11a Atonement

CHURCH-MEMBERS’

HAND - BOOK OF THEOLOGY.

CHAPTER XI.

ATONEMENT. No system of theology that should leave the doctrine of atonement without special notice, would be considered as complete; and, indeed, such a system would be radically defective. A great deal has been said and written professedly upon this important subject; but I hope I may be excused for saying that, according to my judgment, much of what has been written has been to little or no purpose. Not pretending to be able to instruct the theological world, it is my constant desire to be useful to the "poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom." I believe the essential doctrines of the gospel--such as we have been discussing in the preceding pages--have been pretty correctly understood by the true church in all ages, from the days of the apostles to the present time, and we have no reason to expect any new discoveries in the plan of salvation. There is room for the wisest to increase in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; but, in the fundamental principles of the gospel, nothing new will be brought to light that is essential to the great system of gospel truth. All that is indispensably necessary is to have access to the word of God, and a heart prepared to receive the instruction. I shall not aspire to the honor of new discovery; but if I can offer a thought that will throw any additional light on any part of the subject into the mind of my reader, verily I shall have my desired reward.

If the word atonement was a scriptural term, and of frequent occurrence in the New Testament, like justification and redemption, we might ascertain its scriptural meaning by consulting the connection in which it is used by inspired writers: but it is not so; the word is used, I believe, but once in that book, and in that place all good scholars concur in saying the original word should not have been translated atonement, but reconciliation. The word is often used in the Old Testament, respecting the sacrifices offered under that dispensation, and in this light I suppose it may be said to be a scriptural term. From the use there made of the word in a typical sense, we may learn something of what should be its proper meaning in an evangelical sense. But, at least, the word is properly a theological term, and, considered in this point of view, it has, or ought to have, a definite and universally accepted meaning. If the word is generally used by writers in a particular acceptation--and I believe it is--any writer who discusses the doctrine of atonement in a different sense, without at once apprising his readers, most probably has an insidious design in view; but if he really differs from others as to what we are to understand by the atonement of Christ, we have no right to require any thing more of him than a plain and unambiguous statement of the sense in which he intends to use the term, or of what he understands the atonement to be, and an honest avowal of the difference between his views and the opinions of others. The range of my reading is comparatively very limited, so that I have consulted very few works written expressly on atonement. What little knowledge I have acquired of the various theories which have been put forth by our learned writers, has been derived incidentally from a few authors who have had occasion to refer to them. Not occupying that position in the literary world which would entitle me to claim equality with our theological authors, I have felt timid in referring to them by name; but the high respect which I entertain for those great names must not deter me from exhibiting what I believe to be the truth of God as we have it in His word, although my views might not perfectly accord with theirs in every particular idea. I am not aware, however, that my views of atonement differ materially from those which have been generally maintained by our standard orthodox divines. With regard to the meaning of the word atonement, some are disposed to lay a good deal of stress on the etymology of the term--to wit, at-one-ment; but it requires but little knowledge of the history of our language to see that etymology is a very uncertain method of ascertaining the proper meaning of words. The English scholar stands in no need of examples to illustrate this. Besides, it is not so much the literal meaning of the word with which we are concerned; it is that particular evangelical doctrine of theology which has been generally designated by the term atonement. This doctrine I propose to discuss, and I design to employ as definite and precise language as I am able. A late writer on atonement gives us the following definition: "It is the expiation of sin through the obedience and death of the Lord Jesus." I shall not object to this definition. The author intended no disguise or evasion. As he is still living, and is also "a brother beloved," and one who, I doubt not, loves the truth, I presume he will not be offended if I offer a critical suggestion. If, by the word obedience, we are to understand both the perfect holy obedience of His life and also His "obedience unto death"--that is, His obedience in dying--the definition is, perhaps, as unexceptionable as can well be given; but although the perfect holiness of the Redeemer’s life was essential to the validity of His sacrifice--it was essential to the merit and acceptableness of the "offering" which He made for our sins, and in this sense was essential to the atonement--yet I am not quite sure that it is an essential part of the atonement itself. The holiness of Christ was necessary to honor the law in the holiness of its nature and authority, but it was the justice of the law in relation to sin that required atonement. I believe it is held by our standard writers generally, that the obligation to be perfectly conformed to the holiness of the law is intransferable, and so I understand it; if so, substitution is inadmissible. The holiness of the law requires absolute holiness of every subject of the law, and nothing else can satisfy the demand. The obligation can not be discharged by a representative. If these thoughts are correct, I can not so well see how the holiness of our Savior’s life, though immaculate, can constitute an essential part of an atonement for sin. It is easy to see the perfect character was essential to His being a competent and acceptable sin-offering, and also that it was essential to His official relations to us as sinners. And further: As the law held a rightful authority over us as human subjects, it was necessary that our accepted Surety should, in human nature, honor the holiness of the law by demonstrating that the obligation to perfect holiness was not a requirement beyond the constitutional ability of human subjects. It was necessary that the holy character of the law should be fully vindicated or satisfied by inflicting the penalty for transgression upon one in human nature.

I would not be too positive on this point, and I will thankfully accept the kindness of any one who will give me more light. I have not made these remarks as intending to instruct my superiors, nor as a verbal criticism; but believing there is here a real distinction in these two aspects of the Divine law, I thought it might be well not to lose sight of it in a discourse on the atonement of Christ.

