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 THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD. By Rev. J, Coleman Adams, 
 D.D., Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
 JESUS THE CHRIST. By Rev. S. Crane, D.D., Earlville, 111. 
 
 REVELATION. By Rev. I. M. Atwood, D.D., President of 
 the Theological School, Canton, N.Y. 
 
 CHRIST IK THE LIFE. By Rev. Warren S. Woodbridge, 
 Medford, Mass. 
 
 SALVATION. By Rev. Orello Cone, D.D., President of 
 Buchtel College, Akron, O. 
 
 THE BIRTH FROM ABOVE. By Rev. Charles Follen Lee, 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 {In Preparation.) 
 
 THE CHURCH. By Rev. Henry W. Rugg, D.D., Providence, 
 R.I. 
 
 HEAVEN. By Rev. George Sumner Weaver, D.D., Canton, 
 
 N.Y. 
 
 ATONEMENT. By Rev. William Tucker, D.D., Camden, O. 
 PRAYER. By Rev. George H. Deere, D.D., Riverside, Cal. 
 
 PUBLISHED by the 
 
 UNIVERSALIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
 
 BOSTON, I^CASS. 
 
 Western Branch : 69 Dearborn Street, Chicago. 
 
j&anuals of jFattfj ano ©utg. 
 No. x. 
 
 ATONEMENT. 
 
 BY j 
 / 
 
 REV. WILLIAM TUCKER, D.D. 
 h 
 
 We also joy in God through ooe Lord Jesus Christ, bt whom 
 we have now received the atonement. 
 
 . Romans v. 11. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 UNIVERSALIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 
 1893. 
 
 * 
 
 
ST*!*? 
 
 Copyright, 1893, 
 By the Universalist Publishing House. 
 
 
 The Libr 
 of Congress 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. History of the Doctrine of Atone- 
 ment 7 
 
 II. Scriptural Statements of Atonement 
 
 and the Suffering of Christ ... 28 
 
 III. Universal Sacrifice and the Law of 
 
 VlCARIOUSNESS 32 
 
 IV. The Atonement and Law 38 
 
 V. The Atonement and -Punishment ... 41 
 
 VI. The Atonement of Divine Origin . . 44 
 
 VII. The Nature of the Atonement ... 49 
 
 VIII. The Atonement and the Universe . . 64 
 IX. The Mediatorial Reign of Christ and 
 
 the Atonement . 72 
 
 X. The Spiritual Mission of Christ con- 
 sistent with Atonement 76 
 
 XI. The Extent of the Atonement . . . 79 
 
 XII. The Atonement and Man ..... 86 
 
 XIII. The Atonement and Faith 90 
 
 XIV. The Atonement and Salvation ... 93 
 
2Looft on me ! 
 
 &s 5 sfjall tie xtpltfteti on a cross 
 
 En darkness of eclipse, anti anguis!) tircati ! 
 
 Bo sfjall 31 lift up in mo. pierceti fjantis— 
 
 Not into Hark, but Kgfjt ; not unto fceatfj, 
 
 23ut life — begontr tfje rearij of guilt anti grief, 
 
 &ije brfjole Creation, 
 
 Elizabeth Barrett Browning 
 Drama of Exile. 
 
 Wqt cross of (Efjrist ! Wc } txt centre our fyopes, tfyere tite our 
 fears, tfyere fall our sins, tfyere gushes our penitence, tljere beams 
 tfje ligtyt of blcssein assurance upon our tears. 
 
 Rev. E. H. Chapin, D.D. 
 
ATONEMENT. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE revealed purpose of the advent, life, 
 teaching, death, and resurrection of Christ 
 was the salvation of man. " His name shall be 
 called Jesus, for he shall save his people from 
 their sins." This is the divine mission for which 
 Christ was sent into the world. " God so loved 
 the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
 have everlasting life." But what is the divine 
 method of saving the world by Christ ? Was 
 the salvation of the human race to be purely 
 an intellectual process, requiring only a divine 
 teacher of the truth ? Is the production of this 
 great mental, moral, and spiritual change a 
 function of the reason only, when it has been 
 taught by Christ ; or was the process of man's 
 salvation to be ethical as well as rational, de- 
 manding a perfect moral law, illustrated by the 
 
6 ATONEMENT. 
 
 perfect example of a sinless life ? It is evidently 
 true that man's salvation embraces rational and 
 ethical changes such as perfect teaching, a per- 
 fect rule of conduct, and a perfect example would 
 cause. But does not salvation from sin mean 
 more than this ? Does belief of the truth and obe- 
 dience to law embrace all that is implied in the 
 salvation of the human soul ? Has man no fac- 
 ulties but intellect, conscience, and will ? Is not 
 man a religious as well as an ethical being ? Is 
 not piety as well as virtue a rational and natural 
 part of his life ? Is man's emotional nature of 
 no practical importance in the work of salvation ? 
 Must not the heart be touched, the conscience 
 awakened, love enkindled, and man's religious 
 sensibilities quickened before he can be saved? 
 Will intellectual and ethical instruction alone 
 do this? If it will, then the atonement really 
 has no part in the economy of salvation by 
 Christ. The teacher and law-giver are able to 
 save the world from sin by a system of moral 
 instruction, and a process of ethical culture 
 without the atonement. 
 
 But all human experience and all human his- 
 tory prove that intellectual and ethical culture 
 alone have never saved men from sin either as 
 
ATONEMENT. 7 
 
 individuals or as social groups ; hence a spiritual 
 revelation through atonement is necessary. 
 
 I. — The History of the Doctrine of 
 Atonement. 
 
 The history of this doctrine is an important 
 part of the history of the growth of Christian 
 theology. The evolution of thought on this sub- 
 ject is but the result of the effort of the human 
 mind to give a rational explanation, or account, 
 of the phenomena presented in a large part of 
 the life of Christ. The theological doctrine of 
 the atonement is man's interpretation of the fact 
 of atonement as stated in the Scriptures. This 
 accounts for the fact that this doctrine, in its 
 historical development, has been marked by 
 many changes. During the first two centuries 
 the Christian theologian was led to investigate 
 the doctrine of the work of Christ, either by the 
 attacks of heretics or the defective statements 
 of professed believers. There were two views 
 of the atonement regarded as heretical during 
 the first two centuries, which, inasmuch as they 
 presented partial views of the work of Christ, 
 influenced what is held to be the orthodox state- 
 
8 ATONEMENT. 
 
 nient of it. 1 These were the Gnostic and the 
 Ebionite. Gnosticism appeared in two forms, 
 and broached two theories respecting the person 
 and work of Christ. 
 
 That of Basilides (a. d. 125) affirmed only a 
 human suffering in the Redeemer, which was 
 not expiatory for two reasons : " First, because 
 as merely human it was finite and inadequate 
 to atone for the sins of all men; and secondly, 
 because the idea of substitutional penal suffer- 
 ing is inadmissible. Penal suffering, or suffering 
 for purposes of justice, Basilides maintained, of 
 necessity implied personal criminality in the 
 sufferer, and therefore can never be endured 
 by an innocent person like Christ. The prin- 
 ciple of vicarious pain, in reference to justice, 
 for this reason is untenable." 2 The Gnosticism 
 of Marcion (a. d. 150) affirmed a divine suffer- 
 ing in the Redeemer, " which, however, was only 
 apparent, because the Logos having assumed a 
 docetic or spectral human body, only a seeming 
 suffering could occur. This suffering, like that 
 in the scheme of Basilides, could not, of course, 
 be expiatory." 3 
 
 1 History of Christian Doctrine. 2 vols. By William G. T. 
 Shedd, D. D. 
 
 2 Ibid. 3 Angustine. 
 
ATONEMENT. 9 
 
 The Ebionite " denied any connection between 
 man and God in the person of the Redeemer, 
 other than that which exists in the life of any 
 and every man." * Rejecting the doctrine of expi- 
 ation altogether, he occupied the position of the 
 Jews and advanced Unitarians. 
 
 1. The Apostolic Fathers. — In the writings of 
 the Apostolic Fathers we obtain the views of the 
 Church on the doctrine of the atonement during 
 the first half of the century after the death of 
 the last inspired apostle (a. d. 100-150). Ex- 
 amining them, w r e find chiefly the repetition of 
 Scripture phraseology without any labored at- 
 tempt at doctrinal statement. There is no 
 effort to construct a scientific doctrine of the 
 atonement in the writings of these devout and 
 consecrated disciples of Paul and John ; yet the 
 idea of vicarious suffering is distinctly enun- 
 ciated by them. By " vicarious " we mean that 
 Christ suffered for men, and that they were ben- 
 efited by his sufferings. Polycarp (a. d. 168), 
 pupil of John, writes in his Epistle to the Phi- 
 lippians : " Christ is our Saviour ; for through 
 grace we are righteous, not by works ; for our 
 sins he has taken upon himself, has become the 
 
 1 Shedd. 
 
10 ATONEMENT. 
 
 servant of us all through his death for us, our 
 hope and the pledge of our righteousness. Our 
 Lord Jesus Christ suffered himself to be brought 
 even to death for our sins." 
 
 Ignatius (a. d. 116) , the pupil of John, is less 
 urgent than Polycarp in respect to the point of 
 vicarious suffering. He is more inclined to con- 
 sider the work of Christ in reference to the 
 sanctification than the justification of the be- 
 liever. It is a favorite view of his that the 
 death of Christ brings the human soul into com- 
 munion with him. And yet the vicarious suf- 
 fering of Christ is recognized by Ignatius. He 
 speaks of Christ as the one who gave himself to 
 God as an offering and a sacrifice for us. " We 
 have peace through the flesh and blood and pas- 
 sion of Jesus Christ." 
 
 In Barnabas, the pupil of Paul, we find a clear 
 expression of the atoning agency of the Re- 
 deemer : " The Lord endured to deliver his body 
 to death, that we might be sanctified by the re- 
 mission of sins which is by the shedding of that 
 blood" 
 
 Clement of Rome, a disciple of Paul, dwells 
 more generally in his writings of Christ's work 
 than of other parts of the Christian system, and 
 
ATONEMENT. 11 
 
 speaks particularly on his death. For he says : 
 "His blood was given for us, was poured out 
 for our salvation. He gave, by the will of God, 
 his body for our body, his soul for our soul." 1 
 
 2. Early Patristic Teaching. — Passing from 
 the Apostolic to the Primitive Fathers, we find 
 some progress in the scientific statement of the 
 doctrine of atonement. One characteristic of 
 the early Patristic teaching which strikes the 
 attention is the important part which the doc- 
 trine of Satan plays in it. 2 The death of Christ 
 is often represented as ransoming man from the 
 power and slavery of the devil. The writer who 
 exhibits this view more plainly and fully than 
 any other is Irenaeus. He makes this statement: 
 "The Word of God (the Logos), omnipotent and 
 not wanting in essential justice, proceeded with 
 strict justice, even against the Apostasy or king- 
 dom of evil itself, redeeming from it that which 
 was his originally, not by using violence, but by 
 persuasion as it became God, so that neither 
 justice should be infringed upon, nor the original 
 creation of God perish." The doctrine of this 
 passage is, that atonement was a ransom paid 
 to the devil to redeem man from his power. 
 
 1 Dorner, "Person of Christ." 2 Shedd, vol. ii. p. 212. 
 
12 ATONEMENT. 
 
 While we find this theory of the atonement 
 running through this whole period of the history 
 of Christian doctrine, it was not the only theory 
 held and advocated at the time. The following 
 extract from the " Epistle Ad Diognetum" shows 
 this : " God himself gave up his own Son a ran- 
 som for us, the holy for the unholy, the good for 
 the evil, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible 
 for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. 
 For what else could cover our sins but his right- 
 eousness ? In whom was it possible for us, the 
 unholy and the ungodly, to be justified, except the 
 Son of God alone ? sweet exchange ! won- 
 derful operation ! unlooked-for benefit ! that 
 the sinfulness of many should be hidden in one, 
 that the righteousness of one should justify 
 many ungodly." 
 
 3. The Alexandrine School. — Origen, who be- 
 longed to the Alexandrine School of Theology, 
 held that the efficacy of Christ's death extended 
 to the entire apostate world, quoting in proof 
 Colossians i. 20 : " By him to reconcile all things 
 unto himself, whether they be things in earth or 
 things in heaven." He remarks that Christ is 
 the great high-priest, not only for man but for 
 every rational creature. Origen also taught that 
 
ATONEMENT. 13 
 
 Christ's " redeeming agency still continues in his 
 state of exaltation, and that he is saving the 
 apostate continually until the entire apostate 
 universe is restored." 
 
 Origen held that punishment is not judicial, 
 but disciplinary. In his "Homilies upon Eze- 
 kiel," he makes the following statement : " If it 
 had not been conducive to the conversion of sin- 
 ners to employ suffering, never would a com- 
 passionate and benevolent God have inflicted 
 punishment on wickedness." In other places he 
 represents reformation as being the object of 
 punishing the sinner. This being so, it cannot 
 be the purpose of the atonement to save man 
 from deserved punishment, for it is one of the 
 divinely appointed means for his salvation. Ori- 
 gen also rejected the doctrine of endless pun- 
 ishment. This opinion is the logical conclusion 
 from the preceding one, — that punishment is not 
 penal, but disciplinary. For an eternal suffer- 
 ing for sin cannot consist with the amendment 
 of the sinner. The death of Christ is therefore 
 a manifestation of God's love for man, and of 
 his purpose to save him. Clement of Alexandria, 
 the teacher of Origen, makes the following rep- 
 resentations according to Redepenning : " The 
 
14 ATONEMENT. 
 
 deep corruption of mankind fills God, whose com- 
 passion for man is as unlimited as his hatred 
 towards evil, not with anger, for he is never 
 angry, but with the tenderest and most pitiful 
 love. Hence he continually seeks all men whom 
 he loves for their own sakes, and their resem- 
 blance to God, as the bird seeks her young who 
 have fallen from the nest. His omnipotence, to 
 which nothing is impossible, knows how to over- 
 come all evil and convert it into good. He 
 threatens and indeed punishes, but yet only to 
 reform and improve. By means of this power 
 at all times here and hereafter noble minds are 
 drawing nearer to God and the truth." 
 
