The Rationale of the Atonement

We have already established, on solid historical grounds, that Jesus of Nazareth taught that His death on the cross has a unique relation to human salvation. Through that death, God receives into His favor, in spite of their past sins, all who believe the good news Christ proclaimed. Christ chose to die for this purpose, and the need for so costly a means of salvation arose from human sin. Paul drew from Christ's teaching the further conclusion that this necessity rested in the justice of God, and we have found that this conclusion best explains the teaching reflected throughout the New Testament. In the future, we shall consider historical evidence that the Crucified One claimed to be, in a sense shared by no other, the Son of God, the eternal companion of the Father's glory, the possessor of divine attributes, and the Creator and Judge of the world. And further, we shall consider historical evidence that this Savior of the world rose from the dead. Teaching about His own death, coming from such a Teacher and supported by such credentials, carries an authority we cannot dismiss. When our argument is complete, it will yield a settled conclusion to our theological inquiry.

Universal Sin and Moral Ruin

In our last post on "Righteousness and Law", we saw that people across cultures share a deep sense of personal sin and a fearful awareness of punishment beyond death. Alongside this is another powerful experience: the feeling of being morally trapped. We sense what is right, we even approve of it — but something within us holds us back. It is like a chain we cannot break. When we look honestly at ourselves, we find this inner condemnation and bondage clearly present in our own hearts. And when we look outward, we see the same reality vividly reflected throughout human literature.

This same understanding of the human moral condition appears clearly in the letters of Paul. In Romans, Paul pauses his explanation of the Gospel to give a careful description of humanity’s condition apart from it — both Gentiles and Jews alike. In Romans 1:18–32, he explains that God made Himself known to the Gentiles through creation, so that they would have no excuse for their sin. Their moral collapse, he says, shows God’s righteous anger against them for turning away from that revelation and embracing idolatry instead.