Another modern writer on atonement says: "The essential idea in the doctrine of atonement is that of substitution, or vicariousness." This postulate is objectionable; for, although in the atonement of Christ substitution is an essential condition, yet it does not belong to the essence of the atonement itself. Substitution was an indispensable prerequisite; but in the order of nature, as well as in the order of operation (if I may so express it), the substitution preceded the atonement. Christ must first become our substitute--our accepted substitute--before He could make atonement for us. Using the word atonement in its general meaning--not restricting it to the atonement of Christ--it is allowable to say there may be atonement where there is no substitution, and there may be substitution where there is no atonement. There is so wide a distinction between the ordinary signification of the two words that neither can convey the essential idea of the other. The same writer says: "The atonement is something substituted in the place of the penalty of the law, which will answer the same ends as the punishment of the offender himself would." Passing, for the present, the very objectionable doctrines couched in this quotation, it is sufficient to say that if the atonement did not answer the end of satisfying the Divine law for our sins, it would be false to speak of it as atonement. But why adopt such a distant and pointless mode of statement?

Again: "It is through Christ that reconciliation is effected between God and man;" and,

"That in accomplishing this He suffered and died as a substitute in the place of sinners." Here our author ventures to come to the essential doctrine of the atonement--rather an unusual thing for him to do. He speaks abundantly of substitution, of law, of sufferings, and of punishment; but seems to be fearfully cautious of speaking much about the death of Christ--the very thing that constitutes a real atonement. That in which I glory above all things, he seems to be studious to keep out of view. I suppose he kept this grand transaction constantly in his own eye while treating on atonement; but he appears to be reluctant to set it before the eyes of his readers. As I understand atonement to mean equitable satisfaction for injury, or adequate reparation, I understand the atonement, which is the subject of the present discussion, to be that satisfaction for sins which was made to the Divine law by the death of the Son of God. I suppose this statement will give the reader a sufficient idea of what I mean by atonement, but I do not pretend that all the elements and essential characteristics of the atonement are included in this one sentence. To set the idea in a clear light, let us look at a few passages of Scripture which have direct reference to atonement: "Christ died for our sins." "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." "He hath redeemed us to God by His blood." "But God commandeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." "For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." In these quotations we see what the atonement is. We might add many others to the same effect. Whatever men may think the atonement ought to be, these Scriptures show us plainly what it is. That God saves sinners through the death of His Son, is the grandest and most glorious manifestation of the all-fullness of the Divine perfection of any that He has ever made to us. Nor is it in the power of the human mind to conceive of any possible way in which all the perfections of the infinite Godhead could be revealed to created minds to a greater or to an equal extent; and how wonderful, how overwhelming the thought that such sinful wretches as we are should be graciously embraced in it! This transaction is the foundation of the whole plan of man’s salvation; and when we reflect what stupendous weight of glory is dependent upon it, we can not ascribe too much importance to it. It is the good pleasure of God to lay the burden of more of the glory of His Name upon this one thing, than upon all else put together that He has ever done, of which we have any knowledge or can conceive. The sinner that builds on this foundation has nothing to fear; but a hope that rests upon any other ground must eventuate in disappointment and confusion. If there is any defect or insufficiency in the atonement, the whole scheme of man’s salvation is a failure. Hence an essential error or mistake in this doctrine must vitiate all other doctrines of the gospel, for all others rest upon it. In what I write, I "consider what I say," and request the reader to do the same. As atonement has particular respect to Divine justice, in canvassing the doctrine we should make the exact extent of its claims, and the plenary liquidation of those claims, a ruling principle throughout, for no partial reparation is atonement. The satisfaction made must be full, complete, and perfect in every respect, in which the interests and honor of Divine justice are concerned. The justice of God in its relation to us is set forth in what we usually term the moral law, and this law has two fundamental elements: First, obligation to obedience; secondly, penalty for disobedience. The obligation is just--founded in pure justice. The penalty is also just, and emanates from eternal moral justice. We have all transgressed, and have thus subjected ourselves to the administration of the penalty; and the same immutable law that prescribed the penalty must inflict it. The only way in which we, personal sinners, can satisfy the demands of penal justice, is to suffer the penalty in our own persons. If there was any way in which we could satisfy the claims of justice without suffering the penalty we might escape; but there is none. It follows therefore that we can not make atonement for our sins. We never can make a finished satisfaction, so as to found a righteous claim to a discharge from the penalty. I might enlarge upon this whole topic and show it out more fully, and, perhaps, I ought to do it; but I will pass on to what I have now more immediately before me. In making atonement there are certain conditions which must be complied with; as, 1. The satisfaction must be made to the injured party.

2. It must be made by, or in behalf of, the offending party.

If it is not, it can not avail to his benefit.

3. If made by a substitute, such substitute must be every way competent to the work.

Otherwise the undertaking must fail.

4. The atonement must be perfect and complete. Or it can not answer the ends for which an atonement was necessary. In relation to the above conditions, we will examine the atonement of Christ.

These propositions are so plain and so evident, that it would seem superfluous to spend time or labor in proving or illustrating them; and yet I believe that every one of them has been expressly or virtually denied. But I can not take special notice of every artful evasion and critical perversion of gospel truth. I do not wish to become intensely controversial; but if a man will maintain the truth of Holy Scripture, it is not possible to avoid polemics.