 4. Athanasius and the Grreek Fathers. — Atha- 
 nasius composed no tract or treatise upon the 
 atonement, and we must consequently deduce 
 his opinions upon this subject from his inci- 
 dental statements while discussing other topics. 
 He says, incidentally referring to the work of 
 Christ : " Christ as man endured death for us, 
 inasmuch as he offered himself for that purpose 
 to the Father. . . . Christ takes our sufferings 
 upon himself, and presents them to the Father, 
 entreating for us that they be satisfied in him. . . . 
 The death of the incarnate Losros is a ransom 
 
ATONEMENT. 15 
 
 for the sins of men. Laden with guilt the 
 world was condemned of law ; but the Logos as- 
 sumed the condemnation, and suffering in the flesh 
 gave salvation to all." The views of the Greek 
 writers on theology prominent in the Church at 
 the time of Athanasius were mostly in substan- 
 tial agreement with his opinions on the subject 
 of the atonement as presented in this historical 
 sketch. Minor differences there were, but they 
 were not such as to imperil the safety of the 
 Church by a revolution in its theology. 
 
 5. Augustine and Grregory the Great. — Au- 
 gustine (a. d. 430) is a writer whose opinions 
 upon any subject should receive attention. On 
 the subject of the atonement he makes this 
 statement : " All men are separated from God by 
 sin. Hence they can be reconciled to him only 
 through the remission of sin, and this only 
 through the grace of a merciful Saviour, and 
 this grace through the one only victim of the 
 most true and only priest." In another place he 
 says : " Our Lord did not indeed transfer sin 
 into his flesh as if it were the poison of the ser- 
 pent, but he did transfer death, so that there 
 might be in the likeness of human flesh the pun- 
 ishment of sin with its personal guilt, whereby 
 
16 ATONEMENT. 
 
 both the personal guilt and punishment of sin 
 might be abolished from human flesh." 
 
 On the subject of the necessity of the atone- 
 ment he says : " They are foolish who say that 
 the wisdom of God could not liberate men oth- 
 erwise than by God's assuming humanity, being 
 born of a woman and suffering at the hands of 
 sinners." This statement shows that in the 
 mind of Augustine the atonement was only 
 necessary in the sense that it was God's choice. 
 
 In his writings Gregory lays great stress upon 
 the idea of a sacrifice offered in the death of 
 Christ. He starts from the conception of guilt, 
 and from this derives immediately the necessity 
 of a theanthropic sacrifice. " Guilt," he says, 
 " can only be extinguished by the penal offering 
 to justice. But it would contradict the idea of 
 justice, if for the sin of a rational being like 
 man, the death of an irrational animal should 
 be accepted as sufficient atonement." 
 
 6. Anselrn's Theory of Satisfaction. — In his 
 tract entitled " Cui Deus Homo," 1 Anselm begins 
 and ends with the idea of the absolute necessity 
 of an atonement in order to the redemption of 
 
 1 Translated in the "Bibliotheca Sacra," October, 1854, and 
 January, 1855. 
 
ATONEMENT. 17 
 
 man. Everything is referred to a metaphysical 
 or necessary ground, and hence we have in this 
 theory the first metaphysique of the Christian 
 doctrine of atonement. The fundamental posi- 
 tion of Anselm is, that the atonement of the Son 
 of God is absolutely or metaphysically necessary 
 in order to the remission of sin. Hence in the 
 very beginning of the tract he affirms that a 
 mere reference to the divine benevolence with- 
 out regard to divine justice cannot satisfy the 
 mind that is seeking a necessary basis in the 
 doctrine of atonement for salvation ; for be- 
 nevolence is inclined to dispense with penal suf- 
 fering, and of itself does not demand it. 
 
 The thought that runs through all Anselm's 
 reasoning is, that the atonement is made for 
 God and not for man. It is to satisfy God and 
 not to reconcile man. 
 
 7. Abelard, Lombard, Aquinas. — " Abelard 
 begins and ends with the benevolence of God. 
 This is divorced from and not limited by his 
 holiness, and is regarded as endowed with the 
 liberty of indifference. The Deity can pardon 
 upon repentance. There is nothing in the di- 
 vine nature which necessitates satisfaction for 
 past transgressions, antecedently to the remis- 
 
 2 
 
18 ATONEMENT. 
 
 sion of penalty. Nothing is needed but peni- 
 tence in order to the remission of sin. The 
 object of the incarnation and death of Christ is 
 to produce sorrow in the human soul. The life 
 and sufferings of the God-man were intended to 
 make a moral impression upon hard and impeni- 
 tent hearts." 
 
 In the theory of Peter Lombard 1 the influence 
 of the death of Christ is spent upon the subjec- 
 tive character of the individual soul ; in soften- 
 ing, subduing, and sanctifying. The claims of 
 justice are met to a limited extent by the suf- 
 ferings of the Redeemer. They delivered man 
 from the temporal and penal consequences of 
 sin, provided baptism be administered and peni- 
 tence performed. 2 
 
 Hugo Saint Victor (a. d. 1140) speaks often 
 of the Deity as propitiated. " The Son of God," 
 he says, " by becoming a man paid man's debt to 
 the Father, and by dying expiated man's guilt." 
 
 Aquinas answers the objection to the atone- 
 ment grounded on the fact that merit and de- 
 merit are personal, and that therefore vicarious 
 satisfaction is impossible, by the doctrine of the 
 
 1 Lombard wrote in 1164. 
 
 2 Shedd, rol. ii. p. 289. 
 
ATONEMENT. 19 
 
 uniomystical existence between the believer and 
 the Redeemer ; founding his view upon the state- 
 ment of Saint Paul, that believers are members 
 of the body of Christ. Aquinas believed and 
 taught the doctrine of the superabundance in the 
 merits of Christ. He concedes that the suffer- 
 ing of Christ is of greater value than that of 
 man himself, yet claims that the latter enters 
 as an element in providing for the remission 
 of sin. 
 
 8. The Council of Trent. — The following ex- 
 tracts from the Canons of the Council of Trent 
 enunciate the Roman Catholic soteriology : " Jus- 
 tification is not the mere remission of sins, but 
 also the sanctification and renovation of inward 
 man through the voluntary reception of grace 
 and gifts of grace, whereby an unjust man be- 
 comes just, the enemy a friend, so that he may 
 be an heir according to the hope of eternal life. 
 The only formal cause of justification is the jus- 
 tice of God, — not that by which he himself is 
 just, but that by which he makes us just. And 
 we are said to be justified gratuitously because 
 none of these things which precede justification, 
 whether faith or works, merits the grace itself of 
 justification." 
 
20 ATONEMENT. 
 
 9. Hugo Grrotius. — Grotius (a. d. 1645) pre- 
 sented a theory of the atonement, derived from 
 the doctrines and analogies of civil and crimi- 
 nal law, that has had much influence in direct- 
 ing and shaping the thought of the Church on 
 this subject. The soteriology of Grotius is 
 founded upon his idea of law and punishment, 
 and the relation which these sustain to God. 
 "Law," according to Grotius, "is a positive 
 statute of enactment." " It is not," he says, 
 "something inward in God, or in the divine 
 will and nature, but is only the effect of his 
 will." Law, therefore, is a mere product on the 
 part of God, by which he himself is not bound, 
 because it is his own work. As the enactor of 
 a positive state, he has the same power to 
 change or abrogate it which the law-making 
 power among men possesses. The penalty of 
 law is likewise a positive and not a natural and 
 necessary arrangement. For law is not some- 
 thing eternal in God, or in the will itself of 
 God, but is a particular effect or product of his 
 will. That the effects or products of the divine 
 will are mutable, is very certain. A threat to 
 punish is not like a promise to reward. From 
 the promise to reward when accepted by another 
 
ATONEMENT. 21 
 
 there arises a contract which is binding; but 
 the threat to punish only declares that the trans- 
 gressor deserves penalty. It follows from this 
 reasoning that " God in his administration may 
 pardon the offender directly, or admit a partial 
 equivalent for the penalty. The sufferings and 
 death of the Son of God are an exemplary exhi- 
 bition of God's hatred of moral evil, and in 
 connection with which it is safe and prudent 
 to remit the penalty." 1 The governmental the- 
 ory of atonement now so widely adopted by the 
 churches claiming to be evangelical has grown 
 out of, and is a modification of, the teaching of 
 Grotius. 
 
 10. Socinus. — The theory of Socinus 
 (a. d. 1539-1604) respecting the work of Christ 
 is stated with great directness and clearness. 
 Bejecting as he did all mystery, and reducing 
 Christianity to a few simple principles of natu- 
 ral ethics, it was easy for him to be explicit in 
 his statements and transparent in his style. He 
 rejected the idea of divine justice as held by the 
 Church generally. " There is no such justice 
 in God," says he, u as requires absolutely and 
 inexorably that sin be punished, and such as 
 
 1 Ancient Law. By Henry S. Maine, p. 62. 
 
22 ATONEMENT. 
 
 God himself cannot repudiate. There is indeed 
 a perpetual and constant justice in God ; but 
 this is nothing but his moral equity and recti- 
 tude, by virtue of which there is no depravity or 
 iniquity in any of his works." 1 
 
 The first objection of Socinus to the doctrine 
 of satisfaction was that it excluded mercy. If 
 sin is punished, it is not forgiven ; and conversely, 
 it is not punished. " The two ideas of satisfac- 
 tion and remission exclude and expel each other. 
 If God's justice is satisfied by the infliction of 
 judicial suffering, there is no room for the ex- 
 ercise of his mercy. If God has received a com- 
 plete equivalent for the punishment due to man, 
 then he does not show any compassion in remit- 
 ting his sin." The second objection of Socinus 
 to the Church doctrine of atonement was that 
 substitution was impossible. An innocent per- 
 son cannot endure penal suffering, cannot be 
 punished, because sin is personal. Penalty is 
 not like pecuniary debt. One person can pay 
 a sum of money for another, because money is 
 impersonal. But one being cannot satisfy jus- 
 tice for another, because punishment is personal. 
 Justice permits no vicariousness and no substi- 
 
 1 Shedd, vol. ii. p. 377. 
 
ATONEMENT. 23 
 
 tution, but requires that the very identical soul 
 that has sinned should suffer. There is no way 
 therefore to deliver the guilty from penalty but 
 by an act of sovereign will. Justice is made by 
 will, whenever the supreme sovereign pleases to 
 do so. 
 
 The third objection of Socinus to the doctrine 
 of vicarious atonement was that even were vica- 
 rious penalty allowable, Christ did not suffer it. 
 The law threatens eternal death. Every indi- 
 vidual transgressor owes an endless punishment 
 to justice. It would be necessary that there 
 should be as many substitutes as sinners, and 
 that each one should suffer an endless penalty. 
 Christ did not do this; his suffering was not, 
 therefore, an equivalent for man's sin. 
 
 The positive part of the soteriology of Socinus 
 is found in the position that forgiveness is granted 
 on the grounds of repentance and obedience. 
 There are no legal obstacles in the way of pardon, 
 because God is sovereign and supreme. 
 
 11. Charming Unitarianism. — Dr. Channing, 
 to whom American Unitarianism owes more 
 than to any other man, believed in the unity of 
 God, and the divine mission and work of Christ. 
 Christ came as the world's Saviour. His mis- 
 
24 ATONEMENT. 
 
 sion was to save man from sin, and his method 
 of doing this was to sacrifice himself for the 
 salvation of man. Channing says, in his sermon 
 on "Love to Christ" : l "In the New Testament 
 the crucifixion of Jesus is always set forth as 
 the most illustrious portion of his history. The 
 spirit of self-sacrifice, of deliberate self-immola- 
 tion, of calm, patient endurance of the death of 
 the cross, in the cause of truth, piety, virtue, hu- 
 man happiness, — this particular manifestation 
 of love is always urged upon in the New Testa- 
 ment as the crowning glory of Jesus Christ." 
 This revelation of Christ's love for man and 
 sympathy with man, as seen in his suffering and 
 death, presents us the philosophy of man's sal- 
 vation by Christ. It is not alone by ethical 
 teaching, by a pure example, but by God's love 
 for man, and Christ's love for men as shown in 
 his great suffering, that men are saved. It is 
 the power of love to awaken and enkindle love 
 that does it. There is no influence so potent to 
 save men as that of love; and love for man is 
 the great revelation made in the suffering and 
 death of Christ. 
 
