We have purposely kept this subject almost to the last. We trust we have pointed out sufficiently clearly and conclusively that the Bible is indeed inspired, the Word of the living God. If that is the conclusion arrived at, it follows that the Book is to be received and acted upon. To refuse to do so would be serious indeed, and it would be attended with disaster, the magnitude of which could not be exaggerated. If God has spoken, shall I not hear?
We would now point out the truth of the atonement, the great sacrifice for sin our Lord offered on the cross of Calvary, thus furnishing the only way of approach to God, and the means by which eternal life and blessing could be offered to sinful men. To receive the benefit of this atonement there must be personal faith in the Savior. You must be able to say from your heart, " The Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me " (Gal. 2:2020I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)). There must be the unbreakable link of faith forged between you and the Savior, if you are to be blessed.
It will be seen that the red line of atonement runs right through Scripture. There is a unity of testimony as to it seen throughout the Word of God, confirmatory of its inspiration.
Before our first parents were driven out of the Garden of Eden, we read, " Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them ״' (Gen. 3:2121Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)). In this we read a prophecy. The word atonement, so often occurring in the Old Testament, means in the Hebrew original to cover. Our first parents were covered by these coats of skins. How were these skins procured? It must have been by the sacrifice of innocent animals. It must have been that blood was shed. Centuries roll by, and David throws fuller light on the subject. " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psa. 32:11<<A Psalm of David, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (Psalm 32:1)). The New Testament links on with this. We read, " David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom. 4:6-86Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Romans 4:6‑8)). We see clearly how atonement is for the purpose of sins being forgiven and iniquities being covered, that is put out of God's sight forever. Nay, further, in the clear light of the New Testament, in full view of the meaning of the death of our Lord on the cross, we read that "God imputeth righteousness without works."
We get the very highest expression of this wonderful truth in these words, " But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested... even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and UPON all them that believe" (Rom. 3:21,2221But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Romans 3:21‑22)). Notice the righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ. Righteousness cannot be imputed, save as an individual puts his or her faith in the Savior, accepting His work upon the cross, as their only plea before God. Note too, this righteousness is toward ALL. It is offered freely to men of every clime, century, age, and disposition. But it is only " UPON all them that believe.”
Just as our first parents were covered by the coats of skin, procured by the death of innocent victims, so the believer is covered by the righteousness of God, procured through the atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a covering! What a robe!
Here the truth is put in the terms of the law courts. In the parable of the prodigal son the same truth is presented in the form of a parable. " Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him" (Luke 15:2222But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: (Luke 15:22)), was the glad command of the father to his servants. The prodigal came in his rags and tatters and misery. What a robe was his in exchange! Surely our God has given us the best that love could devise at the tremendous cost of the death of His beloved Son, who died under His righteous judgment, making atonement for sin.
In Gen. 4, we see again the red line of atonement. The first children are born into the world. They grow up. They both approach God. Cain brings of the fruit of the ground. Abel brings of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. God accepts Abel's offering. He refuses Cain's. Why? Was God partial? Surely not. What does it mean?
Does not the way these two young men sought to approach God illustrate how multitudes of men and women, alas! seek to approach Him today? Cain's way was indeed the wrong way, for we read, "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain " (Jude 1111Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. (Jude 11)). What way is that?
Is it the way of the Unitarian, the way of the man or woman who thinks that doing his or her best is sufficient to procure favor before God. Such ignore the atoning character of the death of Christ. They vainly think they can be their own Savior. Cain brought of the fruit of a cursed earth. He might have been, and surely was, sincere, but God nevertheless refused his offering.
I remember well a lady who attended some Gospel services I was holding in St. John's, Newfoundland. She told me early on in the meetings that she was a Christian. Towards the end of the mission she came to me to say that she had discovered through the meetings that she was not, and never had been, a Christian. I asked her in astonishment, "What made you think you were a Christian when you were not?"
She replied, and it is the reply of hundreds of thousands of earnest but deluded people, " I have always lived a good life. I take the sacrament and do all the good I can. I teach my children to pray, and take them regularly to a place of worship. I thought these things made me a Christian, but during these meetings my eyes have been opened to see the terrible mistake I have been making."