1. Atonement must be made to the injured party. Is it not intuitively evident that when a reparation is made for injury, that it must be made to the party injured? None other had a right to require it, and none other had a right to accept it. If the sin for which atonement is made is sin against God, is it not manifest that the satisfaction, or atonement, must be made to Him? Candor can not be blind to this. The honor of the Divine government must be maintained untarnished. This is a point insisted on largely by most writers on atonement, and it can not be defended too earnestly, nor be too thoroughly examined. But the honor of the Divine government can not be conserved without equity of the government is maintained. The honor of God’s government rests fundamentally upon this principle. The honor of the Divine government requires imperatively that the righteousness of law--which is the medium or instrument of administration--should stand impeachable. We may say that the honor of the Divine government belongs rather to the order of policy, and in this respect might be optional; but the equity of God’s government is a necessity--a natural and Divine necessity--and can not be optional. For Him to create rational and intelligent creatures was an act of His sovereign will; He was perfectly at liberty to create us or not create us, according to the good pleasure of His own will; but to govern us and deal with us as His subjects, in a way of strict righteousness, is not an act merely of discretionary will, though of course His will is in it, but by the necessity of His essential nature. He must govern us according to the principles of immutable and eternal justice; for it is evident beyond controversy, that if He is just in Himself, He must be just in His government.

Inflexibility is essential to justice. To suppose that it could fall short of, or extend beyond its legitimate bounds, destroys the very idea of justice; and that justice which relates to us and to our sins, is God’s justice, and is as unchangeable as He is Himself, for it is an attribute of His essential nature. Hence an atonement made for our sins must be made to Him; He must be the object of atonement.

Every man who acknowledges the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, feels that He does not stand in that friendly relation to God that he would desire to do; he is sensible that all is not right between him and his Maker; he is conscious that he has sinned against his rightful Sovereign, and that his God has good reason and just cause to be displeased with him. Now, if anything is done by way of making atonement, or satisfaction, for his sins, so as to adjust the difference and remove the difficulty, whatever it may be--say the death of Christ--if he does not believe that God Himself is satisfied with it, that He approves and accepts this atonement as full satisfaction on His part, it will bring no relief; he will still be exercised with those uneasy apprehensions that God still holds his sins in remembrance. But if, on the other hand, he feels a perfect assurance that this atonement makes full satisfaction to God--that He is not only content, but well pleased with it--then the sinner finds a resting-place; he feels that he has secured ground to stand upon. But these things could not be so if the atonement was not made to God. This is the ground upon which every true believer in Christ rests upon. He is conscious that God has a just demand against him, and that Christ has died for the express purpose of satisfying that demand. If that voice, that glorious announcement, twice delivered from heaven, has no reference to atonement, it is among the least of all the revelations that God has ever made to us; but if it may be supposed to have any reference to the atonement, it is demonstrative proof that the atonement was made to Him.

It is right, however, that we should notice the present topic more immediately in the light of the moral law; and this law naturally presents itself to us in two points of view: the holiness of the law, and the justice of the law. Our obligation to a perfect obedience is founded in the holiness of the law; but the penalty for transgressions is the expression of the justice of the law; and we must not forget that the authority of the Lawgiver is in both. It is the authority of the Sovereign God that requires the obedience, and the same Divine authority declares and enforces the penalty. The subject of the atonement, in that point of view in which we are now considering it, does not require us to say much with regard to the holiness of the law, because it makes but the one demand upon us--that is, absolute perfect holiness; and this it makes on every individual personal subject of the law. It does not ask, and can not accept, of any commutation, satisfaction, or mitigation. The requirement--the only requirement--is personal holiness; and the obligation to render this is perpetual and unchangeable, and can not be relaxed. And, as no atonement can satisfy this demand, it can admit no substitution that will release us from obligation to be holy. But the case is different with respect to the claims of justice. The justice of the law requires satisfaction for the injury--that is, atonement. Crime deserves punishment; and if crime is committed and passes unpunished, this is injustice. The justice of the law demands that transgression--that is, sin--shall be punished. If sin is committed against the Divine law, and the just penalty of the law is not inflicted, it is clear that there is injustice somewhere. If the requirement of obedience to the law is a just requirement, and if the penalty annexed by the law for transgression is a just penalty, then the administration of the law is not just except the penalty is inflicted. It is God himself that is the Lawgiver; He, and He only, enjoins the obedience; He only declares the penalty for disobedience; He only is the administrator of the law, and the equity of the administration is the manifestation of the justice of the Lawgiver. It therefore follows as a plain consequence, that if any atonement is made for our disobedience, it must be made to Him, that it may satisfy the demands of His justice and vindicate the equity of his administration. Our sins are sins against God, and the satisfaction must be made to Him. Hence it is said that Christ, in making atonement, "offered Himself without spot to God." Indeed, the point is made so plain by the general teachings of the Scriptures and the very nature of the case, that, without any great impropriety, I might have dispensed with any remarks on this topic, and proceeded with the general subject just as though the doctrine had never been denied or doubted; but, on account of its connection with other topics belonging to the subject, I thought I might not be quite justifiable in passing loosely over it without more special notice; and, in the further discussion of the subject, a frequent recurrence to this point will be unavoidable.

2. The atonement must be made by, or in behalf of, the offending party.

If atonement is made by the offender himself, then there is no need that another person should interpose in his behalf; and if the sinner could make the requisite satisfaction for his sins, it would supersede the necessity of any intervention on the part of Christ. But as those whom I desire to edify are looking for edification in that atonement which is made by the death of the Lord Jesus, I will not detain the reader by treating on atonement as made by the offending party. All that I should think necessary to be said would only be preparatory to atonement by substitution.

