Reformed Theology Roundtable: Does the Author Analogy Succeed?

Last week, while multitudes of theology nerds were still digesting the Molinism vs Calvinism debate between William Lane Craig and James White, our friends at the Complete Sinner’s Guide brought us a fascinating deep-dive on the intricacies of Reformed Theology. Co-hosts Tyler Fowler and Joshua Davidson were joined by frequent guest Joshua Sherman and, to represent the Reformed position, Chris Date, Andrew Elliott, and Jeremiah Short. The purpose of this panel discussion was to clearly articulate the relationship between the Reformed/Calvinistic concepts of God’s eternal decree and man’s free will, as described by the philosophy of compatibilism. While all three affirm God’s meticulous determination of all history, each reject hard determinism and the idea that God is the author of sin. This was a central sticking point in the discussion, especially as Date proposed that their position is best compared to the relationship between an author and his story. I would like to do my best here to represent this view, and to show how I believe this analogy fails to remove God as the author of sin in the Calvinistic system. (Much of the discussion was led by Date, with Davidson doing most of the pressing for clarity. For this reason, I will primarily be addressing their interactions.)

Compatibilism Defined

The heart of the discussion begins about 15 minutes in as Date gives a succinct definition: “Compatibilism… is just the idea that… determinism is compatible with moral responsibility. The whole point of compatibilism is to affirm determinism.” Determinism, from a theological standpoint, is the idea that everything which happens, to the most minute detail, is by God’s determined will. This, of course, raises the question of how we factor in the idea that humans have free will. Date explains that “they have a sufficient degree of freedom as to be held morally responsible.” Elliott adds, “God determines all things, but He does it in such a manner that you will freely choose to do so.” 

This determination is made effective by God’s decree prior to creation. Biblical evidence is cited from Genesis 50:20 and Acts 4:27-28, which show God’s will being accomplished through the sinful acts of men. However, Molinists equally appeal to such passages for support. Like Calvinists, they affirm God’s decree of all things prior to creation. The key difference is that in Molinism, God’s decree is based in part on His foreknowledge of what human beings would do (allowing for libertarian free will), as opposed to His foreknowledge simply being what He has determined them to do in compatibilistic Calvinism.

The Author Analogy

From here, Date goes on to give his author analogy, as he explains how God’s decree plays out in space-time events in a comparable way to those of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” The world imagined by Tolkien is actualized within those stories, but the characters experience them in their own sense of time with their own sense of agency. Date gives a good summary of his mission in this discussion when he says: “I want to encourage my fellow Calvinists to think of… the relationship between God and time as something analogous to the relationship between an author and a story, because I think that non-Calvinists are right to object if there is a meaningful sense in which God is causing people to sin.” He hopes to solidify the discussion around this analogy, as opposed to robot or puppet analogies (which he rejects), adding, “Let the battle happen on that ground.”

What then is the advantage of the author analogy? For Date, the difference is what he calls a “transcendence gap.” In other words, because God exists in the eternal realm and we live out His decree in space-time by our own thoughts and actions, God is not responsible for what we do. This transcendence gap is, in his words, “critical for maintaining moral culpability for humans.” The blame for sin then resides in humans, even though God has determined prior to our existence that we would sin. Since Date has admitted that non-Calvinists have good reason to object to the idea that God causes people to sin, the point of debate becomes clear. Does the eternal decree “cause” people to sin? If it does, compatibilism fails to defend the holiness of God. All three Reformed participants agree that the decree does not equate to “cause.” And this is where I am left genuinely perplexed.

Competing Views of Freedom

Representing the non-Calvinists in the audience, Davidson challenges this notion: “I think the disconnect is that if there is a first cause, and it is not the individual agent, that the freedom is then compromised.” To this Short responds, “You are presupposing incompatibilism.” This phrase will be repeated multiple times throughout the remainder of the discussion, as the Reformed participants take the position that the libertarian concept of free will makes false assumptions about freedom that the compatibilist successfully avoids. 

Date explains: “I come to the issue of freedom, and I try to make no assumptions about what that requires. And one of the assumptions I refuse to make is that in order for an agent’s choice to be free, their choice has to ultimately, full stop, originate with them.” At one point, Davidson seeks clarification: “It just needs to SEEM as though there could be the alternate possibility.” Date gladly affirms: “That’s great! I like that!” 

This exchange reveals that in compatibilism, the choice between competing options is an illusion. You may think you are making the choice, but it has been chosen for you. Yet you take responsibility for that choice because you are the one who performs it, believing you are making it. Date summarizes: “Their will is influenced by all sorts of factors including their genetics, their prenatal development, their upbringing, their life experiences, their addictions, everything. Their friends, their relationships, all of that influence the will, including their own desire, and the result of all that influence is that the will makes a choice. But… that choice has been pre-determined by God.” Wouldn’t all those factors be included in the eternal decree? 