Wherein lay this lady's mistake? Note well, that in all the things which in her mistaken ideas constituted her a Christian, she spoke ONLY of her OWN doings and efforts. She left CHRIST out, indeed never once mentioned His name, or His death for sinners on Calvary's cross. True she made the mistake of calling herself a Christian, but she had no title to that designation, for she had no saving faith, no true link with the Savior. She was treading the way of Cain. The word Christian has for its first six letters, C—H—R—I—S—T. Now these six letters spell the name Christ, so evidently a Christian means a follower of Christ. But you cannot follow Him unless you first accept Him to be your own personal Savior.
Thank God, the lady in Newfoundland that evening dropped all her doings and strivings, and so-called good deeds, and placed her faith in the Lord Jesus as her own personal Savior. Can you say, reader, that you are a true Christian?
I remember a thrilling experience I had many years ago. I was asked to visit a Portuguese general in the city of Lisbon. He knew enough English to enable us to interchange thoughts fairly comfortably. General Albuquerque, I was told, had never been to a Protestant place of worship in his life. Wishing to turn the occasion into one of some real value, I earnestly put before him the difference between being a nominal Christian and a real Christian. I shall never forget the surprise, the thrill, the pleasure he gave me. He put his hand on my knee, and said earnestly in his broken English, "To be a real Christian you need the Holy Spirit's touch." I could have no doubt as to his being a real Christian.
The red line of atonement is clearly seen in the Passover described in Ex. 12. God was about to redeem His people Israel, and bring them out of Egypt, the land of their cruel bondage, into the land flowing with milk and honey. But if God visited the cruel Egyptians with judgment, He must also show His mercy to His redeemed people righteously. To accomplish this each household had to find a lamb without spot or blemish. On the fourteenth day of the month the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel had to kill this lamb. The house-holder then, with a bunch of hyssop dipped in the blood of the sacrifice, had to sprinkle the lintel and door posts of his house, and God said, " When I see the blood, I will pass over you " (Ex. 12:1313And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)).
How beautifully this illustrates the Gospel. They were not told to hang up a list of their good works, their strivings and doings on their lintels and door posts, but to sprinkle the BLOOD. Blood came from a slain lamb, and that lamb was without blemish or spot.
Does not the New Testament answer fully to all this? Do you remember John the Baptist pointing His disciples to the Lord as He walked, saying, " Behold the LAMB of God, which taketh away the sin of the world?" (John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)). Do you remember the Scripture, which tells the believer, "Even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us"? (1 Cor. 5:77Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7)). Do you remember the Apostle Peter saying, " Ye were... redeemed... with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot"? (1 Peter 1:18,1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19)).
The red line of atonement runs right through the Old Testament. It is as if there was a range of mighty mountains, but there are two outstanding majestic peaks towering above them all-Psa. 22 and Isa. 53.
Psa. 22 is undoubtedly prophetic of the death of our Lord, and that from its sacrificial character. It recognizes man's side of the cross-man's enmity and activity in bringing about the death of our Lord. " Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet" (verse 16). There is outlined to us in its naked enormity the greatest, the most dastardly, crime, that this world has ever committed. Christ's blood, like Abel's of old, cries aloud for vengeance from the ground.
But, thank God, we also get the cross from the Divine side. It begins with the actual cry of our Lord upon the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" (verse 1). Again, "THOU has brought Me into the dust of death" (verse 15). Why should God forsake His Son? Why should He bring Him into the dust of death? Had Jesus not fully done God's will? Did He deserve to be forsaken? Nay, our Lord's going to the cross was the supremest act of obedience to the will of God. Was God ever known to forsake his faithful witnesses, the martyrs of old, in their hour of direst need? Never once, we can confidently affirm. Why then did God forsake His Son?
The answer is plain. May we each take in its significance. He was forsaken because He took the sinner's place, bore the sinner's judgment, atoned for sins not His own.
"He bore, that we might never bear The Almighty's righteous ire."
We must grasp this, or else we shall never understand God's way of salvation for sinful men.