 Dr. James Freeman Clarke says that " Unita- 
 
 1 Ckanning's Works, vol. ix. p. 191. 
 
ATONEMENT.. 25 
 
 rians are fully justified in holding that the New 
 Testament nowhere asserts that the primary and 
 immediate influence of the death of Christ is 
 upon the divine attributes. In every instance 
 Christ is said to reconcile us to God. It is we 
 who were afar off that have been made right by 
 the blood of Christ. It is we who, when we 
 were enemies, were reconciled by the death of 
 his Son." 1 
 
 Unitarians generally hold what is called the 
 moral theory of the atonement. In the judg- 
 ment of nearly ail Unitarian divines it was de- 
 signed to influence man, and not to move God. 
 It was not as a satisfaction to divine justice that 
 Christ suffered, but as a manifestation of divine 
 love. It was not to pay the sinner's debt, but 
 to move the sinner's heart, that Christ expired 
 on the cross. He did not die to save man from 
 punishment, but to save him from sin. 
 
 12. Early Universalis™. — John Murray, the 
 founder of the Universalist Church in America, 
 though not the first teacher of Universalism on 
 this continent, was, previous to his conversion to 
 the larger faith and hope of the final salvation 
 of all men, a Calvinistic Methodist. As a Cal- 
 
 1 Orthodoxy : Its Truths and Errors, p. 262. 
 
26 ATONEMENT. 
 
 vinist, he believed that all for whom Christ died 
 would be saved ; as a Methodist, he believed that 
 Christ died for all. 1 These two points of doc- 
 trine taken together make Universalism. Put 
 into a syllogism, the argument would stand thus: 
 The major premise, All for whom Christ died 
 will be saved ; the minor premise, Christ died 
 for all ; Conclusion, Therefore all will be saved. 
 The Universalism of John Murray grew out of 
 his faith in the divinity of Christ, and his views 
 of the nature, relations, and extent of the atone- 
 ment. It is natural that a divine Saviour should 
 be the author of universal salvation, for all God's 
 relations to man are universal. Were Christ 
 only a man, it would not be unreasonable or un- 
 natural for him to fail in the work of salvation ; 
 for partial failure is common to men, but God 
 never fails. The divinity of the cause is proof 
 of the certainty and universality of the effect. 
 
 John Murray believed that the work of Christ 
 was substitutional. He held that Christ suffered 
 not only for man, but as man's substitute. As 
 he suffered the penalty for all human sin, and 
 paid the debt to divine justice contracted by the 
 fallen human race, justice demands the salvation 
 
 1 Murray's Sermons, vol. inV 
 
ATONEMENT. 27 
 
 of all men. If this were not so, sin would be 
 punished in man and also in his substitute, and 
 the debt would be collected from both the sin- 
 ner and his surety. Substitutional atonement 
 provided for all men becomes the ground of 
 universal salvation. 
 
 Hosea Ballou, in his work on the Atonement, 
 shows that sin is not infinite, that it does not 
 involve infinite guilt, nor deserve infinite punish- 
 ment ; that as a consequence punishment is not 
 infinite and eternal. Sin, being limited and 
 temporary, does not need an infinite atonement, 
 does not demand a divine, infinite Mediator. 1 As 
 a result of this reasoning, he reaches the conclu- 
 sion that punishment is not and cannot be eter- 
 nal, — which is the conclusion of Universalism, 
 — and that Christ was not God,- — which is the 
 conclusion of Unitarianism. 
 
 Hosea Ballou was, therefore, in his theology 
 and teaching a Unitarian Universalist. He did 
 not believe that the atonement was the cause, 
 but the effect, of God's love for man. Christ was 
 the gift of the Father's love for suffering human- 
 ity. He came and suffered to reveal God's love 
 for us. His atonement was not to reconcile God 
 
 1 Ballou on the Atonement, Part I. 
 
28 ATONEMENT. 
 
 to man, but to reconcile man to God. "-God was 
 in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." 
 Men are pardoned, not because of the suffering 
 of Christ, but because they repent, believe, and 
 reform; they would not do this, however, with- 
 out the revelation of God's love in Christ. This 
 is the motive to repentance and piety. 
 
 Dr. Thomas B. Thayer holds that the atone- 
 ment of Christ is the divinely appointed means 
 of reconciling man to God. 1 It does this by 
 convincing man of God's love for him. "All 
 things are of God, who reconciled us to himself 
 by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the min- 
 istry of reconciliation." " We love him because 
 he first loved us." 
 
 II. — Scriptural Statements of Atonement 
 and the Suffering of Christ. 
 
 " Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried 
 our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, 
 smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was 
 wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised 
 for our iniquities: the chastisement of our 
 peace was upon him; and with his stripes we 
 are healed. The Lord hath laid on him the 
 
 1 Theology of Universalism, p. 125. 
 
ATONEMENT. 29 
 
 iniquity of us all. It pleased the Lord to 
 bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when 
 thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, 
 he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 
 and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in 
 his hands." "The Son of man came to give 
 his life a ransom for many." "But we see 
 Jesus, who was made a little 4 lower than the 
 angels, for the suffering of death." "Whom 
 God has set forth to be a propitiation through 
 faith in his blood." "For when we were yet 
 without strength, in due time Christ died for 
 the ungodly. " " Christ died for our sins accord- 
 ing to the Scriptures." "I lay down rny life 
 for the sheep. " " Christ has redeemed us from 
 the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. " 
 " Who his own self bare our sins in his own body 
 on the tree. " " For Christ hath once suffered for 
 sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring 
 us to God." "Who gave himself for us." 
 " Who gave himself for our sins." " Who gave 
 himself a ransom for all. " " By whose stripes 
 ye were healed. " 
 
 The inspired writers in these passages clearly 
 teach the fact of the atonement. They, how- 
 ever, present no theory or philosophy of the 
 
30 ATONEMENT. 
 
 atonement; they recognize the suffering of 
 Christ as necessary to man's salvation; they 
 teach that he suffered for us, for our benefit, 
 for our salvation. He died for us, gave him- 
 self for us, gave his life for us. This language 
 proves that Christ came not only to teach men, 
 but to suffer for them. By his suffering he has 
 ransomed, redeemed, and saved us. 
 
 The great fact that Christ suffered is clearly 
 stated by all his historians. It has never been 
 denied or even questioned by any respectable 
 authority in religious history. 
 
 He did not suffer for himself or for his own 
 sins, for he was sinless. He was pure, unde- 
 filed, and separate from sinners. Then why 
 did he suffer? Was there no reason for his 
 suffering? Did he suffer without reason and 
 for no purpose? How could such a man, of 
 such a life and character, suffer as he did, 
 under the government of an all-powerful, all- 
 wise, and all-benevolent God, for no reason and 
 for no wise purpose? Is there no rational ex- 
 planation of this strange moral phenomenon? 
 Not unless the Biblical account is true. If he 
 suffered for man, for his benefit, for his salva- 
 
ATONEMENT. 31 
 
 tion, and as his Saviour, then the phenomenon 
 is explained, the moral problem is solved; the 
 facts are rationally accounted for, — such a life 
 was worthy of the Son of God, and of the divine 
 Father who sent him. It is in harmony with 
 his divine origin, his benevolent nature, his 
 sinless life, and his exalted character. He 
 suffered as part of a divine plan, to carry out a 
 divine purpose, to fulfil divine prophecy, to re- 
 veal the Father's love, and to save the human 
 race from sin. This is the mission on which 
 he came; this is the work for which he was 
 sent into the world. " He came not to call the 
 righteous but sinners to repentance." He is 
 " the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of 
 the world. " He who " knew no sin was made a 
 sin offering for us, that we might be made the 
 righteousness of God in him. " It was like the 
 Father to send him on such a mission of love. 
 It was like the Son to come ; and the sublime 
 act of benevolence fits into the moral and spir- 
 itual universe of which it is a part, restoring 
 its lost harmony and establishing universal 
 peace. 
 
32 ATONEMENT. 
 
 III. — Universal Sacrifice and the Law of 
 
 VlCARIOUSNESS. 
 
 The study of Comparative Theology shows 
 there are certain elements common to nearly 
 all religions. These are faith in God's ex- 
 istence and man's relations to him; man's 
 responsibility to God growing out of these re- 
 lations ; a law of duty which is the measure of 
 man's responsibility; the consciousness of sin, 
 guilt, and remorse, as resulting from the viola- 
 tion of this law; and the hope for pardon and 
 salvation through suffering and sacrifice. These 
 common and abiding religious elements we 
 find everywhere. 1 They are primary principles 
 in all theologies, and vital and practical ele- 
 ments in all religions. Does not the existence 
 of these universal elements common to all re- 
 ligions prove that the law of atonement is a fact 
 in the moral government of God, recognized by 
 the moral nature of man? Do they not show 
 that the moral and religious intuitions of man 
 demand atonement as the condition of recon- 
 ciliation and forgiveness? They teach that 
 while atonement is not necessary to move God, 
 
 1 Manual of the Science of Religion, pp. 142-147. 
 
ATONEMENT. 33 
 
 it is necessary to convince man of God's will- 
 ingness to be reconciled to man as a sinner. 
 Man has this singular instinct : he demands an 
 earnest of the intentions of God. 
 
 All the other elements common to nearly all 
 religions and found in man's religious hfstory 
 and development, are regarded as true; why 
 should we not so regard the common offering 
 of religious sacrifices? Do they not reveal a 
 great want of man's nature, and come under a 
 great law of man's religious being? Have the 
 bleeding victims, the slain animals, the smok- 
 ing altars, and the costly oblations which we 
 find in nearly all religions no meaning? Is 
 there not in human nature some moral cause 
 for these phenomena? Have these facts in man's 
 religious life and history no reference to his 
 sin and salvation? The general consensus of 
 theological and religious thought interprets these 
 phenomena as the manifestation of man's con- 
 sciousness of sin, fear of punishment, faith in 
 salvation, and hope for reconciliation through 
 atonement. 
 
 It has not been questioned by any standard 
 authority in Comparative Theology that such 
 is, or may be in part at least, the meaning of 
 
 3 
 
34 ATONEMENT. 
 
 sacrificial offerings so common to the many 
 different systems of religion in the world. 
 This view is confirmed by the readiness with 
 which the devotees of such religions embrace 
 Christianity. It comes to them as a system 
 that completes and makes perfect their hope of 
 salvation through sacrifice. 
 
 There is in the atonement that which adjusts 
 it to man's religious nature and history. It 
 supplies his wants, and meets his spiritual 
 necessities. It does not set aside the old re- 
 ligious faith and order of the world so much as 
 it transcends them. Its mission is not to de- 
 stroy, but to make perfect. 
 
 " Vicarious 1 sacrifice is the law of being. It 
 is a mysterious and fearful thing to observe 
 how God's universe is built upon this law, — 
 how it permeates and pervades all Nature, so 
 that if it were to cease Nature would cease to 
 exist. " It conditions the existence and devel- 
 opment of all life, mind, and character. The 
 existence of the individual, the family, society, 
 and the race is the result of its action. Civili- 
 
 1 The author uses the term " vicarious " in the sense of suf- 
 fering for another and for his benefit, — not in the place of, 
 or instead of, the other. 
 
ATONEMENT. 35 
 
 zation, the Church, and the State are ours be- 
 cause of its operation. 
 
 The rocks must crumble and be converted 
 into soil, that plants may live, grow, and bear 
 fruit. Plants must die, that animals and men 
 may have life and enjoyment. Animals suffer 
 and die for each other and for the benefit of 
 man. Men everywhere suffer to help and bless 
 their fellow-men. The father suffers for his 
 family, and the mother suffers for her children. 
 The patriot dies for his country, and the Chris- 
 tian martyr for the truth and the Church. We 
 live under a republican form of government and 
 enjoy civil and religious liberty because our 
 Revolutionary fathers suffered and died in battle 
 and in camp. 
 
 Christ, the Son of God and the Son of man, 
 suffered for us under this great law of God's 
 moral and spiritual providence. The death of 
 Christ for man's salvation is the highest appli- 
 cation of this law known to the moral universe, 
 This event in its principle is not exceptional, 
 but universal. It is a part of a divine plan 
 upon which human society was organized. It 
 is operative everywhere in domestic, social, and 
 religious life. It gives play to man's sym- 
 
36 ATONEMENT. 
 
 pathies, and provides for the exercise of his 
 benevolence. It is not only the law of human- 
 ity, but of divinity as well. It embraces in its 
 sublime sweep the finite and the infinite, man 
 and God, earth and heaven, time and eternity. 
 It is the law of divine action in creation, provi- 
 dence, and grace. God is all the time planning 
 and working for others, and not for himself. 
 The whole material universe is used in the ser- 
 vice of man. Nature is a divine instrument of 
 human service. God is all the time giving to 
 his children. He gives them food and raiment, 
 home and friends, health and happiness, joy 
 and peace, faith and hope, love and loved ones. 
 For our salvation he has given his Son, his 
 Spirit, and himself to us. 
 
 The atonement is the revelation of God's 
 self-sacrificing love. God is an emotional 
 being. He has an emotional nature, and re- 
 veals himself as in the exercise of the emotions 
 of justice, benevolence, love, pity, compassion, 
 forgiveness, and sympathy. These terms mean 
 the same when applied to God as when applied 
 to man. Man was made in the image and like- 
 ness of God's intellectual, moral, and spiritual 
 nature. It is for this reason that we can under- 
 
ATONEMENT, 37 
 
 stand God's thoughts and feelings as he reveals 
 himself in Nature, the Bible, and Christ. We 
 interpret all things in the light of our own con- 
 scious being, life, and experience ; and by this 
 interpretation we see God giving the strongest 
 proof of his love for us which it is possible for 
 even God to give. 
 
