Lesson for January 19, 2022
The Doctrine of Soteriology
Lesson 3
What Christ Accomplished on the Cross
The Doctrine of Redemption
The Biblical definition of the word “redeemed” is “to be purchased from the slave-market of sin.” There are three Greek words for redemption: “agorazo” meaning “to buy”, “exagorazo” meaning “to buy out of or remove from sale” and “lutroo” meaning “to release on receipt of ransom or payment.” Christ has redeemed us from the slave-market of sin and from the Mosaic Law. (Romans 7:14)
There are several definitions for sin in the Word of God: “falling short of God’s righteousness” (Romans 3:23), “transgression,” which is overstepping God’s law (Psalm 51:1-4), “trespasses,” which is deviation from God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1), “disobedience,” which is rebellion against God’s law (I Timothy 1:9-10), and unbelief in Christ as Savior (the only unpardonable sin) (John 8:24). Christ redeemed us from all sin.
Christ, Our Kinsman Redeemer
(Book of Ruth)
The Old Testament practice of the “kinsman redeemer” is a perfect example of how Christ redeems us from the Mosaic Law and from sin. Certain requirements had to be met in order for a person to free someone from slavery. The redeemer had to be a relative, he had to be able to redeem by meeting the purchase price and had to be willing to redeem the person in slavery.
By becoming a human being, Jesus Christ became a “kinsman” to all mankind. (John 1:1-3,14) In order to meet the purchase price, Christ had to be sinless. Therefore, He was born of a virgin, had no sin nature and He lived a sinless life, which qualified Him to meet the purchase price for our sin. (Matthew 1:23, I Timothy 3:16; Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9-11, 4:15: I Peter 1:18) Christ was willing to redeem us. He was obedient to the Father’s plan for salvation and gave His life freely. Christ even restricted the use of the power of His deity and used the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of this for us. (Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:19, Luke 22:42, 23:46)
The Doctrine of Reconciliation
There are two words for reconciliation in Greek. One word “diallasso” means to reconcile two parties who are mutually hostile toward one another. The second word “katallasso” means to reconcile two parties where only one party is hostile toward the other. “Katallasso” is the word used for reconciliation to God. This means that it is mankind who is “hostile” towards God and has become rebellious by means of their inherent sin nature. It means that mankind is the enemy of God, and it is mankind who needs to be reconciled to God.
Literally, “katallasso” means to change or to exchange (originally referring to money). It came to mean a change from being one’s enemy to being one’s friend. This is the meaning throughout the New Testament. At salvation, we were reconciled to God. This means that we were no longer God’s enemy, but that peace had been made as a result of the person’s faith in Christ. (Romans 5:10)
Reconciliation is accomplished by the removal of a barrier that exists between God and mankind. Once this barrier is removed, the possibility exists for peace between God and mankind. The barrier that separates God from mankind is sin. Every person is born with a sin nature, which is passed down genetically from the father. Mankind also possesses Adam’s original sin, which is credited to him at birth by God. It is Adam’s original sin that condemns us. Personal sins are committed because we possess a sin nature. (Ephesians 2:14-18)
Since God can have nothing to do with sin, the “sin barrier” must be removed so that mankind can have a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is the Sin-bearer, which means that He was judged for our sin (inherent sin, Adam’s original sin and our personal sins). The judgment of sin satisfied the righteousness and justice of God. When we accept Jesus Christ as our “Sin-bearer” we are immediately reconciled to God, having been placed in union with Christ. This means that we are no longer God’s enemy, but that peace now exists with God. Since God is impartial and unprejudiced, anyone who believes in Christ as Savior will be reconciled to God. (Colossians 1:21-23)
The Doctrine of Propitiation
The Greek word for propitiation is “hilasmos” and means to satisfy the just demands of someone who has been offended. Since God is absolutely righteous, He must judge sin wherever He finds it. The Bible is very clear that all human beings are born with a sin nature and are spiritually separated from God. We know that no one possesses the righteousness necessary to spend eternity with a perfectly righteous God. In other words, God’s perfect righteousness cannot have fellowship with man’s relative righteousness. God is offended (not shocked) by the lack of righteousness and subsequent sinful condition of man. It is this offense and, therefore, God’s wrath that must be appeased. God’s wrath is an anthropropathism (language of accommodation ascribing to God human emotions that He does not possess) to explain His policy with regard to man’s sin. God is never angry, as we think of anger. (John 3:36; Romans 3:10-12, 23; 6:23; Isaiah 59:2, 64:6)
God’s holiness is made up of His righteousness and His justice. The righteousness of God condemns us at birth because we are born spiritually dead. God’s righteousness must be satisfied. Under the sentence of spiritual death, people are helpless to save themselves from condemnation. (Romans 3:9 – 26) Since the sentence that God pronounces on us is spiritual death, only spiritual death could satisfy the just demands of God’s righteousness. Jesus Christ was qualified to meet this just demand. Jesus Christ became the complete satisfaction for the sin for all mankind. (I John 2:1-2, 4:10)
The payment that Christ made for our sin on the Cross was substitutionary. The Greek word “huper,” translated “for” in Romans 5:8 means “on behalf of” or “in place of.” The Greek word for “us” is “ego.” Combined in this passage and others, we see the substitutionary character of Christ’s death. Jesus Christ literally “became sin” on behalf of us or in place of us. It is the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ that completely satisfied the righteousness of God and provides eternal life for all who believe in Him.
