Reconciliation [Booklet]

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Precious teaching on a precious word.

Excerpt: SCRIPTURE never applies this word to God, nor uses it as though He needed to be reconciled to His creatures; neither does the doctrine of reconciliation demand that it should be so applied. Such an application confounds propitiation with reconciliation.

I offer a few remarks as to what appears to be the plain teaching of Scripture on this subject, without pretending to give all the passages in which it occurs.

There are three things we have to bear in mind in considering this question, viz.:

 The holiness of God, to whom sin is an offense, and calls forth His wrath.

 The love of God towards the sinner.

 The enmity of the sinner's heart towards God.

These three things show the necessity and lay the basis of the great work of atonement, which vindicates God's moral being, and renders Him free to act according to His nature. The first necessitates propitiation;-that which makes God propitious to us. The second presents God Himself as the provider of, the only Lamb that could make propitiation, thus laying the basis of reconciliation. Because of the third He beseeches sinners to be reconciled to Him. That sin is an offense to His holiness, and calls forth His wrath, is proved by such scriptures as the following, viz.:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Rom. 1:18.

"Because of these things" fornication, uncleanness, &c. "cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Eph. 5:6.

"They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal. 5:21.

These scriptures, too, are all after atonement had been accomplished. Again, "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him." John 3:36. This, if final unbelief, binds all the results of sin upon the soul; the wrath is never lifted. Wrath certainly is raised in God's heart against sin, which is an offense to His holiness, and this demands propitiation-the lifting up of the Son of man. Only this is never said in Scripture to be "reconciling" God.

The love of God to the sinner is proved by the following:

"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." John 3:16.

"God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8.

"In this was manifested the love of God toward 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 a propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:9,10.

In these and other similar scriptures the love of God is seen to be in existence while enmity existed in our hearts, and consequently there could be no need of reconciling such a Being, who pitied and loved His fallen creatures, though He could not receive them in their sins, nor at the expense of His holiness; but the way in which holiness and love could both be maintained was devised by Himself, and He never changes, but is always the same Himself.