 The power to suffer voluntarily for the benefit 
 of others reveals the possession of a great 
 nature. It shows great moral and spiritual 
 sensibility. It manifests large benevolence 
 and great sympathy. It indicates a generous 
 and noble spirit, and great strength of moral 
 character. The really great men and women 
 of history have all possessed this power in a 
 marked degree. Its possession gives to the 
 human soul great influence with men. It is 
 moral power as distinguished from physical 
 force. The possession of this power as no 
 other man ever possessed it is the supreme 
 glory of the character and life of Christ. It 
 is also one of God's infinite perfections. It is 
 this that gives him moral omnipotence. It is 
 only in its exercise that he can give the strong- 
 est proof of his love for man. This he did 
 when he gave his only begotten Son to suffer 
 
38 ATONEMENT. 
 
 and die for the world's salvation. It is the 
 infinite love of God thus revealed that touches 
 the great heart of humanity, awakens its moral 
 life, and kindles its moral enthusiasm into a 
 glow. 
 
 IV. — The Atonement and Law. 
 
 The atonement of Christ is not in conflict 
 with the moral law, or the moral order of 
 society. They both had their origin in the 
 same divine mind. The unity of the divine 
 nature and character is proof of the harmony 
 between law and atonement. They are divine 
 moral effects of the same divine moral cause, 
 and cannot be in conflict. They must be in 
 agreement; otherwise there is no unity in the 
 divine nature and no harmony in the divine 
 government. 
 
 Christ recognizes the divine origin and au- 
 thority of the law while engaged in the great 
 work of making atonement. He states the 
 supreme principle of the law as love, and shows 
 that the atonement had its origin in, and em- 
 bodies the same principle. " God so loved the 
 world that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
 
ATONEMENT. 39 
 
 but have everlasting life. " We are also taught 
 that the influence of atonement as a revelation 
 of the love of God for man secures obedience to 
 the law of love. " We love him because he 
 first loved us." The law and the atonement 
 are both provisions of divine love to save man 
 from sin. 
 
 The life of Christ is one of perfect obedience 
 to the law. It is a living commentary upon its 
 principles and precepts. The requirements of 
 the law are illustrated and enforced by his ex- 
 ample. Its spirit is embodied and takes form 
 in his conduct and character. We see in his 
 social life the practical evidence of the wonder- 
 ful adjustment of the law to man's social rela- 
 tions, and of its perfect adaptation to his nature 
 and wants. In his teaching he gives us not 
 only theory but practice, not only precept but 
 example. He not only tells us what the law 
 requires us to do, but shows us how to do it. 
 
 The atonement shows us that God submits to 
 and obeys the same law of love which he has 
 given to us, — that it is the law for divinity as 
 well as humanity, — the law of God as well 
 as the law of man, and controls divine as well 
 as human action. This fact reveals, as no other 
 
40 ATONEMENT. 
 
 fact ever did, the divinity, supremacy, and 
 authority of the law. It shows its permanency 
 and universality. It is the law of God and 
 man, heaven and earth, time and eternity; 
 the law for all worlds, and of all rational, 
 moral, and spiritual beings. It is always, 
 everywhere, and on all rational natures bind- 
 ing. The atonement sustains the law by plac- 
 ing before man the strongest possible motives 
 to obey it; all moral action is conditioned by 
 motives. There can be no rational, responsible 
 action without motives. To act without regard 
 to motives is to act irrationally. A man with- 
 out motives is a man without a moral nature, 
 and incapable of moral action. Motives influ- 
 ence our conduct by appealing to the affections, 
 emotions, and sensibilities of our rational, 
 moral, and religious natures. The strongest 
 motives are those which appeal to conscience, 
 love, and hope; and the atonement makes its 
 appeal to all these, as no other fact in all human 
 history ever did. 
 
 In the advent, life, suffering, death, and 
 resurrection of Christ for man's salvation, the 
 divine goodness appeals to man's gratitude, the 
 divine purity to man's conscience, the divine 
 
ATONEMENT. 41 
 
 love to man's heart, the divine faithfulness to 
 man's confidence and trust, the divine promises 
 to man's hope, and the divine nature and char- 
 acter to man's adoration and worship. Was 
 there ever stronger motive presented to man to 
 secure his obedience to law? Was there ever 
 stronger appeal made to man's whole moral and 
 religious nature, to bring him into harmony 
 with right, and unto union with God, than is 
 made in the atonement? 
 
 V. — The Atonement and Punishment. 
 
 In the philosophy and theology of Universal- 
 ism the function of punishment is disciplinary 
 and reformatory. Its work is to teach and 
 reform; its design is to educate and save. 
 Men are punished for their own good, and not 
 alone for the good of society. As a part of the 
 moral government of God, it had its origin in 
 love. Its function is benevolent ; its object is 
 to make men better. This being so, the design 
 of the atonement was not to prevent punish- 
 ment. To do that is to injure, and not to help 
 man. If punishment is designed and adapted 
 to reform men. to prevent it by the atonement 
 is to prevent their reformation. 
 
42 ATONEMENT. 
 
 The purpose of the atonement is not to save 
 man from punishment, but to save him from 
 sin. It saves from punishment only to the 
 extent of and by saving from sin. The atone- 
 ment and punishment are not opposed the one 
 to the other, but they are both opposed to sin. 
 They are both designed to prevent sin, and to 
 save men from it. Punishment and atonement 
 are both designed to maintain and not to dis- 
 turb the moral order of the universe. They do 
 not abrogate, but enforce and uphold law. 
 Punishment and atonement are not ends of 
 government ; they are only the means employed 
 by government for the attainment of high and 
 noble ends. 
 
 From these views it follows that Christ, in 
 making atonement, did not suffer man's punish- 
 ment. He suffered for man and for his bene- 
 fit; but he did not suffer man's punishment, nor 
 to save man from just punishment. All pun- 
 ishment is suffering, but all suffering is not 
 punishment. To make suffering punishment 
 there must be in it a moral element; it must 
 be attended by the moral consciousness that it 
 is deserved. Christ's suffering for man was at- 
 tended by no such moral consciousness ; there- 
 
ATONEMENT. 43 
 
 fore it was not, and could not be punishment. 
 It was suffering voluntarily endured for man's 
 benefit, but it was in no sense his punishment. 
 
 Moral character and moral action are purely 
 personal, and therefore cannot be transferred. 
 Christ did not suffer man's punishment, because 
 he was not guilty of man's sin. He had not 
 violated the law, nor incurred the penalty; 
 consequently he could not suffer the punishment 
 due man's sin. The sin of man cannot be 
 transferred to, nor his punishment inflicted on, 
 Christ. Man's moral responsibility and moral 
 obligation cannot be assumed by another; 
 morals recognize no substitution. The person 
 that sins incurs the penalty, and must suffer 
 the punishment. Christ suffered on account of 
 sin and for sin, but he was not punished as a 
 sinner. The penalty of sin is the consciousness 
 of guilt, a feeling of moral condemnation, a 
 sense of shame, and remorse of conscience. The 
 innocent and sinless Son of God could not pos- 
 sibly suffer such a penalty. He could not by 
 any power in earth or heaven be made to have 
 such a moral experience. Such a psychologi- 
 cal condition would be impossible to his nature 
 and character. It is therefore evident that the 
 
44 ATONEMENT. 
 
 suffering endured by Christ was not the punish- 
 ment of man's sin. It was not the penalty of 
 violated law which man had incurred, nor the 
 suffering which man's outraged moral nature 
 inflicts upon the sinner. 
 
 Punishment prepares the way for Christ and 
 his salvation. It does this by making man un- 
 derstand his true condition as a sinner. It 
 shows him how fearful an evil sin is. It re- 
 veals its power, pollution, slavery, degradation, 
 shame, and remorse. It is the hungry man 
 that will seek for food. The thirsty man will 
 cry for water, the diseased man will go to the 
 physician; and the soul, conscious of pain, 
 shame, remorse, and hell that sin causes, will 
 seek Christ and his great salvation. To all 
 such Christ, with his great atonement, stands 
 ready to forgive and save. The desire of the 
 truly penitent spirit is to be saved from sin and 
 not penalty. 
 
 VI. — The Atonement of Divine Origin. 
 
 The atonement is of divine origin. It is a 
 divine arrangement for the salvation of man, — 
 a form of divine activity in love and mercy. It 
 was a part of God's gracious purpose towards 
 
ATONEMENT. 45 
 
 man from the foundation of the world. It was 
 provided for in the divine plan of moral gov- 
 ernment before man was created. It was not 
 an afterthought to which God was prompted by 
 the origin of sin. It was not hurriedly pro- 
 vided to meet the moral crises which sin had 
 caused in God's moral universe. Man's sin 
 was foreseen, and his salvation provided for in 
 the divine plan before the sons of God sang 
 their anthem of praise at the dawn of creation. 
 
 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spir- 
 itual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 
 according as he hath chosen us in him before 
 the foundation of the world, that we should be 
 holy and without blame before him in love; 
 having predestinated us unto the adoption of 
 children by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
 to the good pleasure of his will ; to the praise 
 of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made 
 us accepted in the beloved: in whom we have 
 redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
 of sins, according to the riches of his grace. " 1 
 
 The Apostle teaches us in this sublime pas- 
 sage from the Epistle to the Ephesians that God 
 
 1 Ephesians i. 3-7. 
 
46 ATONEMENT. 
 
 purposed to save man from sin through the 
 atonement of Christ from before the foundation 
 of the world. This divine purpose originated 
 in God's infinite love. Creation and salvation 
 in the divine mind do not form two purposes, 
 but one purpose. God's purpose of salvation did 
 not grow out of man's creation and fall into 
 sin; but he created man that he might save 
 him. The divine purpose to create is grounded 
 in the divine purpose to save, or rather it is a 
 part of it. God is one; his nature is a unit- 
 He could form no purpose to exercise his natu- 
 ral attributes in creation that would conflict 
 with his moral nature. God is a being of infi- 
 nite holiness, justice, and benevolence ; foresee- 
 ing, before man was created, that in the event of 
 his creation he would certainly sin, God could 
 not purpose to create man unless he also pur- 
 posed to save him. To have done so would 
 have been contrary to his moral perfections and 
 moral character. This the divine unity made 
 impossible. In the nature and order of crea- 
 tion, as regards value and importance, the moral 
 takes precedence of the natural. It is in har- 
 mony with this law of the moral universe that 
 God should purpose to save man before he pur- 
 posed to create him. 
 
ATONEMENT. 47 
 
 In nature the material exists for the spir- 
 itual, the animal for the rational, and the natu- 
 ral for the moral. Creation is a condition and 
 means of salvation; it is a preparation for it. 
 Its moral importance grows out of this fact. 
 This gives to matter and life a moral function. 
 The physical universe has moral relations; the 
 operations of Nature look to moral ends. There 
 is a law of moral unity in the universe that 
 binds together all forces and all events. All 
 previous civilization was but a preparation for 
 the advent of Christ as the Saviour of the world. 
 It is this event that gives unity to all history. 
 This world becomes the theatre for the unfold- 
 ing of God's great purpose of salvation through 
 atonement. The method of this unfolding has 
 been gradual and progressive, the causes of it 
 have been divine and human action, and all 
 human history is the record of the results. By 
 this process institutions have been builded, 
 governments established, laws enacted, arts 
 created, and reforms inaugurated. Christian 
 civilization is its product, the Christian Church 
 the divinely constituted agent, and the gospel 
 of Christ the great moral and spiritual instru- 
 ment. Christ was sent by God into the world 
 
48 ATONEMENT. 
 
 on a mission of salvation. "He came to 
 seek and to save the lost." "He was sent 
 unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 
 "The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour 
 of the world." "He came not into the world 
 to condemn the world, but that the world 
 through him might be saved." These texts 
 show that Christ is the Saviour by divine ap- 
 pointment; this was his divine mission into 
 the world. 
 
 " For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but 
 to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep 
 we should live together with him. " " But we 
 see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the 
 angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with 
 glory and honor, that he by the grace of God 
 should taste death for every man." "Being 
 justified freely by his grace through the re- 
 demption that is in Christ Jesus. " 
 
 God has appointed us to obtain salvation by 
 Christ. The atonement is then a matter of 
 divine appointment. Jesus Christ tasted death 
 for every man by the grace of God. It was an 
 arrangement of special divine favor to man. 
 Christ " gave himself for our sins, that he might 
 
ATONEMENT. 49 
 
 deliver us from this present evil world, accord- 
 ing to the will of God and our Father. " 2 
 
 The atonement of Christ for man's sin is 
 here stated to be according to the will of God. 
 The Father sent his Son on this mission of suf- 
 fering love for man's salvation. 
 
 " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but 
 that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
 pitiation for our sins. " 2 " Whom God hath set 
 forth to be a propitiation in his blood through 
 faith. " 3 Christ was set forth by God for this 
 very work of making atonement for sin through 
 faith in his blood. 
 
 The one great fact in the life of Christ in 
 which we find the atonement is his suffering; 
 he suffered for us. He suffered for our sin, 
 though he did not suffer its penalty and punish- 
 ment ; he suffered to save us from sin, to recon- 
 cile us to God. His suffering is the means of 
 ! our salvation. 
 