If the law is transgressed, the penalty, as a matter of course, must ensue, and the condemnation must fall on the transgressor. If one man injures another, he is under obligation to make reparation. This is a plain principle in equity. And upon this principle, if a man does violence to the law of God, he is under obligation to make satisfaction for the violation committed. This obligation he is bound to fulfill according to the tenor and spirit of the law. As the reward of a perfect obedience to the Divine law is life, so the penalty for disobedience is death. That death which is the penalty of the law is something more than the mere death of the body, as the Scriptures clearly prove. But how much is included in the penal death, or necessarily results from it, is not easily comprehended, and I shall not in this place attempt to specify its nature or define its extent. It is sufficient for our present inquiry to say that every sinner is under obligation, which he can not avoid, to suffer its infliction, as that is due from him to the authority of a violated law. Suppose, then, that this death is inflicted upon a personal transgressor: he has no power to restore himself again to life, and consequently he must remain forever in a state of death; for he is a sinner still, and his sin still remains upon himself. The law has no power to deliver him from death; and he has no power to deliver himself, and so must continue forever the subject of a violated law. Moreover, he still possesses all the powers of his moral and intellectual constitution, with all their functions, activities, and capabilities, and is therefore still under obligation to render a prefect obedience that the law requires. But his moral nature is depraved. He is alienated from his God, and averse to the holiness of the law, so that he continues to be the enemy of God, and remains an actual sinner. In this condition it is morally impossible that he can ever render that perfect obedience to the holy requirement of the law which is due to it. And the penalty of the law still lying upon him, it is impossible that he can ever remove that penalty. He may endure the penalty by abiding still in a state of death. But what the sinner needs, is that the penalty should be removed from him, that he may not suffer it. Bound under the iron fetters of inflexible justice, he can not do any thing, less or more, towards making satisfaction to the injured authority of the law. But nothing short of a full and complete satisfaction--a finished satisfaction for his sin--can ever constitute an atonement.

Hence we must look to a substitute for atonement--to one who will make the required satisfaction for us, in our room, in our behalf--to one who will assume our liabilities, and take our place under the law, and endure the penalty in our stead. This is what is called vicarious suffering. The substitute must suffer that death which we would have to suffer, if the substitute were not to suffer it for us. The doctrine of substitution has been carried by some beyond its legitimate bounds. At least, so far as it is an essential element in the atonement of Christ, they have assigned to it a place where it can have no real application. Perhaps we may notice this hereafter. Others have denied the whole doctrine of atonement; but these require no notice, further than what the general discussion will supply. There are others, again, who profess to hold the doctrine of substitution, but explain it in such a way as virtually excludes it from the work of atonement. The fact that the atonement made by the death of Christ was made for and in behalf of sinners, is so explicitly testified in the Scriptures as to foreclose all reasoning to the contrary. We will select a few texts in proof: "Christ died for us." For--that is, in the place of. "Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust." This is too plain to need comment. "I lay down my life for the sheep." "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." We might add to these a great many others, but I shall take it for granted that these are sufficient. Of the Justice of Vicarious Sufferings. The question, How can it be just for the innocent to suffer for the guilty? is an inquiry which will naturally arise in the mind of many who are seeking to attain to clear views of the doctrine of atonement; and this is the place, in the order of discussion, for its consideration. As I do not pretend to be able to give my reader a satisfactory solution of this problem, I would prefer to pass it, for the present, without comment, and treat it in a separate article at the close; but as I can not make a reasonable excuse for such a detachment, I will proceed now to give my reader the result of some of my reflections on this profound ethical question. I must invoke the reader’s patience, as I may dwell on this topic a little longer than he would expect. I shall endeavor to be as brief and concise as the nature of the inquiry will permit; but if I were preparing a separate work on atonement, I should probably treat this question considerably more at length than I design to do here. And I suppose it may be possible that some of my thoughts may not have occurred to the mind of every reader; and it would give me pleasure to cast one ray of light on this subject into the mind of the reader, as I rejoice in every accession that any Christian can make to his knowledge of Christ. I do not claim the ability to solve the question, or to explain the mystery, but I will simply present some of my own thoughts on the subject, leaving their confirmation, or their refutation, to such as are farther advanced in the knowledge of this branch of gospel doctrine than I am. But before I enter directly upon the main question, I wish to impress a few things on the mind of the reader, because they are impressed on my own mind.

1. If there is mystery which we can not understand in a doctrine, or if we can not see its consistency with another doctrine known to be true, we are not, therefore, at liberty to reject it, because all the difficulty may be referred to our own limited powers of comprehension.

2. In reasoning upon any one perfection of the Divine nature, we are not to make ourselves absolutely certain that our deductions are necessarily correct. In order to do this, it would be necessary to understand all that is contained in that perfection, which, with us, is impossible. And more than this: All the perfections of the Godhead are mutually and intimately related to each other, and hence it might possibly be necessary that we should understand all these relations before we would be justifiable in pronouncing our conclusion indubitably correct, except where we have sufficient evidence from other sources to sustain them.

3. If we find a doctrine plainly taught in the Scriptures which appears to us to be inconsistent with any one of the Divine attributes, we must yield to the Scriptures, and not be guided by our deductions from abstract truth, which may be, and frequently are, fallacious. The testimony of God’s word must, in all cases, be accepted as paramount and decisive

4. The union of the Divine and human natures in the person of Jesus Christ is such an inconceivable mystery to us that we are not competent to affirm or deny respecting the moral nature and the moral relations of a constitution which so far exceed all our powers of comprehension, and especially one to which in its most vital point there is no analogy.

5. The essential characteristics of eternal justice, so far as justice governs the relations of men, both to God and to each other, are sufficiently made known to us as the subjects of administrative justice; but there may be a great deal included in Divine justice which it is not possible or needful for us, in our present condition, to understand; and in the great transaction now under consideration, the Son of God is not constitutionally a subject of administrative justice. He assumed this state of subjection, and He is the only being in existence who could be injuriously affected by the substitution, whether just or unjust.

