

I recently preached at one of the churches that we helped to plant, Renew Communities. The series is “Jesus saves.” Renew is looking at various aspects of the atonement – the work that Jesus did to save us - to be “at one” with God, with each other, and with the world.

Renew is in a 5 week series. The atonement of Christ reconciles, redeems, justifies, propitiates, and more. The atonement of Christ makes adoption and union with God possible.

Bible scholars have for a long, long time debated about what the correct theory of the atonement might be.

But if you take any one theory and make it your only theory, then you miss the beauty and the glory and the majesty of the atonement. The passion of the Christ – the life, death, and resurrection, and return of Jesus – (because He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable God) has ultimate meaning and infinite implications.

So, I love the fact that in this series, Renew isn’t merely hearing about one aspect of the atonement, but multiple truths. A very many, many, many things happened as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus. And I think heaven will be a place where more and more understandings of the cosmic implications of the cross will take place on and on and on into eternity.

One Bible scholar wrote:  

“The atonement is vast and deep… There is nothing quite like it… The plight of sinful man is disastrous… [We are] lost… perishing… and more… An atonement that rectifies all this must be necessarily complex. So we need all the vivid concepts: redemption, propitiation, justification, and all the rest. And we need all the theories. Each draws attention to an important aspect of our salvation and we dare not surrender any. We are small-minded sinners and the atonement is great and vast. We should not expect that our theories will ever explain it fully. Even when we put them all together, we will not more than begin to comprehend a little of the vastness of God’s saving deed.” (Leon Morris, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Theories of the Atonement, p. 102).

Jesus saves. In multiple ways! When I preached, I was asked to focus on how the atonement – the saving life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ - brings about restoration.

I asked the church, "What is broken in your world that you would like to see restored?" And now, I ask you, "What is broken in your world that you would like to see restored?" You need the atonement. And so do I.

One of the staff members at Renew, Curtis Carnes, gave a great definition of atonement…

If we break up the word atonement, it reads at-one-ment. This may sound simple, but this is what atonement is all about. Atonement is about things being at-one. We all know intimately what it means to NOT have at-one-ment. Tornadoes and tsunamis ravage towns. We have relational friction in our relationships, at work, or within our own families. We go through times in our lives when God seems distant… It is in these times where we find out why we desperately need at(one)ment. We all know intimately what it means to NOT have at-one-ment.  Curtis Carnes

So, I ask again, “What is broken in your world that you would like to see restored?”Because of the atonement, we can be “at one” with Christ. All that He is and all that He did and all that He does can be ours if we will reach out and take Him by grace through faith. 

·         Jesus lived the life we could never have lived. But when we are “at one” with Him, all His good deeds are credited to our account.

·         Jesus died the death we could never have died; we could never have atoned for our own sins. But when we are “at one” with Him, through His sacrifice we are forgiven.

·         Jesus rose from the dead like we could never have. But when we are “at one” with Him, we have resurrection power both now and forever.

·         Jesus ascended to heaven like we never could have. But when we are “at one” with Him, we have a spiritual position – our life is now hidden in heaven with Christ in God.

·         Jesus sent his Holy Spirit like we could never have. But when we are “at one” with Him, we can now live as empowered people; we can live new… refreshed and restored.