Editorial
March/April, 1980
Volume 15, Number 2
The essay on “Liberation Theology” in our most recent BRF WITNESS concluded with the thought that God’s program for the liberation of the wretched of earth lies in the hands of the nail-scarred Son of God (who became a “wretch” for us) when He died on Calvary. We want to examine in the current issue of WITNESS the implications of the blood atonement executed for the human family when Jesus died on the Cross. Many will be reading this brochure at about the time when we especially remember the crucifixion of Jesus. The vital question is this: Does the Cross of Christ have any relevance for human beings today?
The Bible teaches that the death of Jesus Christ was “substitutionary” — meaning that Jesus Christ died in place ofwithout the atonement which involved the suffering and death of Christ then we might assume that God was indifferent to sin. Thus God the Father planned that Jesus (who knew no sin) might become a sin offering on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). sinners. When Jesus atoned for sin, He stood “in the place of” guilty men and women. If God had forgiven sin by a divine decree – issuing some sort of a heavenly document
The death of Jesus Christ was not the punishment of a criminal nor the death of a martyr. It was a substitutionary death, “The just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). The New Testament uses three prepositions when speaking of Christ’s death: (1) “peri” – for us (used in Matthew 26:28); (2) “anti” – in place of us (used in Matthew 20:28); (3) “huper” — in behalf of us (used in 2 Corinthians 5:21). The prepositions are used in many other passages of Scripture, including Titus 2: 14 and Galatians 2:20 and Hebrews 9:28. Jesus died for us, in place of us, and in behalf of us. Jesus had no sins of His own, but He died for the sins of others, taking the punishment they deserved.
The word “substitutionary” is not found in the Bible, but the concept is there repeatedly. (The words “evangelism” and “pacifism” and “missions” and “simple life” and “trinity” are not in the Bible either).
The early Brethren spoke about the atoning blood of Christ:
Alexander Mack was asked whether the prohibition against “eating blood” found in Acts 15:29 must still be observed by Christians. Mack said it is right that we should not eat blood “since for the Christians the blood of the Son of God is their atonement” (Rights and Ordinances, Alexander Mack, translated by Donald Durnbaugh).
One of Mack’s poems includes the following stanza: “On Calvary’s tree, redemption was purchased with Christ’s blood; His mercy bought exemption from sin’s polluting flood” (Translated by R. W. Schlosser, page 401, European Origins of the Brethren).
Peter Nead spoke of the Son of God “who through the sacrifice of his life and blood on the cross, has found an eternal propitiation for our sins…and by shedding his innocent blood for us, he has procured for us the propitiation and remission of sins” (Primitive Christianity, Peter Nead, 1834).
Otho Winger, President of Manchester College, said, “I believe that man fell through sin and that the only thing that is able to bring him back into full fellowship with God, is the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ” (Otho Winger, V. F. Schwalm, page 170).
William Beahm, in the message, The Cross and God’s Forgiveness, said: “The fact that we are unable to make atonement adequately for ourselves, and that it is done for us by another, makes it essentially substitutionary.”
Elder S. N. McCann wrote: “The sinner needs to be reconciled to God and there is but one way by which this can be done. He must receive Christ as his substitute, the free gift of our dear loving Father” (The Lord Our Righteousness, pages 28-29).
More recent Brethren writings indicate a turn away from an emphasis on salvation through accepting the atoning blood of Christ:
The writer in Gospel Messenger says: “Some good folks have…thought of the death of Jesus as punishment for the sins of men. As if that was how God showed his righteousness! An intimation of that sort would be little short of blasphemy if men realized what they were doing. The innocent often suffer and sometimes choose to suffer, but the ends of justice were never served by punishing an innocent person. God is not like an infuriated mob whose passion for vengeance is satisfied with blood” (February 17, 1940, page 4).
The writer in the Brethren Teacher’s Monthly says: “Get rid of the notion that justice could be achieved by an innocent man dying for guilty ones. The God whom Jesus revealed is not a God who delights in punishment or who demands (that because somebody has sinned) somebody must pay in suffering” (April 10, 1955).