6. We, as the subjects of law and administrative justice, are accountable beings to superior authority; but the Son of God is supreme, and accountable to no other authority, for there is none above Him to whom He can be responsible. All the obligation that He can possibly be under, is that obligation which He is under to His own Godhead; and therefore He has a sovereign right to do and submit to all that is according to His own sovereign will. And we may rationally suppose that the principles of justice, in their application to subordinate and accountable creatures, may not be applicable, in every respect to a supreme and independent being.

7. It may be said, that if that is just in the Divine administration which is inconsistent with and even contrary to all our ideas of human justice, how can we arrive at any true knowledge of the Divine character? To this we may reply, that other attributes of the Divine nature are equally inconsistent with our notions of those attributes, and consequently are equally liable to the same objection. For example. Our world is full of misery, distress, and almost every variety and decree of suffering. How can this be consistent with the infinitemercy of God, when it is, and ever has been within the power of God to prevent it? We are therefore, authorized to say, that we may know the true character of God, but we can not know His whole character. True, there is mystery: but if there was no mystery, we could not know the true character of God; for mystery to finite creatures is necessarily inseparable from an infinite nature. We know from the word of God that He is just, and that Christ suffered, without any sin of His own, the just for the unjust. This should be received in implicit faith. And it is not wisdom, but presumption, to inquire into the mysteries of the Godhead further than He has seen good to reveal them. And perhaps it may not be impertinent to remark, that if this mystery in the justice of God had been clearly revealed to our understanding, for aught that we know it might have disclosed another mystery beyond that equally as much above our comprehension, and perhaps still more repugnant to our pride. "Be still, and know that I am God." Can it be just that the innocent should suffer that the guilty may escape? This is in substance the form in which the question meets us; and the answer is supposed to be intuitive--that it is not just; hence it is presented as a formidable objection to the atonement made by the vicarious death of Christ. But this form of stating the question is not fair; it embraces two distinct questions. I must therefore protest against this complication. In discussing a subject--such a one as the subject now in hand--the prime point of inquiry ought to be disencumbered of every thing that does not essentially belong to it. That the question in the above form contains two distinct questions, is evident: 1. Can it be just that the innocent should suffer? 2. Can it be just that the guilty should go unpunished ? If we would attempt a logical investigation of our subject, these questions should be treated separately, and should by no means be blended into one. If it should be admitted that it may be just that the innocent should suffer under the administration of law, the whole question is disposed of at once. For what purpose the sufferings are inflicted, or on whose account they are endured, or what particular benefit may thereby accrue to others, have nothing to do with the justice or the injustice of the principle; and though it may be a moment’s digression, I must remark that I never hear any complaint of injustice because the guilty is allowed to escape the just punishment due to his sin. And yet the integrity and the honor of Divine justice is as much involved in the one transaction as in the other. There is as much difficulty and as much mystery in the one question as in the other, and we are as much bound to answer the one as the other. The objector, by imputing injustice to substitutional suffering, necessarily incurs the burden of defending the remission of penalty from the imputation of injustice; and in this he never can succeed while he adheres to his objection. By answering the latter question, the objector will furnish the materials of an answer to the former; and if they were required to withhold their objection till they had complied with their own obligation, it is probable we should never hear of such schemes of atonement as some that have been ushered into the world. They may appeal to the mercy of God; but let it be remembered that there is no mercy in the treasures of Divine grace that can be exercised at the expense of Divine justice. Such an appeal would have no relevancy, and would leave the question of justice untouched.

I will now repeat, that in considering the question of the injustice of substitutional suffering, the fact that the guilty are exempted does not affect the merits of the question. If our object is to arrive at the truth as nearly as we can, we must bring the subject of inquiry as nearly as possible to a single point; and the question will be, Can it be just that the innocent should suffer under the administration of law? The question reduced to this simple form might seem to divest the object of inquiry of any complications that would embarrass our investigation, but in reality it does not. That specific object which we now have in view subjects the question to still further limitations, unless we will consent to hamper ourselves forever with entanglements that have no necessary connection with the precise object of inquiry. The question, so far as we have any concern with it, is properly a theological question, and the solution does not strictly belong to the principles of mere ethical science. It is therefore our privilege to leave the realm of metaphysics, and discuss the doctrine exclusively in the light of theology. We should have nothing to do with it in any other point of view than as it relates to the vicarious death of the Son of God. This death is an isolated event in the Divine administration. The whole history of the Divine government, so far as men can have any knowledge of it, furnishes no similar event. The case is absolutely unique; and if we will contemplate with any reasonable attention the elements of this transaction we shall not fail to see that it is not possible that there should be any analogy. We therefore do injustice to the subject if we consent to canvass it in any other way than as it respects that one event. We must take this one isolated fact as it is, and confine our discussion of the question to the bearing it has on that one specific case. There is no need to deal in abstractions.

