The Atonement; The Congregational Union Lectures for 1875 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 edition. Excerpt: ... LECTURE IX. THE THEORY OF THE ATONEMENT: ILLUSTRATED BY THE RELATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO THE ETERNAL LAW OF RIGHTS O USNESS. LECTURE IX. THE THEORY OF THE ATONEMENT: ILLUSTRATED BY THE RELATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO THE ETERNAL LAW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. E are now free to resume the investigation which V V was arrested by the theory discussed in the last Lecture. The Remission of sins is possible. Can we discover why it is that the Remission of sins is granted to men on the ground of the Death of Christ? It may be thought that a simple and direct reply to this question is given by the representations of the Death of Christ contained in the New Testament. Christ gave His life as a " ransom " for us; and therefore we are emancipated from all the evils which we had incurred by sin. Christ "bare our sins," "died for our sins," "died for us," as an innocent man, if this were possible, might take upon himself the guilt of a criminal, and die in his place; and, therefore, the penalties of our sin . are remitted. Christ is the "Propitiation for our sins;" and, therefore, He has allayed the Divine anger, so that God, for His sake, is willing to forgive us. But these representations of the Death of Christ as a Ransom, as a Vicarious Death, as a Propitiation, though they illustrate the cause of His sufferings and their effect, and contain all that is necessary for faith do not constitute a theory. As they stand, they are not consistent with each other. For a good citizen to bear the punishment of a convicted criminal, is one thing; for a generous philanthropist to pay the ransom of a slave, is a different thing; for a friend or a relative of a man who has done wrong to propitiate the anger of a powerful superior, is a different thing...