 VII. — The Nature of the Atonement. 
 
 The suffering of Christ in the agony of the 
 garden was not the direct infliction of divine 
 wrath upon the soul of Jesus as the substitute 
 
 1 Galatians i. 4. 2 1 John iv. 10. 3 Romans iii. 25. 
 
 4 
 
50 ATONEMENT. 
 
 for sinful men. The difficulties in the way of 
 this theory are insuperable. There was never 
 a moment in which the holy Son of God en- 
 dured the wrath of the divine Father. It is a 
 fearful thing to give place for a moment to this 
 sad misapprehension or misrepresentation of 
 the Gospel. Could the obedient Son of God 
 incur the anger of his Father while executing 
 the Father's will? Can God punish his own 
 Son for doing that which he commanded him to 
 do? Can God bless and curse the same being 
 in the same instant for doing one and the 
 same act? Surely these things cannot be. The 
 justice and benevolence of God, and the charac- 
 ter and work of Christ make such a theory im- 
 possible to rational thought. God never felt 
 for Christ any other emotion than love. Nor 
 was this agony caused by the indirect maledic- 
 tion of God, who by withdrawing himself from 
 his Son left him to bear the curse that was due 
 the sinful race. No; God did not actively or 
 constructively visit his wrath upon the soul of 
 Jesus. The cause, whatever it was, lay outside 
 of the divine agency, and was a force as hostile 
 to the will of the Father as it was repugnant to 
 the pure and sensitive soul of Jesus. 
 
ATONEMENT. t 51 
 
 1. Not Penalty. — In the agony of the garden 
 and the cross Christ did not bear all the pen- 
 alty of all the sins of all men for all the ages, 
 combined and compressed into the experience 
 of an hour. If this theory were true, there 
 would be no saving of suffering to the moral 
 and spiritual universe by the atonement of 
 Christ. There would be the same amount of 
 suffering; it would only be transferred from 
 the guilty to the innocent. How such an act 
 of the divine administration could reveal the 
 infinite love, justice, and mercy of God we 
 cannot see. 
 
 2. Not the Payment of a Debt. — Nor was the 
 death of Jesus the payment of a debt to divine 
 justice, in order that God might be just, and 
 at the same time justify those who believe. 
 The atonement viewed in this way compels us 
 to do violence to our reason, or accept of one 
 or two inevitable consequences. If the debt 
 incurred by the accumulated sins of men is 
 paid, then the divine justice cannot enforce the 
 penalty of the violated law upon the sinner who 
 has release from the penalty written in the 
 blood of the Son of God. If the divine justice 
 still exacts from the sinner the penalty of vio- 
 
52 ATONEMENT. 
 
 lated law, then this penalty will be twice paid, — 
 once by the guilty sinner and once by the inno- 
 cent Christ. This double infliction of penalty 
 is at variance with all principles of justice, 
 human or divine. We never regard it as just, 
 or excuse it in practical life. On the other 
 hand, the absolute payment of the debt of sin 
 by Jesus Christ releases every soul of man from 
 all liability of punishment either for past, 
 present, or future sin ; for the whole burden of 
 human guilt has been borne by Christ, and the 
 awful account has been finally and fully settled. 
 This being so, all punishment inflicted on any 
 human being for sin is now unjust. 
 
 3. Not Substitutional^. — The doctrine of 
 atonement by substitution labors under every 
 difficulty that attends the one already examined. 
 The substitute being accepted, the principal is 
 released by all terms of justice, right, and rea- 
 son. But this theory does not stop at this 
 point. If man deserved eternal death, as the 
 advocates of this theory hold, it is impossible 
 to see how this penalty can be modified by en- 
 forcing it upon the person of the substitute. 
 Although the soul of Christ was of infinite value 
 and of infinite merit, it was still a human soul, 
 
ATONEMENT. 53 
 
 and in the office of substitute for a sinner 
 doomed to eternal death, must suffer the pen- 
 alty, or else atonement does not meet the 
 claims of justice. To modify the penalty and 
 shorten the duration of it is to change the law, 
 and thus impugn the divine government in the 
 very sphere in which we profess to justify it. 
 The union of the divine and human natures in 
 Christ does not remove the difficulty. It was 
 the humanity which made the atonement, as 
 the advocates of substitution claim. We must 
 abandon the doctrine of eternal penalty or give 
 up the theory of atonement by substitution. 
 
 4. How and why Christ Suffers. — Christ suf- 
 fered for sin and from sin because, as the 
 saviour of men, he came into conflict with it. 
 We can only forgive the sin from which we suf- 
 fer. A sin that has never touched us in any 
 way we cannot forgive. We must have a knowl- 
 edge that the sin we would forgive has harmed 
 us; we must have felt the wrong it was to us, 
 and have suffered from its evil and its sting 
 before we forgive it, or try to save men from it. 
 We never try to save men from evils or sins to 
 which we are indifferent, — that have never 
 touched us painfully, — of the wrong and evil 
 
54 ATONEMENT. 
 
 of which we were never conscious, and never 
 had an experience. Our forgiveness of sins in 
 others, and their salvation from sin through 
 our efforts, originates in our suffering from 
 them. Until we have this consciousness and 
 experience, we do not know them as sins against 
 us which we can forgive, and from which we 
 can and should try to save them. All forgive - 
 ness and salvation, then, come of, and come 
 through, suffering. This is a necessity of our 
 intellectual and moral nature, and it is as true 
 of the nature of Christ as it is of ours. It is as 
 true of the divine as of the human nature, of the 
 nature of God as of the nature of man. Neither 
 God nor man would or could, from the laws of 
 mental and moral action common to both, save 
 man from sin if they did not know or feel sin 
 as evil. Without this consciousness of the evil 
 of sin, there would be no motive to save man 
 from it. All moral beings, whether divine or 
 human, act from motives. Love, sympathy, 
 compassion, pity, and benevolence — the motives 
 which move God and men to forgive and save — 
 become active only when the evil and the wrong 
 of sin are known and felt. Christ became the 
 saviour of men when the guilt, remorse, degra- 
 
ATONEMENT. 55 
 
 dation, shame, and pain of sin became so real 
 to him as to shock and appall his sensitive 
 moral and spiritual nature. The suffering for 
 sin is therefore inseparable from the work 
 necessary to man's salvation. 
 
 Christ suffered for us, and we are blessed 
 and saved through his suffering, because of the 
 oneness of humanity. Human nature is a unit. 
 The human family is social and organic ; it is 
 one and many. The bond of union is moral 
 and vital. There is a common law, and a com- 
 mon life. We are united in the possession of 
 a common nature, instincts, sympathies, affec- 
 tions, needs, wants, joys, and sorrows. There 
 are domestic, family, social, and business ties 
 that bind us together; a unity of nature, of 
 thought, of interest, and of life that make us 
 one. Christ was born of, was born into, and is 
 a part of our humanity. He is vitally, socially, 
 and morally a part of our human nature ; is a 
 member of human society, and a personal char- 
 acter in history. As such he is one with us 
 and one of us. His life touches ours as intel- 
 lectual, moral, social, and religious beings. 
 He acts upon us through our intellects, con- 
 science, affections, and sympathies. He is in 
 
56 ATONEMENT. 
 
 sympathy with us ; he shares our joys and sor- 
 rows, pleasures and pains; he is touched with 
 a feeling of our infirmities. He is the spiritual 
 vine; we are the branches. We are vitally con- 
 nected with him ; we are members of his spir- 
 itual body, having his spiritual nature and 
 sharing his spiritual life. He is united to us, 
 dwells in us, and rules over us. Our life is hid 
 with Christ in God. "The life we now live in 
 the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of 
 God." 
 
 5. The Atonement and Justice. — In manv 
 theories of atonement the common and promi- 
 nent element is justice. This is especially so 
 in the theories advocated by the churches which 
 claim to be orthodox. In each one of these 
 three theories there is one common element. 
 " This element is that the necessity of the death 
 of Christ lay in the divine attribute of justice. 
 According to the first theory, Christ died to 
 satisfy what was due by God to the devil ; ac- 
 cording to the second, he died to satisfy what 
 was due by God to himself; according to the 
 third, he died to satisfy what was due by God 
 to the moral universe. 
 
 "Divine justice in the first theory owed a 
 
ATONEMENT. 57 
 
 ransom to the devil, which Christ paid ; in the 
 second it owed a debt to the divine honor, which 
 Christ paid ; in the third it owed protection to 
 the universe from the danger of evil example. 
 The difficulty to be removed before God can for- 
 give sin lay, according to all these theories, in 
 the divine justice. Christ died to reconcile 
 justice and mercy, so as to make justice mer- 
 ciful, and mercy just. " 1 These theories all 
 destroy the unity of the divine nature and gov- 
 ernment. They array one divine attribute 
 against another. Mercy is in conflict with jus- 
 tice, and justice is at war with mercy. This 
 causes a schism in the divine being. 
 
 God is one. His nature, being, and attri- 
 butes are a unit; he is one being, one life, 
 and one character. There is no war between 
 the divine attributes, and no schism in the di- 
 vine nature. In the divine nature and in the 
 divine government justice and mercy are not 
 in conflict, but in agreement. In their practi- 
 cal revelation and relation to man they are but 
 the two forms in which God's infinite love be- 
 comes operative and manifests itself. Justice, 
 
 1 Orthodoxy: Its Truths and Errors. By James Freeman 
 Clarke, p. 261. 
 
58 ATONEMENT. 
 
 as revealed in law, penalty, and punishment, 
 forbids sin, would prevent sin and reform sin- 
 ners. Mercy, as operative in the atonement, 
 would prevent sin, and save man from sin, but 
 not from punishment. They are in different 
 ways doing the same work, and aiming at the 
 same result, — that is, the salvation of man from 
 sin. The practical function of both justice and 
 mercy, as forms of active, divine benevolence, 
 is to secure man's highest moral and spiritual 
 well-being by saving him from sin, and saving 
 him from punishment by saving him from sin, 
 and because it does so. These two attributes 
 in the divine nature and these two forces in the 
 divine government are a moral unit. They 
 work together for man's salvation ; and the re- 
 sult is the end of sin in the moral universe of 
 God. 
 
 The atonement is the revelation to man of 
 the love of God. God's love for man is not the 
 effect, but the cause of the atonement. Christ 
 came and suffered for us, not to cause God to 
 love us, but because he does love us. He was 
 the gift of the Father's love for the world's sal- 
 vation. The atonement is the way in which 
 God's love for man manifests itself. It is the 
 
ATONEMENT. 59 
 
 medium of divine revelation, the expression of 
 the infinite love of God for man, when over- 
 shadowed by his great sin and deep sorrow. It 
 is the evidence by which every human soul 
 should be convinced of God's love. " God com- 
 mendeth his love toward us in that while we 
 were yet sinners Christ died for us." * 
 
 " In this was manifested the love of God to- 
 ward us, because that God sent his only begotten 
 Son into the world, that we might live through 
 him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, 
 but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
 propitiation for our sins. " 2 " For God so loved 
 the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth on him might not per- 
 ish, but have everlasting life. " 3 The love of 
 God for man finds therefore its full revelation in 
 the atonement of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The strongest proof that God or man can give 
 of divine or human love is willingness to suffer 
 for the persons loved. The atonement reveals 
 the Father and Son in self-sacrifice. For man's 
 salvation the Father gives his only begotten Son 
 to suffer and die, and the Son gives his own 
 life. Was it possible for God or man to give 
 
 1 Romans v. 8. 2 1 John iv. 9, 10. 3 John iii. 16. 
 
60 ATONEMENT. 
 
 a more convincing proof of love for suffering 
 humanity? 
 
 The atonement stands out in the world's his- 
 tory as the most transcendent manifestation of 
 love ever made by God to men or angels. 
 
 6. The Atonement is Reconciliation. — The 
 design of the atonement was not to reconcile 
 God to man, but to reconcile man to God. 
 The infinite Father, whose nature is love, has 
 always been ready to be reconciled to man. His 
 love for man has ever caused him to desire his 
 salvation; and in the exercise of this great 
 love for men he sends Christ into the world on 
 a mission of reconciliation. On this subject 
 the Apostle Paul writes to the Church at Cor- 
 inth: "And all things are of God, who hath 
 reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and 
 hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation: 
 to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the 
 world unto himself, not imputing their tres- 
 passes unto them, and hath committed unto us 
 the word of reconciliation. Now then we are 
 ambassadors for Christ, as though God did be- 
 seech you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, 
 be ye reconciled to God. " l And again he says : 
 
 1 2 Corinthians v. 18-20. 
 
ATONEMENT. 61 
 
 "For if, when we were enemies, we were rec- 
 onciled to God by the death of his Son, much 
 more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by 
 his life. " a Justification, as well as reconcilia- 
 tion, of which it is a part, comes to us through 
 the mediation and atonement of Christ. " There- 
 fore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ. " 2 
 
 "For it pleased the Father that in him 
 should all fulness dwell ; and having made peace 
 through the blood of his cross, by him to recon- 
 cile all things unto himself; by him, I say, 
 whether they be things in earth or things in 
 heaven." 3 The atonement as a revelation of 
 divine love overcomes human hate, and recon- 
 ciles man to God. It is the goodness of God 
 that leadeth man to repentance. "We love 
 God because he first loved us." 4 
 
 The love of God for man as revealed in the 
 gift of his Son for the salvation of the race, 
 makes a powerful appeal to the human heart, 
 and becomes a great controlling motive to re- 
 pentance and reformation. Goodness, by a law 
 of man's spiritual being, awakens gratitude and 
 
 1 Romans v. 10. 8 Colossians i. 19, 20. 
 
 2 Ibid. 1. 4 1 John iv. 19. 
 
62 ATONEMENT. 
 
 love ; by a law of the moral sentiments it en- 
 kindles love. These two laws that control the 
 action of the moral and religious emotions give 
 to the love of God as revealed in the suffering 
 of Christ for man's salvation a powerful influ- 
 ence on human thought and feelings, life and 
 character. 
 