If the question is propounded, whether a law in a human government requiring the infliction of a prescribed penalty for crime on an innocent subject instead of the one that was guilty, I should have no objection to an answer in the negative; for even if the suffering substitute endured the penalty voluntarily, I should think a just law would not admit of such substitution, nor allow the penalty to be inflicted. But there would be no analogy between such a case and the vicarious sufferings of Christ; for, in the first place, the substitute, though voluntary, has no right to dispose of himself in that way. He would do an act which would be wrong in its own nature. He would virtually take the administration of the law in his own hands, which he has no right to do. God has invested no man with a right to sacrifice his own life in order to save the life of a criminal; the act would be suicide. Again: If the substitute dies, he can do no more for himself, or for his government, or for any one else. He can not rise from the dead. All that he accomplishes by his death is the release of a guilty criminal from merited condemnation. And again: Men are equals, and all stand in the same relation to the law; neither the substitute nor the criminal stand in any other or higher relation to the law than that of subjects. But in the matter of the substitutional death of Christ, the conditions are very different. The want of parallelism is so great that we can not reason logically from one to the other. And yet some persons seem to take no notice of this want of analogy and use the figure as if the cases were in all respects similar. I can not think they do justice to the subject. All the advantage we can derive from analogy is merely partial and incidental. If we seek for light on the substitutional atonement of Christ, we must examine it on its own merits, and confine ourselves to such principles and conditions as the case itself will supply, adhering to the guidance of Divine revelation. The plausibility of the objection, in a mere ethical point of view, should not intimidate us in the least; because we are not dealing with an abstract principle, but canvassing a specific case brought out in a given fact--a fact involving great and important considerations, which may verify that the abstract principle has no just application to the case.

We should keep in view, also, that individual personal rights are limited by the rights of others, and this is the only limitation. It is the privilege of every man to exercise his rights--those rights with which the Creator has endowed him--to whatever extent he pleases, provided he does not invade the rights of others. If a man performs an act by which the rights of no other being are infringed--if there is injustice in the deed, the injustice must be confined to himself; that is, be only is affected or injured by it. But the Creator has given no man the right to injure himself. Man is God’s property, and if a man murders himself, or is designedly accessory to his own death, or willfully does himself a personal injury, he infringes the paramount rights of the Creator.

It must also be admitted that it is a moral impossibility that God should do any thing that is not in strict accordance with His nature; for as is His nature, so of necessity is His will; and He can not put forth His power only as He wills to do it.

We say that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was innocent, suffered the penalty of the law as a substitute in the place of sinners. The objector ascribes injustice to this transaction. Now, I must maintain that he is bound to show wherein this injustice consists. It is not pretended that any injustice is done to God as Lawgiver and Judge; neither is there injustice done to those for whom He suffered as a substitute, for they are immensely benefited by it. It is evident that if injustice is done to any person, it must be done to the suffering party; and if there is any force in the objection, or if it has any just application to the case, it must apply to Christ, and to Him only. Then the question before us is simply this: Was Christ, in dying as a substitute for sinners, thevictim of injustice ?

I propose now to submit to the candid reader the result of some of my reflections on this subject, not pretending to give a complete and satisfactory answer to the question, and thus remove it out of the field of controversy. In presenting my thoughts on this subject to your consideration, I must be permitted to direct your attention to the original purpose and to the ultimate end of that economy of which this great transaction was an important and an essential part. I can not do justice to the view which I take of the subject without this; and I think also they shed their light on the whole field of inquiry. If we leave out these considerations, I can not see how we can ever attain to a clear view of the general subject, and especially of the particular topic of the present discussion. For the sake of brevity, I must consent to forego my wishes in two respects: On some of the particular topics I would gladly extend my remarks further than I design to do; and also I would like to refer to certain scriptures, which I think would sustain the views offered to your reflection.

God is what He is by the necessity of His own nature; and being infinitely perfect in His essential nature, whatever He designs or purposes must be perfect, for nothing that is imperfect can originate in or emanate from His infinite perfection. And, as all His purposes originate in Himself, so they all terminate in Him. As He is the first cause, so He is the last end of all that He purposes and of all that He does. If, then, we inquire what is the ultimate end of all that He purposes and performs, the answer is, the manifestation of His own glory; or, (to express the idea in different forms,) it is to make known what He is--to reveal His own nature. This manifestation of Himself, considered in its relation to us, is made that we may know Him, that we may know what He is, that we may know His true character.