Force vs. Decree?

Date further explains: “Ultimately, they make a choice, and God has decreed that, but nothing is forcing their hand.” He goes on: “…there is no programming that is firing, in the world God has created, that brings about the action that God has decreed. So that’s what I mean by free. There is literally nothing forcing the agent’s hand to do what they nevertheless do, exactly as God has decreed.” 

In response, Davidson makes what I believe to be a fairly obvious point: technically, they are “forced.” Date asks what is forcing them, to which he responds, “the authorship.” And I have to ask, if the eternal decree of God is not powerful to “force” what happens in space-time, what is it good for? It seems to be simultaneously all-powerful and powerless. Anyone noticing a problem here? 

Date resorts to his escape hatch of the transcendence gap by insisting that the “authorship” doesn’t exist in time, therefore it doesn’t force individuals to act out the parts that have been written for them from eternity past. All that matters is that we “seem” to have a choice. That illusion of choice is sufficient to make each of us morally responsible, and it lets the God of Reformed theology off the hook. How convenient!

How the Analogy Fails

What the author analogy ultimately presents is an illusion of reality. Just as the choices of characters in a novel do not originate in themselves, but in the mind of the author, so too do the sinful thoughts, desires, and actions of human beings originate in the mind and will of God, according to compatibilism. Fictional characters are incapable of producing anything that doesn’t reside in their source. Just the same, human beings could not produce sinful thoughts and behaviors that did not originate in God. Fictional characters possess no actual agency, but we willfully adopt the illusion for the sake of the enjoyment of the story. In compatibilism, human agency is likewise a useful illusion. We are left to deceive ourselves into believing that we are actually making choices, and that we were able to have chosen differently than we did. Since all things that happen in space-time are included in God's decree, this illusion of free choice is also decreed from eternity past. 

The transcendence gap, as described by Date, only succeeds in separating reality from fiction. It effectively does the opposite of what he hopes by diminishing the sinfulness of sin. An author can write stories full of violence, death, and all sorts of sinful behaviors, yet himself retain innocence of those sins because those fictional characters are not actually sinning in real life. Their world carries no actual consequences for real individuals. They do not actually suffer pain or misery or death, so we do not hold the author accountable for any crimes or acts of cruelty committed within the story. Yet we know that what we experience is real. All the evils of this world are real. Our suffering is real, and we cannot be convinced otherwise. Likewise, our sin is real, and because it is, our guilt is real and deserving of judgment. And because all the evils of this world are real, the grace of God is every bit as real, possessing incomparable value.

Conclusion

If God has "authored" all history, He has inevitably written every aspect, including all the suffering and death that results from the sin that is within that story. To argue that God has meticulously authored every detail of the story and deny that He has authored sin is an irreconcilable contradiction. This analogy leaves us to conclude that either the “reality” we experience is pure fiction, or God is the author of real sin. The former does damage to God's power to create real beings made in His image. The latter is fatal to His holiness (Jeremiah 32:35). Neither option is acceptable, therefore we should reject the author analogy. If it is the best representation of compatibilism, we should reject compatibilism. If compatibilism is the best Reformed theology has to offer, we should reject Reformed theology. As Date said, “I think that non-Calvinists are right to object if there is a meaningful sense in which God is causing people to sin.” The author analogy cannot remove that meaningful sense, therefore we are right to maintain our objections.

Making Sense of Christianity 8 - Grace Through Faith

What I have presented in this series can be summed up in one simple phrase: “God is good!” This is the foundational truth of orthodox Christian theology, though we must be careful to ground our understanding of goodness in what God has revealed to us through the created world, Scripture, and most of all through Jesus Christ Himself. He has demonstrated what it means to do the will of the Father, loving God and others self-sacrificially. He has shown us what is good, and it is our responsibility to abide by His will. That being said, none of us have been able to do so perfectly. Our failure to live up to His perfect standard has left us in a seemingly hopeless state. Yet God has graciously provided a way for us to be righteous. If we are “in Christ,” we become like Him, just as He became like us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He graces us with His goodness when we place our faith in Him. This is the Good News. This is the Gospel of salvation.

The Paradox of Salvation

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” These words from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus sum up the basics of salvation. By expressing our faith in Christ, we are given the free gift of eternal life. We do not obtain it through our efforts to live perfect lives because none of us are capable of doing so. The paradox at the heart of Christianity is that God’s goodness is so great that none of us are worthy to be in its presence. Yet because He is so good, His compassion towards us compels Him to graciously offer a way that is obtainable for us to become worthy. This way is by simply laying aside our own delusions of self-righteousness to place our trust in Jesus Christ as the one who is good, and who is able to save us from sin and death.

Pride vs. Humility

Saving faith is not mere intellectual belief in the facts of who Jesus is and that He rose from the dead (James 2:19). True faith requires humility. The opposite of humility is pride, which is the fundamental sin of self-righteousness that lies at the heart of rebellion. Satan and his demons were prideful, and those who have joined the rebellion, refusing to bow their knees to God, are likewise defined by their self-righteousness.