 But the atonement not only reconciles man 
 to God, but it also reconciles man to his 
 brother-man. "If a man says I love God, and 
 hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that 
 loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how 
 can he love God whom he hath not seen? And 
 this commandment have we from him, that he 
 who loveth God, love his brother also." 1 
 
 Sin, which has its root in selfishness, has 
 separated men from God and from each other. 
 The love of God as revealed in the atonement 
 of Christ overcomes human selfishness and de- 
 stroys human sin. The higher love must carry 
 with it the lower, so we cannot love the divine 
 Father without loving our human brother. 
 
 " In Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far 
 off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. " 2 
 The moral distance between God and man and 
 
 1 1 John iv, 20, 21. 2 Ephesians ii. 13. 
 
ATONEMENT. 63 
 
 between man and his fellow-men is shortened 
 by the atonement, which is a manifestation of 
 God's love for all men. This shows how near 
 God is to man in his love and sympathy, which 
 naturally causes man to feel nearer and to come 
 nearer to God. Nearness to God is a moral 
 and not a physical condition, and depends not 
 upon where he is so much as upon what he is. 
 It results not from change of place, but from 
 change of character. 
 
 " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, " says 
 Christ, " will draw all men unto me. " * He 
 thus becomes the moral magnet of the universe, 
 drawing all souls to himself, by the spiritual 
 magnetism of his love. In Christ the law of 
 moral gravitation that binds man to God and 
 to his fellow-men is re-established, and the lost 
 harmony of the spiritual universe is restored. 
 Infinite love becomes supreme, and it kindles 
 all hearts into a glow. 
 
 " Having made known the mystery of his will 
 according to his good pleasure, which he has 
 purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of 
 the fulness of times he might gather together in 
 one all things in Christ. " 2 
 
 1 John xii. 32. 2 Ephesians i. 9, 10. 
 
64 ATONEMENT. 
 
 It is the purpose of God in Christ to restore 
 the lost unity and harmony of the moral uni- 
 verse by the destruction of sin, the cause of all 
 discord. When the love of God fills all hearts, 
 controls all wills, and governs all conduct, self- 
 ishness will die, and there will be no more sin. 
 
 VIII. — The Atonement and the Universe. 
 
 The unity of nature is proof of the unity of 
 God. The unity of God demands a law of 
 moral unity in all creation. The oneness of 
 the cause proves unity in the effect. The 
 creator of the universe being one, there must 
 be a law of moral unity running through the 
 creation. The supreme law of divine action is 
 moral. It is all-embracing, all-controlling, 
 all-pervading. In all God does there is a 
 moral purpose and a moral end. The physical 
 universe has moral and spiritual functions. It 
 sustains moral relations, and takes its place in 
 the evolution of a great moral purpose. It is 
 one in the chain of causes and influences that 
 bind God and man together. It is the local 
 habitation of man, — a moral being with a 
 moral nature, endowed with moral faculties, 
 sustaining moral relations, conscious of moral 
 
ATONEMENT. 65 
 
 responsibility, under moral obligation, and in 
 subjection to moral government. The material 
 universe is the home of a race of moral beings. 
 Its forces are builded and organized into moral 
 persons in union with spirits born of God. It 
 furnishes the physical conditions of moral life, 
 moral action, moral culture, moral character, 
 and moral history. It exists in space for moral 
 ends. Within its limits the family is organ- 
 ized, the home is builded, children are born, 
 society has its origin, moral life is developed ; 
 love, benevolence, and charity live; science, 
 philosophy, religion, and civilization are born. 
 Minds are educated, schools and churches are 
 builded, the gospel is preached, the Bible is 
 written and published, Christianity is estab- 
 lished, and souls are saved. 
 
 All these facts show the moral importance of 
 the material universe, and connect it directly 
 with the atonement of Christ, the greatest event 
 in moral history. These facts are explained 
 when it is learned, from God's revelation to man, 
 that the universe was created for this purpose. 
 It had its origin in, and its creation is, a part 
 of God's great purpose of salvation through 
 atonement. The final cause and moral reason 
 
 5 
 
66 ATONEMENT. 
 
 for the existence of the universe are to be found 
 in the fact that it was necessary to the moral 
 development and salvation of man, To this 
 end is the mediatorial work of the Son of God 
 in destroying sin, saving man, and establishing 
 a moral empire of holiness, benevolence, truth, 
 justice, and happiness. 
 
 On this subject John says ; " In the beginning 
 was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God. The same was in the 
 beginning with God. All things were made by 
 him, and without him was not anything made 
 that was made. " l " The Word was made flesh, 
 and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, 
 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 
 full of grace and truth.'' 2 
 
 Without entering into the controversy as to 
 who the Word was, it is evident it was some 
 divine wisdom, spirit, or wisdom and spirit made 
 flesh. It took human form and became incar- 
 nated in the person, life, and character of Jesus 
 Christ. This identifies the author of atonement 
 with the creator and the creation of all things. 
 
 Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, makes 
 this statement: "He [God] hath spoken unto 
 
 1 John i. 1-3. 2 Ibid 14. 
 
ATONEMENT. 67 
 
 us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of 
 all things, by whom also he made the worlds ; 
 who being the brightness of his [God's] 
 glory, and the express image of his person, 
 and upholding all things by the word of his 
 power, when he had by himself purged our sins, 
 sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
 high." 1 John states that this person was the 
 only begotten of the Father, Paul says he 
 was the Son of God, the medium of divine reve- 
 lation, the agent of divine creation, and the 
 head of divine mediatorial government. He is 
 heir of all things, upholds all things by the 
 word of his power, purges or takes away the 
 world's sin. and sits down at the right hand of 
 the majesty on high. 
 
 Paul also states : " For by him were all things 
 created, that are in heaven and that are in 
 earth, visible and invisible, whether they be 
 thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers: all things were created by him, and 
 for him : and he is before all things, and by him 
 all things consist. " 2 This language is applied 
 to Christ, and as the author of atonement, asso- 
 ciates him with the work of creation and provi- 
 
 1 Hebrews i. 2, 3. 2 Colossians i. 16, 17. 
 
68 ATONEMENT. 
 
 denee. All things were created by him and 
 for him, as the Son of God and saviour of the 
 world. 
 
 "And what is the exceeding greatness of his 
 power to us-ward who believe, according to the 
 working of his mighty power, which he wrought 
 in Christ when he raised him from the dead, 
 and set him at his own right hand in the 
 heavenly places, far above all principality, and 
 power, and might, and dominion, and every name 
 that is named, not only in this world, but also 
 in that which is to come; and hath put all 
 things under his feet, and gave him to be the 
 head over all things to the church. " x This 
 power is conferred upon Christ as mediator and 
 saviour for the benefit of the church. The moral 
 government of God extends to all worlds and 
 beings; hence Jesus Christ as mediator and 
 saviour must extend his authority and power 
 wherever sin is actual or possible. 
 
 The atonement as a divine arrangement for 
 man's salvation from sin must exert its influ- 
 ence in all worlds where rational and moral 
 beings exist, otherwise the statement of the 
 Apostle "that where sin abounds grace does 
 
 1 Ephesians i. 19-22. 
 
ATONEMENT. 69 
 
 much more abound " is not true. The universe 
 is the theatre of redemption, and the influence 
 of atonement is everywhere present " All the 
 analogies of Nature, and all the conclusions of 
 science tend to prove that other worlds in space 
 are populated by rational and moral beings ; " 
 and if so, they need the restoring, inspiring, 
 and saving influence of the atonement. We do 
 not know that sin originated in any other world 
 than this, but we do know that some other 
 world may have been colonized with sinners 
 from this. We know that sinners have gone 
 out of this life and this world in sin, and as 
 they are immortal, must exist somewhere in 
 God's universe; and wherever they are they 
 need and will ultimately have salvation through 
 atonement. 
 
 The Apostle says in reference to this matter : 
 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, 
 the just for the unjust, that he might bring us 
 to God, being put to death in the flesh, but 
 quickened by the spirit, by which he also went 
 and preached unto the spirits in prison ; which 
 sometime were disobedient, when once the long 
 suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. " 1 
 
 1 1 Peter iii. 18-20. 
 
70 ATONEMENT. 
 
 This passage proves that the possibilities and 
 opportunities for salvation are not all confined 
 to this world and this life ; Christ reigns as king 
 and saviour in all other worlds as well as in 
 this. 
 
 If it were true that God could not or would not 
 save man anywhere but in this world and this 
 life, who would be saved? It is certain that no 
 one is perfectly saved from sin here; and if 
 this life is the only time when men can be 
 saved, and this world is the only place where 
 they can be saved, and they are not saved here 
 and now, salvation is to the race an impossible 
 experience. 
 
 But why should the possibilities of and the 
 opportunities for salvation be limited to this 
 world and this life? Is not the soul as a 
 rational, moral being capable of knowing, be- 
 lieving, loving, obeying, and worshipping God 
 immortal? Is not God infinite, eternal, om- 
 nipotent, omnipresent, benevolent, merciful, 
 just, and unchangeable in all his attributes? 
 Does he not occupy all space; fill with his 
 presence, light, and love, all worlds, and live 
 through all time? Why, then, is it possible for 
 God to save a human soul frcm sin in this life, 
 
ATONEMENT. 71 
 
 and not in some other life, — in this world, and 
 not in some other world? Man being in his 
 rational, moral, and religious nature immortal, 
 why is it possible for him to be saved in this 
 world and not in the next, in time and not in 
 eternity? The Apostle Peter believed that man 
 could be saved at any time and place in life, 
 any world where God lived and loved. Hence 
 we have the fact revealed to us that Christ 
 having suffered for us, the just for the unjust, 
 that he might bring or reconcile us to God, 
 went in his spiritual person to preach his gospel 
 of love and mercy to souls who had departed 
 this life impenitent and unsaved. This is the 
 view of this passage held by Bishop Plumptre, 
 Nitzsch, Dr. Martensen, Dorner, Dr. Julius 
 Miiller, and other learned German and English 
 theologians ; and it should settle the question of 
 the possibility of salvation after death. It con- 
 nects the atonement of Christ not only with the 
 salvation of souls in this world, but in all 
 worlds where souls are found that need salva- 
 tion. It sets aside the limitation men have 
 placed upon the extent of the provisions of the 
 atonement, and as to the time and place of 
 their saving application. It makes the salva- 
 
72 ATONEMENT. 
 
 tion of all men possible and probable, if not 
 certain, it matters not in what world among 
 the countless orbs of space they may have their 
 local habitation. The atonement being a pro- 
 vision of divine government to save man in 
 harmony with moral law and moral order, must 
 be as universal as the government itself. 
 Wherever moral law is supreme, moral gov- 
 ernment exists, and moral order is established, 
 there the atonement is present as an inspiration 
 to higher moral life and nobler moral action. 
 And wherever moral order is disturbed, moral 
 law violated, penalty disregarded, and author- 
 ity ignored, there atonement comes as a new 
 revelation of God, a new presentation of truth, 
 a new manifestation of love, bringing new 
 motives to repentance, reformation, and obedi- 
 ence, and new hopes for deliverance from evil, 
 salvation from sin, and reconciliation with 
 God. 
 
 IX. — The Mediatorial Reign op Christ and 
 the Atonement. 
 
 The inspired writers teach us that the aton- 
 ing work of the Son of God is inseparably con- 
 nected with his mediatorial reign. "And what 
 
ATONEMENT, 73 
 
 is the exceeding greatness of his power to us- 
 ward who believe, according to the working of 
 his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ 
 when he raised him from the dead, and set him 
 at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 
 far above all principality, and power, and might, 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, but also in that which is 
 to come; and hath put all things under his 
 feet, and gave him to be the head over all 
 things unto the church ; which is his body, the 
 fulness of him that filleth all in all. " 1 
 
 The mediatorial power of Christ, which places 
 him at the right hand of God, and makes him 
 head over all things unto the Church, is pre- 
 sented as a part of the work of mediation which 
 embraced his advent, death, and resurrection. 
 
 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in 
 Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 
 but made himself of no reputation, and took 
 upon him the form of a servant, and was made 
 in the likeness of men; and being found in 
 fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and be- 
 came obedient unto death, even the death of 
 the cross. 
 
 1 Ephesians i. 19-23. 
 
74 ATONEMENT. 
 
 " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted 
 him, and given him a name which is above 
 every name: that at the name of Jesus every 
 knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things 
 in earth, and things under the earth ; and that 
 every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ 
 is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. " x 
 
 The Apostle here teaches us that the exalta- 
 tion and universal dominion of Christ, as well 
 as the universal subjection, obedience, and wor- 
 ship of all men, are inseparably connected with, 
 and largely resulted from, his incarnation, hu- 
 miliation, and death. 
 
 "Then cometh the end, when he shall have 
 delivered up the kingdom to God, even the 
 Father; when he shall have put down all rule 
 and all authority and power. For he must reign 
 till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 
 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 
 For he hath put all things under his feet. But 
 when he saith all things are put under him, it 
 is manifest that he is excepted which did put 
 all things under him. And when all things shall 
 be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also 
 himself be subject unto him that put all things 
 under him, that God may be all in all" 2 
 
 1 Philippians ii. 5-11. 2 1 Corinthians xv. 24-28. 
 
ATONEMENT. 75 
 
 Christ was appointed mediator between God 
 and man that he might conquer evil, subdue 
 sin, destroy death, and establish the universal 
 reign of righteousness, peace, and love. 
 