God, in His word, has revealed Himself to us as One God, subsisting in three Persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are the same, co-essential, co-eternal, co-equal Godhead. In this triune God there is one will, one purpose, one way, and one end in all things, to the glory of the One God. This trinity of persons in the Godhead is an incomprehensible mystery to us, but God has revealed to us the fact that it is so; and He has further revealed to us that, in accomplishing this great end--to wit, the manifestation of His glorious character--He would do all things by and through the Son of God, who is Christ the Lord. "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made." "For by Him were all things created that are in the heavens and in the earth, visible and invisible; whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." The ground that we should take here is, that God has a sovereign and Divine right to make known to His intelligent creatures the excellency and infinite fullness of His nature; also, that He has the same Divine and supreme right to make this manifestation of Himself by and through His co-equal Son, who is one with the Father ; and further, that the Son of God, as one with the Father, possesses in Himself, by virtue of His own supreme Divinity, the same right to make this manifestation according to the sovereign will of the eternal Godhead. Moreover, God had a Divine and eternal right to make this manifestation of Himself in whatever way it might be consistent with His sovereign will. We say further, that there is but one nature, but one will, and but the one purpose in the Godhead. And if the Son of God, as the great Actor in accomplishing the Divine purpose, either on the ground of necessity or propriety, chose to unite His Divine nature with the nature and form of any of His creatures, He had a sovereign and Divine right to do so; for He has a right to enter into whatever relations to His creatures He pleases; and He creates all things, and upholds all things, and works all things according to the counsel of His own will. All things, therefore, must be subordinated to Him and under His sovereign control, or He would not be in a condition to fulfill the great office of a perfect Revealer of the Divine perfection. And all that is comprehended and intervenes between the original purpose and the final consummation of the great design, must be subjected to Him, in order to enable Him to make that manifestation of the Divine character which is the ultimate end in view. Hence all that He has made in creation, and all that He does in His providence, or in the operations of nature, are only a system of means by which He is to make known to intelligent creatures the infinite perfection of the Godhead; and He has a sovereign right to employ them for that end, according to His own good pleasure. And as He, the Supreme, had in Himself an inherent and sovereign right to dispose of and use all those means which He had created and ordained for that designated purpose, according to His will, in the prosecution of the appointed end, so He had a right to dispose of Himself in any way that might be necessary in subserviency to this determinate end. And being Himself the Supreme, He could be under obligation to no being but Himself; and this obligation to Himself--or to the Godhead, which is the same--in relation to this ultimateend, bound Him (so to speak) to manifest the all-fullness of the incomprehensible and invisible God to His intelligent creatures; and in order that the all-fullness of the Divine nature might be seen in Him, it was necessary that all the fullness of the Godhead should dwell in Him personally. I suppose the representations here made will not be contested; and if, in the exercise of those rights and perfections, the rights of no other being are infringed, and He does no injustice to Himself, it seems to me that the impeachment of injustice must fall to the ground. We will therefore proceed to inquire further. The Son of God, in whom resided all the fullness of the Godhead, manifested the glory of His power when He created or brought into existence the original matter of this earth and of the whole universal material creation. In this work there was a most conspicuous and demonstrative exhibition of Divine power. When He proceeded further to organize and diversify this material substance into its present forms, varieties, adaptations, and uses, and thus prepare it to be the habitation of His intelligent creatures of the human race, we see a wonderful manifestation, not only of His power, but also of His wisdom and His goodness. Again, when He declared His holy law, which be had ordained for the observance and for the good of His intelligent creatures, He then manifested the holy nature of the Divine Lawgiver; and by annexing a righteous penalty for transgression, and promising life on condition of a perfect obedience, He made known to us that He is a God of perfect justice.

We are authorized by the Holy Scriptures to believe that a part of His intelligent creatures of the angelic order did actually violate His law, and thus subject themselves to its dreadful penalty, and in consequence are doomed to irrecoverable ruin, and must suffer under the administration of punitive justice without redemption, in order that the Divine justice may be manifested to the glory of God. Thus we see that the Son of God is making greater and greater manifestations of the glory of the Divine character. In the case of the apostate angels we see an exhibition of that inflexible justice that knows no mercy, and can not relax, or mitigate, or dispense with the least tittle of its demands; for if it could it would not be perfect justice. The honor of Divine justice must be maintained if its vindication should involve the whole creation in ruins. And when we consider the superior excellency of this high order of intelligent creatures, and that no merciful provision is made for their deliverance from the unrelenting hand of offended justice, nor any alleviation of their desperate and wretched condition, we may assure ourselves that if creatures of an inferior order should follow their example of disobedience, that Divine justice will require a satisfactory vindication equally ample, and every way commensurate with its injured honor.

We will now suppose (which is a solemn fact) that the human race should cast off their original character of holiness--should refuse obedience to God--transgress His holy law, and, of course, incur the penalty, which is death. We have just now had an example of the imperative requirements of Divine justice in the case of the rebellious angels; and justice is the same, whether it respects angels or men. Thus guilty man falls into the hands of violated justice, which can not be defied and trampled upon with impunity; for if it might, the Son of God, whose office it is to administer the Divine government, would fail to manifest the glory of His justice. And, unless the honor of justice is vindicated, man must forever abide under the wrath of God, that the rights of justice may be maintained. But let us now lay down another supposition--one which is equally true with the former. Suppose, then, that it is a part of the great purpose of God, in making known the glory of His Name, that He will make a new and additional display of all the perfections of His Divine nature beyond any thing that has ever preceded it; and in doing this, that He will show that His wisdom is sufficient to make a way whereby the rights of justice shall remain inviolate, while He will extend redeeming mercy to the transgressors of His law. This work belongs to the Son of God, not only by appointment, but of necessity; for it is by Him that all the purposes of God are executed. And I must be allowed to believe that there was no other being in existence, created or uncreated, that was competent to the work; none other who possessed those inherent constitutional qualifications which were essential to the great achievement. He, being a Divine person, is independent of all other beings. He has a sovereign right to do His own will. He is accountable to none. He is under no obligation to any other being than Himself. He possesses a Divine right to dispose of and use all things that He has created according to His own good pleasure--subject only to that obligation which He owes to Himself to maintain inviolate all His perfections. He, therefore, had an independent and Divine right to assume human nature, and thus unite the Divine and human natures in His one person. This right I suppose no one will question; and in the exercise of this right He did make Himself one with man, born of a woman, and made under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law. Let us spend a moment in considering the import of this text. He was not made one with man in such a sense as to be a partaker of the sinfulness of man’s fallen nature; but in such a way as that, by uniting both natures in His one person, He was God and was man. But His Divinity was not made humanity, nor His humanity made Divinity; but both natures, in all their fullness, and in all their respective perfections, were united in His one person. The object in view was that He might redeem them that were under the law. To do this it was necessary that He should Himself be made under the law; and that He might be made under the law it was necessary that He should be made (born) of a woman; and thus deriving His human nature immediately from a descendant of Adam, He partook of the original constituted nature of man. And it should not be entirely overlooked that this uniting of the two natures is, in various places, ascribed to Christ himself, as being His own work. All this He had a supreme right to do; and in doing it He did not in the least impair any of His own rights, or trespass on the rights of any other being. It is, therefore, not possible that there could be any injustice in these transactions. But, to save the time, I forbear to show how both God and man are abundantly glorified in it. The language employed in this text by the Holy Spirit--He was "made under the law"--clearly implies that previously He was not under the law in the same sense that He was made under it. The object to be accomplished was a declarative manifestation that the glory of God’s grace could be revealed in the redemption of the guilty, while the honor of His justice should sustain no disparagement. As we have said before, the Son of God was under obligation to Himself--to the Godhead--to manifest, or make known, the glorious perfections of the Divine nature. And, as part of this work was to demonstrate that God is "a just God and a Savior"--a Savior of sinners--He was under the same obligation to do and to suffer all that was required to fulfill this condition. The Captain of our salvation must be made perfect through sufferings, and the Scripture gives reasons for this; consequently He must be made in the likeness of sinful flesh. This condescension appears to have been an indispensable condition; and the point of inquiry is, Did the Divine nature suffer any injustice in this part of His work? I shall not make it a question now whether the Divinity of the Son of God endured any pain in making atonement; but for the present I will take it for granted that it did not; and leaving that question to be decided as it may, I will only remark here that if any can bring proof that the Divinity of Christ suffered, I think I can bring equally as good proof that there was no injustice in His suffering. And this is all that the present inquiry demands. The only respect in which injustice can be chargeable on the ground of His condescension, is that it seems to require that the infinitely glorious Majesty of heaven and earth should be obliged to stoop from His high pre-eminence to the low degree of uniting Himself with human nature that He might suffer death. If there is any injustice in this arrangement, it respects His Divine dignity only. But we are very incompetent judges of what the Divine dignity requires; and that which is glory in God’s esteem men would account shame; and, in fact, the humiliation of Christ was an illustrious manifestation of Divine grace: "That He might show in the ages to come the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." In His humiliation He made a more glorious demonstration of the excellency of His gracious character than could have been possible if He had never "made Himself of no reputation, and taken upon Him the form of a servant, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." And all this He did Himself. He voluntarily took the burden on Himself. He willingly bore it Himself, and He receives the reward in that He has glorified Himself. And now, who can point out the injustice that is done to the Son of God?