We come now to that grand Old Testament chapter, Isa. 53, in which the red line of atonement is very marked indeed. There is no mistaking it. It is the one chapter in the Old Testament that the Christian worker uses above all others when he seeks to convince a Jew of the necessity of the atoning character of the death of Christ. It is the one chapter that the blind fanatical Jew avoids, so much so that in their synagogues the readers of the law purposely leave this chapter out of their consecutive reading of the prophecy of Isaiah.
The chapter may well begin with the words, "Who hath believed our report?" (verse 1). It tells us of One who was indeed the delight of God's heart, the " Root out of a dry ground," the One who was beautiful under God's eye in a world of barrenness and sin. To men He was unattractive, "no form nor comeliness... no beauty that we should desire Him " (verse 2).
We are told this One should bear the grief of His people and carry their sorrows. This is most beautifully alluded to in Matt. 8:16,1716When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:16‑17)-" When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."
Finally, they took the " Man of sorrows," the One who cared for griefs and sicknesses of men, suborned false witnesses at the mockery of a trial before a judge, who weakly truckled to the fanatical outcry of the high priests and rulers, and condemned the Just One to death.
Why did He die? The answer is glorious. " He was wounded for ourtransgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:55But 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. (Isaiah 53:5)). This surely is plain and unmistakable in its meaning, and should have been sufficient to give light and hope to the Israelites of Old Testament times. Doubtless such words were used in many, many instances.
But we would again stress before we go further that the work of Christ as Savior on the cross must be definitely accepted by each one personally to be of any avail whatsoever. May I ask the reader, Have you accepted the Savior for salvation, for the complete alteration of your life here and your future eternally?
To come to the New Testament, in the four Gospels we get the red line of atonement strongly marked. The time of shadows is over, the fulfillment of prophecy has arrived. The Son of God was seen as a Babe lying in a manger in swaddling clothes. Immediately a messenger from heaven, an angel, announced that there was born in the city of David "a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:1111For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)). Mark "a Savior"! That was His mission.
For thirty years He lived in seclusion, and then the time came for Him to come out in public service. He was a young Man when He stepped out into the limelight of public service. It lasted for a brief three-and-a-half years. He died a young Man.
Lecky, the historian, commenting on this in a striking way, says: -
" Christ has exerted so deep an influence that it may truly be said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and soften mankind than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists."
And this is all the more remarkable a testimony in that it comes from the pen of one who was reputedly an infidel.
A stream of miracles followed the Lord wherever He went. He healed the sick. He cast out devils. He raised the dead. He preached the Gospel to the poor. The common people heard Him gladly. Our Lord Himself defined His mission: " The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)).
The title Son of Man was often on His lips. He Himself connected His death as Son of Man with the fulfillment of prophecy. " All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again" (Luke 18:31-3331Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. (Luke 18:31‑33)). The Apostle John wrote, " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so MUST the Son of Man be lifted up " (John 3:1414And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14)).
Who is the Son of Man? Psa. 8 tells us He is destined to have dominion over all the works of God's hand. The prophet Daniel tells us that the day is coming when there shall be given the Son of Man " dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an ever-lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Dan. 7:1414And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14))·
The Son of Man, Heir to such high honors, destined to be the supreme Head of Mankind, is called upon to uphold all for God in this world, where the first man signally failed. Yet this Son of Man again and again told His disciples that He must die and be raised the third day. " From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matt. 16:2121From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (Matthew 16:21)). This He repeated again and again. The disciples did not understand it at the time. After He rose from the dead, the meaning of it all became clear to them. One day the Lord will appear and take up His public place of pre-eminence as the Son of Man: " For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works" (Matt. 16:2727For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Matthew 16:27)).
If the Son of Man had not died an atoning death, then His whole action would have been one of unsparing judgment, but He died in order that God might be " just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus " (Rom. 3:2626To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)). Only through His death could blessing come to guilty men. Have you believed on Him to the saving of your soul?
The third day Christ rose from the dead. This is the great test. His resurrection is the great proof of God's supreme satisfaction with all that Christ is and has done, especially with His atoning death upon the cross under the wrath of a Holy God because of man's sin. His resurrection is the complete vindication of the three wonderful words He uttered after the three hours of darkness, "It is Finished" (John 19:3030When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)).
