Water is of little use to a thirsty man, if he will not drink. The faith which accepts Christ ratifies all that Christ has done, and takes Christ as a new principle of life. Paul bids Philemon receive Onesimus as himself,—not the old Onesimus, but a new Onesimus into whom the spirit of Paul has entered (Philemon 17). So God receives us as new creatures in Christ. Though we cannot earn salvation, we must take it; and this taking it involves a surrender of heart and life which ensures union with Christ and moral progress.
What shall be done to the convicted murderer who tears up the pardon which his wife's prayers and tears have secured from the Governor? Nothing remains but to [pg 771]execute the sentence of the law. Hon. George F. Danforth, Justice of the New York State Court of Appeals, in a private letter says: “Although it may be stated in a general way that a pardon reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offence and the guilt of the offender, so that in the eye of the law he is as innocent as if he had never committed the offence, the pardon making him as it were a new man with a new credit and capacity, yet a delivery of the pardon is essential to its validity, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It cannot be forced upon him. In that respect it is like a deed. The delivery may be in person to the offender or to his agent, and its acceptance may be proved by circumstances like any other fact.”
(j) That if the atonement requires faith as its complement, then it does not in itself furnish a complete satisfaction to God's justice.—We answer that faith is not the ground of our acceptance with God, as the atonement is, and so is not a work at all; faith is only the medium of appropriation. We are saved not by faith, or on account of faith, but only through faith. It is not faith, but the atonement which faith accepts, that satisfies the justice of God.
Illustrate by the amnesty granted to a city, upon conditions to be accepted by each inhabitant. The acceptance is not the ground upon which the amnesty is granted; it is the medium through which the benefits of the amnesty are enjoyed. With regard to the difficulties connected with the atonement, we may say, in conclusion, with Bishop Butler: “If the Scripture has, as surely it has, left this matter of the satisfaction of Christ mysterious, left somewhat in it unrevealed, all conjectures about it must be, if not evidently absurd, yet at least uncertain. Nor has any one reason to complain for want of further information, unless he can show his claim to it.” While we cannot say with President Stearns: “Christ's work removed the hindrances in the eternal justice of the universe to the pardon of the sinner, but how we cannot tell”—cannot say this, because we believe the main outlines of the plan of salvation to be revealed in Scripture—yet we grant that many questions remain unsolved. But, as bread nourishes even those who know nothing of its chemical constituents, or of the method of its digestion and assimilation, so the atonement of Christ saves those who accept it, even though they do not know how it saves them. Balfour, Foundations of Belief, 264-267—“Heat was once thought to be a form of matter; now it is regarded as a mode of motion. We can get the good of it, whichever theory we adopt, or even if we have no theory. So we may get the good of reconciliation with God, even though we differ as to our theory of the Atonement.”—“One of the Roman Emperors commanded his fleet to bring from Alexandria sand for the arena, although his people at Rome were visited with famine. But a certain shipmaster declared that, whatever the emperor commanded, his ship should bring wheat. So, whatever sand others may bring to starving human souls, let us bring to them the wheat of the gospel—the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.” For answers to objections, see Philippi, Glaubenslehre, iv, 2:156-180; Crawford, Atonement, 384-468; Hodge, Syst. Theol., 2:526-543; Baird, Elohim Revealed, 623 sq.; Wm. Thomson, The Atoning Work of Christ; Hopkins, Works, 1:321.
E. The Extent of the Atonement.
The Scriptures represent the atonement as having been made for all men, and as sufficient for the salvation of all. Not the atonement therefore is limited, but the application of the atonement through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Upon this principle of a universal atonement, but a special application of it to the elect, we must interpret such passages as Eph. 1:4, 7; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10; John 17:9, 20, 24—asserting a special efficacy of the atonement in the case of the elect; and also such passages as 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 2:2; Tim. 2:6; 4:10; Tit. 2:11—asserting that the death of Christ is for all.
Passages asserting special efficacy of the atonement, in the case of the elect, are the following: Eph. 1:4—“chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without [pg 772]blemish before him in love”; 7—“in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10—God “who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”; John 17:9—“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me”; 20—“Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word”; 24—“Father, that which thou hast given me, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me; that they may beheld my glory, which thou hast given me.”
Passages asserting that the death of Christ is for all are the following: 2 Pet 2:1—“false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them”; 1 John 2:2—“and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world”; 1 Tim. 2:6—Christ Jesus “who gave himself a ransom for all”; 4:10—“the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of them that believe”; Tit. 2:11—“For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” Rom. 3:22(A. V.)—“unto all and upon all them that believe”—has sometimes been interpreted as meaning “unto all men, and upon all believers” (εἰς = destination; ἐπί = extent). But the Rev. Vers. omits the words “and upon all,” and Meyer, who retains the words, remarks that τοῦς πιστεύοντας belongs to πάντας in both instances.