Many Brethren writers and preachers say little about the meaning of the substitutionary blood atonement. When it is mentioned, it is often considered an inadequate man-made “theory” (See page 380, Teacher’s Manual, In His Hand, Part 3). However, the Word of God clearly states that the blood of Jesus has power to effect a reconciliation between sinners and God (Hebrews 9:12). That indeed is the good news that all the world needs to hear!
The Blood of Christ — Basis Of Our Acceptance With God
by Harold S. Martin
Throughout the Word of God there are dozens of references to sacrifices and to blood. Jesus instructed His disciples to engage in a special service – the Communion Service – in order to remember the blood that He shed for us on Calvary. The Cross of Christ and the shedding of His blood are the means by which we who were “sometimes afar off” are now “made nigh” unto God. It is the blood of Christ that brings a reconciliation between the sinner and God. This is the heart of the Christian message. It is the foundation of our Christian faith. If we are not clear about the blood of Christ, how can we be right anywhere! Our gospel is a gospel that speaks about the Son of God who shed His- blood for the sins of the world.
1. THE NECESSITY FOR BLOOD ATONEMENT
It was our sin that made the crucifixion of Jesus a necessity. We read in Romans 1 that the mind of man is filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, envy, strife, malignity, etc. Jesus says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, and slander, and pride, and foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). These are accurate descriptions of the inclinations of the human heart.
When measured by the Bible’s standard of right and wrong, every human being is found wanting. If we once see ourselves as God sees us, we will say with Moses, “I am unworthy”; and with Isaiah, “Woe is me for I am undone”; and with Job, “Behold I am vile.” Your sins may not be exactly like my sins, because there are hundreds of varieties of sin — cheating and swearing and envy and adultery and lack of compassion – but whatever they are, they put a separation between us and God. And God’s holiness demands that sin be punished. Even John 3:16 has a dark side to it. We must never forget the word “perish.” Man is in danger of perishing! There’s something awful from which we need to be saved. Our sins have put a separation between us and God – and so the crucial question is, “How can God and man become reconciled again!”
In the minds of many, salvation is a kind of do-the-best-you-can sort of thing. They look at it as a stack of good deeds set up alongside a stack of bad deeds, and hope that when life is over, the good deeds will outweigh the bad. Thus, salvation is a cheap religious exchange in which for our goodness we ask God to forget our badness.
Others are foolish enough to believe that all one has to do to become reconciled with God is to practice the Golden Rule. They say that the Golden Rule is the only religion any person heeds. The only trouble is that no one has ever kept the Golden Rule continually and perfectly – and therefore instead of saving us, it only adds to our condemnation.
The gulf between man and God is so wide and the separation is so great, that no man by his own efforts is able to bridge it. And so God himself (moved by love and mercy), acted in behalf of man – and He himself provided a means of atonement. He sent His own Son into the world, who was crucified at the hands of wicked men, and whose blood was shed from a Cross – in order that He might justly secure a reconciliation between God and man. Jesus is God, and so when Jesus died, God himself was dying. And thus God himself paid the penalty that we should have paid. God paid it. The Bible speaks of the “church of God” which He “purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). God himself purchased the believer with His own blood.
2. THE NATURE OF THE BLOOD ATONEMENT
The New Testament says over and over again that it was the death of Jesus and the blood which He shed that made a perfect atonement for man’s sin.
Jesus says (Matthew 26:28): “This is my blood of the new testament, which was shed for the remission of sins.”
Paul says (Romans 5:9): “Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Peter says (1 Peter 1:18): “You were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.”
John says (1 John 1:5-7): “God is light…and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
The Word of God teaches that the blood of Jesus Christ made satisfaction for sins, and that in His death, the penalty for our sins has been paid. The blood atonement is described in the Scriptures by the use of a number of phrases and figures of speech.
