The Atonement in Evangelical Thought: Part I
The New-Look in Neo-Evangelicalism
Enemies of the Word of God tend to develop their theories along lines of general fashion. One generation chooses to challenge the Sonship of Christ whereas another generation fixes its doubting gaze on the work of the Spirit. In one age it is fashionable to be social-minded, another age chooses to be …
Posts Tagged Atonement
The Atonement
Aug 17
Letter on Atonement
Dec 28
A letter to the English Churchman defending the term ‘atonement’ as being descriptive of Christ’s full work on the cross.
Sir,
The News & Comment article on the atonement (No. 7686) needs etymological and theological correction. The assertions that ‘at-one-ment’ is a breaking up of ‘atonement’; is only ‘ a result of atonement’ (not atonement itself); and this is merely a ‘marvellous coincidence’; are false. …
Pink on Satisfaction
Aug 18
Arthur Pink, The Satisfaction of Christ: Studies in the Atonement, Truth for Today Publications.
Arthur Pink hardly needs an introduction to the bulk of present day Reformed evangelicals as many of us have grown up with Pink’s books and grown in grace whilst reading them. Pink’s massive tome An Exposition of Hebrews has opened our eyes to covenant blessings, his Elijah (now being translated into Dutch) has shown us how God is still …
… and are dodging and dumbing down doctrinal issues. Their views of the Trinity, redemption, atonement, the gospel, law, justification, sanctification and the Church alone can be ranked from sub to anti Reformed and several subscribers’ views of the Scriptures are Barthian and Liberal. They have found unity in signing the same document, but there the unity ends. Indeed, the separate publications of the subscribers show what a farce the unity behind Affirmation 2010 is.
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… law demanded in some token way. Fuller complains of Baxter’s universal redemption theory of the atonement, but his own doctrine of universal sufficiency is almost identical. Robert Hall proclaimed openly that this doctrine was his grounds for preaching universal offers of salvation and it is this doctrine that lies at the roots of the Fullerite system of evangelism. Here again, Fuller shows himself as being far more radical than Baxter. The latter always looks upon redemption as being …
… with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.’
The Atonement
Surprisingly enough, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary principles have no set article on the atonement. There are historical reasons for this. First of all, the atonement was not yet challenged in its meaning by a majority of Baptists who subordinated the systematic teaching of the atonement to the doctrines of election, predestination, justification and perseverance. …
… found in it, providing what Malcolm Watts calls ‘everybody’s Saviour’. This view makes the atonement superfluous and preaching unnecessary as studying the weather is superstitiously accepted as a way of finding God’s salvation. Paul in Romans 1-2 teaches that common grace, alias natural law, reveals the wrath of God from heaven on a people who are condemned whereas the righteousness of God is revealed through His justifying certain ones by faith. Grace in the Scriptures is always …
… of their theological content. This is nowhere more clear than when Fuller is dealing with sin and atonement.
Then there is Fuller’s frustrating habit of stating that certain words such as imputation, punishment, debt, sin or phrases such as ‘being made sin’ were ‘improperly’ or ‘metaphorically’ used in the Bible, only to use them himself a few sentences further on apparently with the meaning he denied they contained. He often condemns the arguments of his opponents …
… a ‘point of faith’.
Huntington and Fuller had different views of man, God and the atonement. Man in his fallen state, according to Huntington, is incapable of discerning anything spiritual. He has no saving knowledge of God and, of himself, cannot acquire knowledge of Him. He is completely without hope and trust and knows of no way out of his situation. The Scriptures say of fallen man that he “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: …
… that the term ‘offer’, because of Arminian misuse in connection with the theory of universal atonement, has lost its original Council of Dort meaning of presenting the gospel. As it is not a Biblical term, there is no harm in dropping it, especially as it has become a mere modern shibboleth or badge of respectability, irrespective of what gospel the badge-bearer represents. Engelsma’s alternative is to speak of a universal ’serious call’, which he finds Biblical, arguing that many …
