Atonement

 



 Christianity 101
 
 Articles of Faith
Some of the material
in this lesson was adapted
from


 

 

 

 

Nazarene Website

At-One-Ment

 

In the last two lessons we learned how both original and personal sin have caused things to go desperately wrong.  Sin has left us separated from our Creator.  Where is the answer?  What is the remedy?   

 

"The good news is that God is concerned about us.  From the beginning, God has desired that people live in fellowship with Him.  Even after Adam and Eve disappointed God by eating the fruit He expressly forbade them to eat, God did not stop wanting to be in relationship with the humanity He had created.

 

God's eternal plan was to send Jesus Christ to die on the Cross so that all who believe in Him will not have to die for their own sins.  We can see how this plan unfolds throughout time in the pages of the Bible, and how it becomes a reality in our own lives." (Christianity 101 NPH, 2008) 

 

Article Six of the the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene uses the word "atonement".  William Tyndale first coined the word to mean "at one" or "at-one-ment".  Atonement is a term we use to describe the provision God has made, through Christ's suffering and death on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins so that we may be reconciled to Him.

 

Watch this video by Lee Strobel and you will hear a very simplified explanation of atonement.  Atonement  Now watch the video again.  Pay very careful attention to Strobel's definition of sin: 

  • Based on previous studies, how does Strobel's concept of sin differ from Nazarene doctrine? 
  • What difference does it make whether we view sin as a "mistake" or a "willful disobedience to a known law of God"?
  • Does our definition of sin impact the way we understand God's grace and the idea of living a holy life?  How?

Article VI

Atonement 

 

We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam's race. The Atonement is graciously efficacious for the salvation of [the irresponsible] those incapable of moral responsibility and for the children in innocency but is efficacious for the salvation of those who reach the age of responsibility only when they repent and believe.
 

Implications

  

  • Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. John 14:6
  • Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Isaiah 53:5-7 
  • His death on the Cross made full atonement for all human sin.  Nothing more is needed.  Hebrews 10, Ephesians 2;7-9
  • Salvation is for everyone 2 Peter 3:9
  • We believe God's grace is extended to those who are "incapable of moral responsibility and for the children in innocency";  indicating that there are those who do not yet have the capacity to make a conscious decision to reject or accept Christ.
  • Further Study 

It is Well with My Soul

Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

 

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.