We must now inquire whether there was any injustice done to the humanity of the Son of God by His enduring the sufferings necessary to make atonement for sin. Perhaps the whole question hinges upon this point; but it must be remembered that I have not promised to solve this mystery. All I profess to do is to submit some of my own thoughts on the subject to your reflection. If I could show that the claims of Divine justice against the sinner were fully canceled by the atonement, and that no injustice was suffered by Him who made it, this would vindicate the transaction from the imputation of injustice. The first of these positions, I suppose, will be admitted; for if the claims of justice in this respect are not satisfied, there is no atonement--whatever else was done, there is no atonement.

I submit that the penalty of the law is death; and that the death of Jesus Christ, as a surety and substitute for sinners, is a full and sufficient satisfaction to the penal demands of the law. But could the humannature of the Lord Jesus receive the inflicted penalty without being the victim of injustice? I shall freely confess, that if the suffering was inflicted against the will of the suffering party, I can not see the justice of such a transfer of the penalty. And perhaps it would not be safe to affirm that the mere consent of the substitute, irrespective of other considerations, would make it just. On the other hand, it might be going too far to affirm, that with the free consent of the substitute, there would be any injustice done to him. And I doubt whether any man can show that the willingness and voluntary assumption of the suffering party, wholly free from any external force or influence, does not effectually repel the imputation of injustice. But in my present attempt I have no need to avail myself of any advantage that I might derive from this argument. As there is a great difference between the guilty and the innocent, in respect to character and condition, so we think there must be a difference in the application of the principles of administrative justice in the two cases--a difference arising from, and corresponding with, the difference of character and condition. The execution of the penalty of the law on the guilty transgressor is punishment for crime; but on the innocent substitute, though it is suffering, it is not strictly punishment. So it is correct to say, that the innocent suffered for the guilty; but, in strictness, it is hardly correct to say that the innocent was punished for the guilty; and although the penalty of the law is the same in its application in both cases, yet the principle of administrative justice may, perhaps, be different according to the different relations in which the two cases stand to the demands of strict justice.

If the sinner suffers the penalty of the law in his own person, when the death penalty is inflicted, there is no hope beyond death. He must lie under the terrors and despair of death forever. There is no possibility of regaining life; and there can be no deliverance, because there is no way of deliverance. And, further, he has no reward; he receives no compensation for his sufferings. But this is far--very far from being the case with regard to the infliction of the penalty of the law on the human nature of Jesus Christ. He had the fullest assurance, that if He should pass through the ordeal of death without sin, that He would rise again--rise to an eternal life, over which death could have no power. He laid down His life that He might take it again. So the Psalmist, speaking in the person of Christ: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life." "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." "He shall swallow up death in victory." If He chose, (not merely submitted, or consented, but freely chose,) by suffering death, to exchange a natural and mortal life for a life that is spiritual and immortal, and beyond the power of death, it is not easy to see any inconsistency with the principles of justice in the transaction, inasmuch as He was an immense gainer by it. The sufferings of death, however great, were soon terminated; but the glory and joys of His new life endure forever and ever. Perhaps (and I think it probable) He could realize in his own case what the apostle says of Christians: "These light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." I presume that no man can show that his new life is not much more than a full compensation for undergoing death. But this is not all that I have to say on this principle.