 " And when he had taken the book, the four 
 beasts and four and twenty elders fell down 
 before the Lamb, having every one of them 
 harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are 
 the prayers of saints. And they sung a new 
 song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, 
 and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, 
 and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out 
 of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and 
 nation; and hast made us unto our God kings 
 and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 
 
 "And I beheld, and heard the voice of many 
 angels round about the throne and the beasts 
 and the elders: and the number of them was 
 ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
 sands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, 
 Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
 power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every 
 creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, 
 and under the earth, and such as are in the 
 sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
 
76 ATONEMENT. 
 
 Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be 
 unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four 
 beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty 
 elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth 
 for ever and ever. " 1 
 
 In this sublime passage from inspired revela- 
 tion, the final salvation of all creatures from 
 sin, and their restoration to the worship and 
 service of God are ascribed to the atoning work 
 of Christ as effected by his suffering and death. 
 
 X. — The Spiritual Mission of Christ Con- 
 sistent with Atonement. 
 
 The relation of Christ to humanity is a spir- 
 itual relation. He came on a spiritual mission 
 to teach spiritual truth, to reveal a spiritual 
 law, to establish a spiritual kingdom, and to 
 work out for man a spiritual deliverance. The 
 one fact in the moral history of the race that 
 made the incarnation and advent of Christ 
 necessary was a moral and spiritual fact. Sin 
 is the free act of man as a spiritual being. It 
 is a violation of God's spiritual law, — a law 
 that grows out of man's spiritual relation to 
 God, his Creator and Father. 
 
 1 Revelation v. 8-14. 
 
ATONEMENT. 77 
 
 To save man from sin and consequences of this 
 spiritual act of disobedience, Christ is promised 
 in inspired prophecy. He came to conquer a 
 spiritual foe, to subdue a spiritual rebellion, to 
 free man from spiritual bondage, and to make 
 him morally and spiritually a free son of God. 
 This was the object of the advent of Christ. It 
 was his work and mission according to his own 
 teaching and the teaching of the Apostles. This 
 feature of the mission of Christ the Jews failed 
 to understand; this was caused by their pre- 
 dominant materialism and selfishness; they 
 could not understand either the spirituality or 
 benevolence of Christ. This caused them to 
 look upon the Jewish government and nation, 
 the worship and ceremonial, as a divine end in 
 itself, and not as a means to an end. They 
 did not understand the spiritual and religious 
 function of their own government, and therefore 
 thought that Christ came on a political mis- 
 sion, and to free them from subjection to the 
 Roman Empire. This failure to understand 
 the nature of the mission and work of Christ 
 caused his rejection as the promised Messiah of 
 the prophets. 1 
 
 1 Liddon's Bampton Lectures, pp. 195, 198, 202, 206. 
 
78 ATONEMENT, 
 
 History teaches us that the power of Christ 
 and the power of the Christian religion result 
 from the essential spirituality of the life, char- 
 acter, and teaching of Christ. He taught the 
 spirituality of God and the spirituality of men 
 as children of God ; man's spiritual relation to 
 God as his Father, and his spiritual relation to 
 his fellow-men as brethren ; and as growing out 
 of this relation the spiritual duty of love to God 
 and love to man; and as resulting from this 
 nature and relation, the immortality of the 
 soul, and future eternal life. This teaching 
 moved the world, and revolutionized the religion 
 of the Roman Empire. 1 
 
 These grand results of the spiritual mission 
 of Christ are largely due to the atonement. It 
 was from the first and is now a divinely ap- 
 pointed means for the attainment of great spir- 
 itual ends. The function of atonement in God's 
 government is not legal, but moral and spir- 
 itual. It is not an arrangement to satisfy law, 
 but to save souls. As a revelation of God's 
 love for man, it is the embodiment of wonderful 
 moral and spiritual force. By reconciling man 
 to God it opens the way for spiritual union and 
 communion between God and man. 
 
 1 See Roman History. 
 
ATONEMENT. 79 
 
 "Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Christ 
 has made peace between man and God by the 
 blood of his cross. The suffering of Christ for 
 man reveals his love for him in a way that 
 powerfully impresses his moral and spiritual 
 nature, and quickens into life all his spiritual 
 faculties. Christian piety is a glad and loyal 
 obedience proceeding from personal love for 
 Christ, which has been awakened by his love 
 for us. This love is the fulfilling of the law,, 
 and it casteth out all fear, which hath torment. 
 
 XL — The Extent op the Atonement. 
 
 In connection with this subject, and growing 
 very naturally out of it, is the question, For 
 whom has the atonement been made? Is the 
 provision partial or universal? Are its saving 
 benefits for all men or only for a chosen few? 
 Does it constitute the rational ground for a uni- 
 versal or a partial salvation? As a result of its 
 provision and application, will all men be saved 
 or only a part? These questions are of vital 
 importance. In this connection they are prac- 
 tical questions; for they involve our duties, 
 
 1 Romans v. 1. 
 
80 ATONEMENT. 
 
 responsibilities, and hopes. If the atonement 
 is universal, then the possible, if not the cer- 
 tain, salvation of all is assured. This places 
 the responsibility of salvation on man himself, 
 and this is where it should be placed. Every 
 man should feel that whatever may be the 
 divine purpose in regard to the final destiny of 
 the race, under the atonement the question of 
 salvation is a personal and a practical one, a 
 question that is to be largely determined by 
 himself. Man should feel that in salvation he 
 has not only a personal interest, but in regard 
 to it personal responsibility, obligation, and 
 duty. It is in a very important sense his work. 
 He should know and feel this. As a truth it 
 should take hold on his intellect, emotions, and 
 will. As the atonement is a doctrine and a 
 fact of revelation, its extent must be largely 
 determined by the same authority. What is 
 the testimony of the inspired writers on the 
 subject? 
 
 " Who gave himself a ransom for all. " 1 
 "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment 
 came upon all men to condemnation; even so 
 by the righteousness of one the free gift came 
 
 1 1 Timothy ii 6. 
 
ATONEMENT. 81 
 
 upon all men unto justification of life. " " For 
 as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
 all be made alive." "In thee shall all the na- 
 tions of the earth be blessed." He is ".the 
 Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
 world." "If any man sin, we have, an advocate 
 with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and 
 he is the propitiation for our sins : and not for 
 ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
 world." "And we have seen and do testify that 
 the Father sent the son to be the Saviour of the 
 world. " John " came for a witness, to bear wit- 
 ness of the Light, that all men through him 
 might believe. That was the true light, which 
 lighteth every man that cometh into the world." 
 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence 
 might abound. But where sin abounded, grace 
 did much more abound: that as sin hath 
 reigned unto death, even so might grace reign 
 through righteousness unto eternal life by 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." "Who will have all 
 men to be saved, and to come unto the know- 
 ledge of the truth." "Who is the Saviour of 
 all men, especially of those that believe." 
 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have 
 
82 ATONEMENT. 
 
 turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord 
 hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. " 
 
 In these passages which we have quoted from 
 the Word of God, the inspired writers employ 
 nearly every universal term in our language to 
 set forth the atonement as a divine provision 
 for the salvation of all men. The terms 
 " men, " " every man, " " the world, " " the whole 
 world," u all the earth," show that there is no 
 limitation in the extent of the atonement as the 
 provision of infinite love for man's salvation. 
 These terms teach universal salvation, or there 
 are no words in human language that will teach 
 it. According to this teaching all men — every 
 creature of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and 
 peoples — are embraced in this great salvation of 
 God. The teaching of the Scriptures on the ex- 
 tent of the atonement shows this work to be in 
 harmony with all the analogies of nature and 
 life. All God's relations are universal. He 
 is the universal creator, the universal preserver, 
 the universal providence, the universal Father, 
 the universal lawgiver and judge. It would be 
 very strange if he were not the universal 
 saviour. All his provisions for man are uni- 
 versal. The earth, the atmosphere, sunshine, 
 
ATONEMENT. 83 
 
 moisture, light, heat, electricity, and all the 
 natural conditions of life are for all. Tt would 
 be a violation of Nature's established order to 
 put a limitation on atonement and circumscribe 
 salvation; universal atonement is the natural 
 and rational outcome of the nature, perfections, 
 and relations of God. How could the infinite 
 Father of all souls make a limited atonement? 
 How could he provide a salvation that did not 
 embrace all his children? How could infinite 
 knowledge, wisdom, power, justice, and benevo- 
 lence be exercised in, or satisfied with, making 
 a limited and partial provision for man's moral 
 and spiritual needs? Such a thing would be 
 impossible to the nature of God. All the love 
 of his infinite nature cries out against the mon- 
 strous conclusion. The idea is a libel upon his 
 great goodness as revealed in all nature; a 
 universal atonement is demanded by the nature 
 and wants of man ; all men are capable of sal- 
 vation, and all men need salvation. There are 
 in every man's nature rational^ moral, and re- 
 ligious elements, which may be organized into 
 a Christian life, and builded into a Christian 
 character. These are the moral elements and 
 religious emotions of our common humanity. 
 
84 ATONEMENT. 
 
 On them is grounded all morality and religion ; 
 they lay the foundation in humanity for the 
 possibility, probability, certainty, and need of 
 salvation. They form the anthropology of Uni- 
 versalism. In them we have the human bed- 
 rock of all ethics, piety, and religion. 
 
 It is for this — the moral and religious side 
 of humanity — the atonement has been pro- 
 vided. It is to these emotions and affections it 
 makes its appeal; to them it brings light, love, 
 joy, hope, and consolation. Here we have the 
 provision in man's moral and religious consti- 
 tution for universal salvation; here we have 
 the want revealed, and also a promise of the 
 supply to be provided. Salvation is human; it 
 is a human want, a human hope, and a human 
 experience. It becomes human life, human 
 love, and human happiness; it is this part of 
 man's nature that receives, applies, and is saved 
 by the atonement. 
 
 Universal atonement provides for the full, 
 free, and sincere offer of salvation to all men. 
 If it were limited, made only for the benefit of 
 the few, no such offer could be honestly made. 
 As salvation on its divine side is grounded in 
 the atonement, in its. extent it cannot transcend 
 
ATONEMENT. 85 
 
 it. The offer of salvation should therefore be 
 limited to those for whom the atonement is 
 made. As the atonement is the means, and 
 salvation the end, it is evident the end cannot 
 be attained where the means do not operate. 
 Universal salvation can only be offered sin- 
 cerely on the ground of atonement for all ; this 
 involves the right to offer, and the duty to ac- 
 cept the offer of salvation. We have the right 
 to offer salvation only to those for whom we 
 know it has been provided, and how can we 
 possibly know this unless it has been provided 
 for all? If the provision is universal, we should 
 make the offer universal ; if it is not, we should 
 make no offer at all, because we do not and 
 cannot know to whom we should make it. We 
 are not under obligation to accept an offer of 
 salvation unless we know it was provided for 
 us, and how can we know it was provided for 
 us unless it was provided for all? If it was 
 provided for all, we know it was provided for 
 us, because we are part of all. Universal 
 atonement and universal salvation, which is 
 grounded on it and is practically a part of it, is 
 the only theory of the work of Christ which can 
 justify the ministry in making an offer of sal- 
 
86 ATONEMENT. 
 
 vation, or make it the duty of man to ac- 
 cept it. -This is one of the practical aspects 
 of Universalism which should be more fre- 
 quently presented to the people in our pulpit 
 ministrations. 
 
 XII. — The Atonement and Man. 
 
 Man is a moral and religious being, endowed 
 with moral and religious faculties, sustaining 
 moral relations, and owing moral and religious 
 duties ; but for this fact, morality and religion, 
 as forms of human activity and modes of human 
 development, would be unknown. They are both 
 in one sense practically human creations ; they 
 have grown out of man's nature and wants. It 
 is this nature that gives to laws their authority, 
 and to religious institutions their sacredness. 
 
 The moral and religious nature of man, which 
 is the human basis of law and order and the 
 foundation of Church and State, has recognized 
 the great principle of atonement in practical, 
 domestic, social, and business life, and also in 
 the offering of religious sacrifices. The prin- 
 ciple of atonement thus practically and reli- 
 giously recognized is the great law of God's 
 providence, — revealed alike in Nature, man, 
 
ATONEMENT. 87 
 
 and the Bible, — that we can suffer for the good 
 of our fellow-men, and that they are blessed and 
 saved by and through our suffering. 
 
 This principle of human action is universal 
 in its application, and as old as human society; 
 the fact is, society could not exist without it. It 
 is the great law of love in domestic and social 
 life ; it is the law of benevolence between men 
 and the law of heaven as revealed in the action 
 of the Father and the Son in making atonement 
 for man. This principle is the very essence of 
 atonement. It is the law of life in all Nature, 
 the law of love in all society, the law of sacri- 
 fice in all religion, and the law of reconciliation 
 in all divinity. 
 
 As grounded alike in the nature of God and 
 man, it is stronger than law and older than 
 government. It is, in fact, the benevolent source 
 and fountain of both. Under the existence of 
 this law the atonement became possible, and 
 by its application to God and man was made 
 actual. It is sustained by the whole moral 
 nature of man ; human society is builded on it ; 
 benevolent institutions grow out of it; the 
 Church has been created by it. Christian civili- 
 zation is the tidal wave of its movement in the 
 
88 ATONEMENT. 
 
 world; and all human progress is but the evolu- 
 tion of its power as connected with the growth 
 of institutions. 
 