One of the words is “Propitiation.” To “propitiate” means “to turn away wrath.” God’s wrath is heavy upon us because of our sins. It is not that God storms around in the heavens like a man who has lost his temper, but He has a fixed attitude of displeasure with sin. Sin offends God, and God is displeased – but Jesus died to turn away the displeasure of God. Romans 3:25 says that God set Jesus forth “to be a propitiation for our sins through faith in his blood.” Furthermore, the blood of Jesus “cleanses from sin.” Sin lets a crimson stain upon our lives. Martin
Luther once thought he saw Satan coming toward him with a huge book under his arm. “This book,” said Satan, “contains the record of the sins in your life.” Luther said: “Stop – here is another book; it says that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin.” Luther was quoting from 1 John 1:7. This truth is expressed beautifully in one of our hymns: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.” The blood of Jesus cleanses from sin.
The Bible teaches too that Jesus died “as our Passover sacrifice.” The account in the book of Exodus tells of that awful night in Egypt when the death angel was to move over the land and take the life of the oldest child in every home if there was no blood on the doorpost (Exodus 12). When the death-angel came to a home where the doorpost was sprinkled with blood, he passed over that home and spared the oldest son. And just so the New Testament teaches that Christ’s blood serves as the ground upon which God passes over us and spares us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Remember that the Cross which Jesus bore, really belonged to a criminal named Barabbas. Surely, Barabbas dreaded the day of his execution, but when the authorities came to his cell, they came with good news! They said, “Barabbas, you are a fortunate man; Jesus of Nazareth is going to die in your place; we have orders to release you.” And the criminal Barabbas was set free! He was absolved of the charges against him. He was saved from the death he deserved to die. Barabbas went away a free man — not because he was innocent – but because Another took his place. And that is how it is with us. (See Wilbur Stover, The Great First Work of the Church: Missions, pp. 48-49).
3. THE RESULTS OF THE BLOOD ATONEMENT
The atonement is for everyone, but it only becomes effective for those who believe. If we believe with a genuine faith that Christ’s blood pays the penalty for sin, there are several results.
First, our redemption is paid. The word “redeem” means “to set free by paying a price.” In relation to our salvation, the word “redeem” means “to pay the price which our sin demanded so that we could be free from slavery to Satan and from the curse of the law” (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Philip Bliss caught the essence of this thought when he wrote: “Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer, with his blood he purchased me; on the Cross he sealed my pardon, paid the debt and made me free.”
Second, our justification is secured. Justification is a beautiful word. It is more than forgiveness. A man may steal from his neighbor, and if he is caught, his neighbor can forgive him, but the man who stole, is still guilty of the crime. One who is justified, by way of contrast, is not only forgiven, but is actually acquitted (declared to be “without guilt”). One who comes to the foot of the Cross and accepts Jesus Christ and meets the conditions of faith, repentance, and baptism — is counted just-as-if he had never sinned. He is declared not guilty; he is justified; his sins are canceled. The Bible says we are now “justified freely by his blood” (Romans 5:9).
Third, our victory is made possible. We read in Revelation 12:11 that “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.” The blood of Christ has power to make us victors more and more over sin. The power of the Cross is our best defense against evil. We must learn to think often about Calvary and remember the blood that Jesus shed. When one is thinking about the price paid for his salvation – when he is thinking about the lonely Son of God with blood-stained hands and feet – in those moments, sin has no power over him. Charles Wesley wrote in one of the great Christian hymns: “Oh for a heart to love my God; a heart from sin set free; a heart that always feels the blood, so freely shed for me.” Each of us needs to pray often: “Oh God, give me a heart that always feels the blood of my Redeemer.”
The truth we have just studied briefly, lies at the heart of God’s wonderful plan of salvation. What can wash away my sins! Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can guarantee the salvation and safety of your soul. Regardless of how many blotches your past life has seen – the moment you turn to Jesus Christ in sincere repentance and faith – He will blot out every stain, forgive every iniquity, and treat you as if you were an innocent person. We urge those who have never done it, to say, “Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and that I deserve your wrath. I believe you died to pay for my sins. I’m going to receive you today as my Saviour.”
To accept Christ and to have one’s sins forgiven does not mean that the individual can do as he pleases, and live on in sin – and then expect to walk up to God in the day of judgment and demand a share in the eternal reward. Obedience is going to be a fruit of real faith – and any professed faith in Christ which says nothing about discipleship and service and obedience to God – is not faith, but merely presumption.