The perfect substitutionary payment for sin that satisfied the righteousness of God was accomplished by a Person of perfect character, Jesus Christ. As deity, Christ was not able to sin and as human, He was able not to sin. Therefore, He went to the Cross in a state of sinless perfection. We must remember that Christ in His humanity could have sinned and was tempted to do so on many occasions. In His humanity, He endured much greater temptations and testing than we will ever face, and yet He was able to avoid any form of sin (even mental attitude sin).
The power that Christ used to overcome the temptation to sin is the same power that we have as believers. This power is the supernatural power of God the Holy Spirit. He came foremost, of course, to make the substitutionary payment for sin. Christ demonstrated that the Christian Way of Life could be lived by means of the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. His sinless life and the miracles that He performed were positive proof that He was the promised Messiah (the Savior). It took a Person of perfect character to satisfy the perfect character of God.
The instant a person believes in Christ as Savior, all sins of the past are forgiven, he is in fellowship with God and is filled with the Holy Spirit. The potential then exists for the believer to execute the Christian Way of Life. The first time we sin after salvation, we are out of fellowship with God and no longer filled with the Holy Spirit. This is why God in His grace gave us the Rebound Technique. When we simply acknowledge our sins to God, He forgives us, restores our fellowship with Him and restores the filling of the Holy Spirit. God is justified in doing all these things because of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. This means that though personal sins are not an issue at salvation, they are an issue in the Christian Way of Life.
God is also justified in crediting His righteousness to sinful man because of propitiation. Only by possessing the righteousness of God can a person spend eternity with a holy God. Man’s righteousness falls well short of the perfection needed to enter Heaven. However, God is free to give His righteousness to all who believe in Christ because His righteousness and justice have been satisfied by Christ’s death. (Romans 10:4; II Corinthians 5:21)
When Christ became our substitute on the Cross and paid the penalty for the sin of the entire human race, the barrier of sin that previously existed between God and man was removed forever. The removal of this sin barrier means that sin is no longer an issue at salvation. The issue of salvation is whether a person will accept God’s free offer of eternal life through faith in Christ. It is because of propitiation that God is free to make this offer of eternal life.
Because His righteousness has been satisfied, God is justified in bestowing His grace blessings upon all who believe. God’s blessings, however, are only potential for believers in Christ. Though God has promised certain logistical grace blessings to all believers, He has also promised greater grace blessings to those who faithfully execute His plan for their lives. Only increased capacity to receive blessing from God, through the consistent study and application of God’s Word, will allow these greater blessings to be given. God does not give greater grace blessings to immature, inconsistent Christians. God’s “blueprint” for success must be followed consistently if we are to enjoy the greater blessings.
These greater blessings are not always material wealth or possessions. These greater blessings from God may be stability in the home, at work, at school or with family and friends. These blessings may be the perfect mate or no mate at all. Greater blessings may come in the form of a relaxed mental attitude or wisdom. These blessings may be good health and a long life. There are many ways in which God chooses to bless His children, all of which we should appreciate and be thankful for. Every blessing that we have, as believers in Christ, is a result of propitiation. If God’s righteousness and justice were not satisfied by Jesus Christ, none of us would be in a position to be blessed by God. May we never forget or take for granted the source of every blessing that we have in this life.