 This law, though old as humanity, is always 
 new. It is as much a part of social life to-day 
 as it ever was. The demand for it now is as 
 great as it was in the days of Christ. Man in 
 contact with sin and sorrow always needs an 
 atonement; the soul is ever crying out for rec- 
 onciliation; mistakes, errors, and sins con- 
 stantly need to be atoned for; to suffer with 
 sinners and for sinners is as necessary now as 
 at any period of the world's history. Love is 
 still the divine influence which reconciles man 
 to God and to his brother man. There are 
 Gethsemanies and Calvaries now as of yore. 
 Souls still cry out in agony, " If it be possible, 
 let this cup pass." Saviors still throw them- 
 selves into the breach and die, that principles, 
 country, or men may live. The great fact in 
 history, and the great moral law in the nature 
 of God and man by which it became a fact, — 
 that is, man's salvation through atonement, — 
 is the basal fact in Christianity, and the central 
 fact in all history. 
 
 Not only the law but the fact of atonement 
 
ATONEMENT. 89 
 
 has also been woven into everything, — law, 
 literature, music, painting, architecture, sculp- 
 ture, and poetry. It gives life, color, and form 
 to worship, and inspiration and motive to 
 Christian effort. It is the foundation, and 
 should be the life, of the Church. The living 
 spiritual body of Christ has been builded and 
 organized by it. These facts show that the 
 atonement, in its principle, law, and fact, is 
 adapted to man's nature, meets his moral neces- 
 sities, is in harmony with his moral intuitions, 
 and is sustained as a practical law of life by his 
 conscience. It meets the requirements of moral 
 government, sustains moral order, enforces 
 moral law, and upholds the divine administra- 
 tion, at the same time that it provides for the 
 salvation of man. It does this, not by a legal 
 fiction, but by the action of a great moral force. 
 The action of this force is spiritually vital to 
 the moral nature of man, the social organiza- 
 tion called society, the spiritual life of the 
 Church. The action of all organisms, whether 
 vegetable, animal, moral, or spiritual, is vital 
 and vicarious. We see this in the plant, the 
 animal, the family, society, and the Church. 
 Everywhere we see the parts, or members, of 
 
90 ATONEMENT. 
 
 organisms suffering with and for each other. 
 This is the law of God, the law of Nature, the 
 law of life, the law of society, and the law 
 under which alone atonement became possible, 
 and by the application of which it was made a 
 fact. 
 
 This law is vital, benevolent, social, and 
 organic. It builds molecules into organisms; 
 it builds individuals into families, communi- 
 ties, and general society. It reconciles God to 
 man, and men to each other. It is the law of 
 conjugal union, domestic harmony, and family 
 peace; it is the bond of brotherhood to the 
 nations, prevents war, and preserves and in- 
 sures peace. It brings man into union with God, 
 and God into communion with man; it unites 
 heaven and earth, and makes the universe the 
 happy home of God, men, and angels. 
 
 XIII. — The Atonement and Faith. 
 
 We as Christians live by faith, walk by faith, 
 are justified by faith, and saved by faith. 
 " Without faith it is impossible to please God. " 
 " Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom 
 also we have access by faith into this grace 
 
ATONEMENT. 91 
 
 wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God. And not only so, but we glory 
 in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation 
 worketh patience ; and patience, experience ; and 
 experience, hope : and hope maketh not ashamed ; 
 because the love of God is shed abroad in our 
 hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto 
 us." 1 
 
 The Apostle shows in this passage that faith 
 connects us with Christ and his atonement, 
 through whom we are justified, reconciled, and 
 have peace, joy, love, patience, experience, and 
 hope. It is faith that establishes the vital 
 union between the human soul and Christ ; and 
 all these spiritual blessings come to us as the 
 results of this living and organic union with 
 the Son of God. There can be no living union 
 with God, man, and Christ, or man and man, 
 without faith. Faith is the natural, necessary, 
 and universal condition of such union. Wher- 
 ever this union of souls exists, there we always 
 find faith as its living bond. 
 
 We may have physical and mental contact 
 with men without faith, but no vital union of 
 two personal, spiritual natures. Two spiritual 
 
 i Romans v. 1-5. 
 
92 ATONEMENT. 
 
 natures cannot become morally united without 
 confidence. This is the life of true friendship, 
 and the social bond and business tie of the 
 world. It is this bond of faith, this personal 
 confidence, this supreme act of the soul's trust, 
 that calls into united and harmonious action 
 the intellect, emotions, and will, and is made of 
 thought, feeling, and volition, that unites the 
 soul of man vitally, morally, and spiritually 
 with God and Christ. It is this faith that 
 makes love possible and real between man and 
 God ; love would be impossible without it. 
 
 It is the function of atonement to create, or 
 call into action, faith, as the bond of union be- 
 tween man and God. It does this by revealing 
 to man God's great love for him. This knowl- 
 edge awakens confidence, as emotion is born of 
 thought. This is eternal or spiritual life, — to 
 know God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. 
 This life is the result of the union which faith 
 establishes between man and God; and this 
 faith is born of the atonement. Establish this 
 organic union of the soul with God by faith, 
 and the spiritual life of God flows into the 
 human soul, and man knows by experience the 
 power and sweetness of the life of God ; this is 
 
ATONEMENT. 93 
 
 salvation. "For ye are saved by grace, through 
 faith: that not of yourselves; it is the gift of 
 God. " Grace as revealed in the atonement is 
 the cause, faith is the condition, man the sub- 
 ject, and God the benevolent giver of salvation. 
 It is a divine gift, a gracious work, a human 
 experience, a spiritual change, and a new life. 
 
 XIV. — The Atonement and Salvation. 
 
 Salvation is deliverance from some form of 
 evil. If the ignorant man becomes educated, 
 he is saved from ignorance ; if the diseased man 
 is healed, he is saved from disease ; if the poor 
 man becomes rich, he is saved from poverty. 
 When the drunkard reforms, he is saved from 
 drunkenness; when the sinner repents and re- 
 forms, he is saved from sin. Salvation is a per- 
 sonal change in man's nature, life, conduct, 
 character, and experience ; no one can be saved 
 by proxy. The change must take place in his 
 own thoughts, feelings, spirit, purposes, actions, 
 life, and character. When a man becomes the 
 subject of these changes, he is conscious of it; 
 it is a matter of knowledge, it is a new experi- 
 ence. He begins to feel the throbbing of a new 
 life, comes into new relations, really and prac- 
 
94 ATONEMENT. 
 
 tically. So to speak, he is born into a new 
 world, forms new plans, is influenced by new 
 motives, lives for higher and nobler ends; he 
 is morally and spiritually alive. He has been 
 raised from the death of sin and the grave of 
 lust into a new spiritual and divine life. Old 
 things have passed away, — all things have be- 
 come new. In some sense he has new joys and 
 sorrows, new pleasures and pains, new hopes 
 and fears. He is saved from sin, — its pollu- 
 tion, power, slavery, remorse, shame, and fear. 
 
 Salvation is growth and development. Man 
 grows from the animal to the spiritual, divine, 
 and eternal life; he develops new affections, 
 sympathies, and tastes. We grow out of the 
 animal into the spiritual, and out of the earthly 
 into the heavenly; we grow out of sin into 
 holiness, out of hate into love, out of selfishness 
 into benevolence, out of error into the truth, 
 out of vice into virtue, out of doubt into confi- 
 dence. Our natures, faculties, and powers all 
 grow; the intellect, reason, conscience, heart, 
 and will are all developed into new strength 
 and purity. 
 
 We are commanded to grow in grace and in 
 the knowledge and love of God. In spiritual de- 
 
ATONEMENT. 95 
 
 velopment we have babes in Christ, young men 
 and women in the Lord, and fathers in the 
 Church. Christian life is illustrated by the 
 germ, the plant, the blade, the ear, and the per- 
 fected corn in the ear. We have the bud, the 
 blossom, the young and afterward the matured 
 fruit. Salvation is not an instantaneous, but a 
 gradual work. We are not born perfect, but grow 
 into perfection. Character is not created; it 
 grows. Christian life is a process of develop- 
 ment ; we grow into moral strength and beauty. 
 Salvation is enjoyment; an important part of it 
 is happiness. Enjoyment does not result from 
 the possession so much as from the exercise of 
 our faculties. It is the use we make of them that 
 brings enjoyment. Our developed and perfected 
 powers in exercise will augment and increase 
 our happiness. Man was made not only to be 
 useful but to be happy ; he was created for, and 
 adapted to it. It naturally results from the 
 use of his faculties and the exercise of his 
 powers in a rational way. Such an exercise 
 of the faculties with which God has endowed 
 us is a Christian duty; and happiness comes 
 from and in the discharge of duty. 
 
 That happiness is a part of salvation is 
 
96 ATONEMENT. 
 
 clearly taught by the inspired writers. Paul 
 says that the spiritual kingdom established in 
 the believer's heart consists " not in meat and 
 drink, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in 
 the Holy Ghost." Christ says: "I give unto 
 you my joy, that your joy may be full. " " We 
 joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom we have now received the atonement." 
 "By whom also we have access by faith into 
 this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in 
 hope of the glory of God. " 2 These testimonies 
 to the joy of the Christian life show that happi- 
 ness is an important element in salvation. 
 
 The atonement is distinctly connected with 
 salvation as the divinely appointed means to 
 this end. "His name shall be called Jesus, 
 for he shall save his people from their sins." 
 This statement shows that the salvation that 
 Jesus shall bring is salvation from sin, and not 
 from punishment. If punishment is adapted to 
 restrain man from sin and to reform his life 
 and character, it would not be well or benevo- 
 lent to save him from it. As it is needful for 
 man and exists for his good, it is best that he 
 should endure it until he has been reformed. 
 
 1 Romans v. 2. 
 
ATONEMENT. 97 
 
 Punishment and atonement are associated in 
 the moral economy of the universe. They are 
 conditions of, and essential to, its moral order. 
 This is the lesson of history and experience. 
 They are both rooted in the moral nature of God, 
 and sustained by the moral nature of man ; they 
 are united in the divine plan of human salva- 
 tion, as different means working to the same 
 end, — just as death and life are both processes 
 in building the human organism. Like hunger 
 and food, thirst and drink, disease and remedy, 
 in God's natural economy, they are united for 
 man's good, and co-operate for man's salvation. 
 
 Punishment is the moral pain that prompts 
 the soul to make an effort to free itself from 
 sin; and the atonement imparts strength for 
 this work by the mighty motives of divine love 
 and human hope. These are the two vital ele- 
 ments of all moral and spiritual life ; they are 
 essential to the work of salvation. 
 
 Punishment is the pain caused by the great 
 need of the soul to be saved from sin ; and the 
 atonement gives the grace by which the need is 
 met and the demand satisfied, in the personal 
 consciousness of God's forgiving and sanctify- 
 ing love. Punishment is the pain of the soul's 
 
 7 
 
98 ATONEMENT. 
 
 hunger and thirst for the bread and water of 
 life, which moves man to seek these forms of 
 spiritual good ; and they are found in the love, 
 sympathy, and peace of God revealed in the 
 atonement. In this way punishment, which is 
 a suffering condition of the soul caused by sin, 
 and the atonement, which manifests God's love 
 for the sinner, are united in the work of salva- 
 tion. The one prepares the way for the other, 
 and shows man his great need of it. Punish- 
 ment and salvation in God's moral economy 
 and in man's experience are not legal; they are 
 vital. They are not merely forms of law and 
 decrees of courts, they are facts in the moral 
 history of the soul's life and growth; they are 
 a part of the soul itself. The relation of pun- 
 ishment and atonement to man is not a legal, 
 but a vital relation. The function which they 
 perform under God's government and in man's 
 development is not legal, but morally and spir- 
 itually vital ; they have to do with the highest 
 forms of life known to the universe of God. 
 The process of the soul's salvation is a vital 
 process ; it is a part of the soul's life. The ex- 
 perience of salvation is vital ; it is an experience 
 of moral, spiritual life ; it is a part of our con- 
 
ATONEMENT. 99 
 
 sciousness, and we know it as we know our- 
 selves, and because we know ourselves. 
 
 The results of salvation are not legal, but 
 vital; they do not change our legal relations 
 to the law and the universe, but they affect 
 only our vital relations. Before we are saved 
 we are dead to the law, to God, to the moral 
 universe. When we are saved we become 
 morally and spiritually alive to everything. 
 We have a consciousness of God, we feel his 
 presence; the spirit of law has been taken 
 into and become a part of our moral life. 
 The moral forces of the universe warm us like 
 sunshine, nourish us like food, vitalize us like 
 the atmosphere ; they enter into and become a 
 part of our whole intellectual, moral, and spir- 
 itual being. In the exercise of the strength 
 thus imparted, the soul throws off the slavery 
 of sin, and becomes a free spiritual son of God. 
 Appetite is restrained ; passions are controlled, 
 thoughts directed, affections governed, energies 
 applied ; and conscience is master in the empire 
 of the soul. 
 
 Under the stimulation and nourishment im- 
 parted by God, nature, and humanity, there is 
 growth of man's spirit into all forms of grace, 
 
100 ATONEMENT. 
 
 strength, and beauty. His moral life is many- 
 sided ; there is unity, symmetry, harmony, and 
 variety in man's spiritual development. The 
 result is that he develops a noble manhood, 
 builds a strong character, and lives a beautiful 
 and useful life. But the result of the posses- 
 sion of such a nature, the exercise of such 
 faculties, the use of such powers, and the living 
 of such a life, is much enjoyment. Such a man 
 is a happy man ; in such a life there must be 
 much of brightness, sunshine, gladness, and 
 joy. This is salvation, — the greatest vital fact 
 and the grandest vital movement in all the 
 universe. 
 
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