So we come to the testimony of the Epistles. The Epistle to the Romans is the unfolding of the Gospel of God in all its grandeur and completeness. If the Gospels give us the atoning death of our Lord from the aspect of its actual historical happening, the Epistle to the Romans gives us the unfolding of the Gospel from the side of doctrine, its meaning, its power, its results.
The red line of atonement is very clearly marked in the Epistle to the Romans. The Apostle Paul declared that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; " for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek " (Rom. 1:1616For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)). The following Scriptures are clear. "The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe " (Rom. 3:2222Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Romans 3:22)). Christ "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 4:25; 525Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:25):1).
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers that when he first came among them, he had been deter-mined not to know anything among them, "save Jesus Christ, and Him CRUCIFIED" (1 Cor. 2:22For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2)). He reminded them that " Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:77Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7)). In the commemoration of the Lord's supper, he reminds us that "the bread which we break is it not the communion of the body [the body in which He died for us] of Christ?" "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:1616The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)). Chapter 15 of this wonderful Epistle reviews the convincing and varied proofs of the resurrection of Christ, showing that without this foundation to our faith we could not have any blessing from God. " If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain " (1 Cor. 15:1414And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (1 Corinthians 15:14)). How triumphant is the apostle's assertion, "Now IS Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (verse 20). No doubt is there as to the triumph of the resurrection of Christ.
The Epistle to the Ephesians strikes the same happy note. "We have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace " (Eph. 1:77In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)). " In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:1313But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)).
The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that Christ has "obtained eternal Redemption for us" (Heb. 9:1212Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)). "Without shedding of Blood is no remission" (Chapter 9:22). " We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all... By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Chapter 10:10 and 14). "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus " (verse 19).
There is evidently no room for cold Unitarianism in the Bible, no room for obscuring the redemptive character of Christ's atoning sacrificial vicarious death on the cross of Calvary by unduly stressing that death as a great example for sinful men to follow, as if that exhausted all its meaning.
Alas! this is being done on all hands by Modernist preachers. It is acceptable to the fleshly mind, as it appeals to the pride of man's heart, giving him a feeling of self-importance that he can be his own savior by his own efforts. But Scripture strongly contradicts such a proposition, when it states in language that cannot be mistaken, "Without shedding of Blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)).
The reason of this is very plain. Death is the penalty of sin. " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die " (Gen. 2:1717But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17)). " The wages of sin is death " (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). If that is so, only death can meet that penalty. If the sinner is to be forgiven the consequences of his sin, someone must die for him. That someone must be one who is sinless himself, one on whom death has no claim. Who can answer to that test? Only One, and that One is the Lord Jesus Christ. So He could say: " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me " (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)).
I heard of a lady who was very annoyed on hearing the simple Gospel story. Salvation through a crucified Savior was not to the liking of her pride. She said to the preacher that she was not going to demean herself by thinking that spiritual life came through anyone's death for her. He wisely asked her, " How do you support your natural life?"
" Whatever do you mean?" she asked.
" I mean this," said the preacher, " that you support your natural life by feeding on Death. Animals have to be sacrificed, blood has to be shed, to provide food for the support of your natural existence." He then went on to explain that we get eternal life, and maintain it by feeding on Death. Did not our Lord say: " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you... whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life "? (John 6:53,5453Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:53‑54)). Of course the preacher had to be careful to tell the lady that the analogy he had drawn helped so far, that the slaughter of animals for human consumption is not an atoning sacrifice. The animals do not offer themselves. They are made to be taken for the use of man. But our Lord's death was atoning and sacrificial. He offered Himself for our salvation. It is, however, a striking analogy as far as it goes.
To eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man is a symbolic way of presenting the truth that it is necessary for the sinner to appropriate the death of Christ for his salvation by an act of faith. Eating and drinking are the strongest similes, and set forth real appropriation.
I remember setting forth this truth before an audience in Jerusalem. At its close a Professor of the Jerusalem University on Mount Scopus came up to me and thanked me, saying, “I wish to thank you for your satisfactory exposition of Scripture tonight." The incident was deeply interesting to me.
We have culled but a very small tithe of what can be said as to the testimony of Scripture concerning the red line of atonement, but enough to show its vital importance.