In Luke 18:10-14, Jesus gives us a parable to illustrate the importance of humility before God: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 4:6-10 confirms this: “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” 

God’s grace is received through humility, which is an essential aspect of faith. When we recognize that we have sinned and need the mercy of God, He lifts us up with His grace. 

Faith that Pleases God

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” A purely intellectual “faith” is no faith at all. We must seek after God, which requires the humility to admit that He is Lord of all, including our lives. Seeking Him necessarily involves the desire to please Him, which brings us to another paradox: Those of us who are Christians want to please God. We continually fail to do so in our thoughts and actions. Yet we do please Him through faith in Christ. God is gracious and compassionate toward us. Remember, because He became one of us, He can sympathize with us in our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). His perfect love compels Him to provide a way for us to be with Him. 

This is the depths of His goodness, that He would self-sacrificially love those who are suffering in sin, but wanting to be healed. He does not leave us without hope. He became our salvation by taking on our flesh, bearing the curse on the cross, and conquering death in His resurrection. Through faith in Him, we identify with His victory. We want that for ourselves, and He has promised to do it. John 6:40 says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Seeking Him

Some Christians have argued on the basis of Romans 3:10-18 that “there is none who seeks after God,” implying that those who believe in Him only do so through a supernatural act of God overcoming the will of the sinner. In this view, those who reject salvation are not genuinely offered it to begin with. God has never intended to save them. While this is a stumbling block for many, I have found that other passages show that God has not left helpless any individual created in His image. 

Acts 17:26-27 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” I like to refer to this as the “meaning of life” passage, as Paul is explaining to the people of Athens why God has created us, and what He is calling us to do in response. What we learn here is that God hopes for each and every individual He has ever created to seek Him and find Him. The fact that “He is not far from each one of us” tells us that He can be sought and found by any and every human being. God has placed us where we are in time and space for this very reason. He wants us to be reconciled to Him, and through the atonement of Christ, has provided that gift for all who will receive it. 

What Scripture teaches is not that we can’t seek Him, but that He has sought us first. God has extended His hand of grace, but we must reach out and take hold of it. Titus 2:11-14 says: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” This is God’s teleological purpose for the human race, and His Church will ultimately fulfill it.

A Better End

In an earlier post, I introduced the idea that a world that includes the incarnation and atonement is better than a world that didn’t have those goods (“Felix Culpa”). The end will be far greater than the beginning. While we have experienced a great deal of physical and emotional suffering as the consequence of sin, God has taught us what it means to forgive. He has taught us what it means to show compassion to the hurting. He has demonstrated the greatest kind of love through His sacrificial death on the cross. He has taught us what it means to be restored. He has shown us grace. In so doing, we can likewise learn to forgive those who have wronged us. We can show compassion to those who suffer. We can lay aside our own interests to love others. We can lead others to reconciliation with God. We can show grace to those who, like us, do not deserve it. 

Because of what Christ has done for us, we, as His ambassadors, can demonstrate the love of Christ to a world that needs Him. As 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

Grace and Love

The Good News is that the Creator of the universe loves each and every one of us, and through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus, He has provided a way for us to be restored to relationship with Him. As we receive Him, we become like Him. God is love, and those in Him will learn to truly love as He loves, as we become one with Christ as He is one with the Father (John 17:20-23). This love will pour out of us as we receive the grace of God through faith in Him. 

I would like to close with this passage from Luke 7:36-50, as it really captures the heart of the Christian message:

“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ‘This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.’

And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’

So he said, ‘Teacher, say it.’

‘There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?’

Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’

And He said to him, ‘You have rightly judged.’ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’ Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’

And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’

Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’”

Review 

Thank you for reading!

1. The Creator God
2. Personhood & the Image of God

3. Sin & Death

4. The Spiritual War

5. Atonement Through Incarnation

6. Atonement Through Sacrifice

7. Resurrection

8. Grace Through Faith

Making Sense of Christianity 7: Resurrection

While I have explained the healing purpose of the atonement, and shown how the crucifixion of Jesus was a blood sacrifice that displayed for all people the severity of sin, I have yet to show how any of this is effective in restoring human beings to a right relationship with God. It is common for Christians to look to the cross as the place where we were saved, but I would suggest that it is more accurately the place where the barrier to salvation was removed. Because of the cross, our sin no longer disqualifies us from being reconciled to God. However, the death of Christ alone is powerless to save. Had Jesus simply died on the cross, we would likewise remain in the grave after we die. How then can we be saved? The answer is the resurrection. Because Jesus conquered death, we can likewise be raised to eternal life in the presence of God.

“In Adam” vs. “In Christ”

In reading through Paul’s epistles in the New Testament, I began to notice a theme: the contrast between the “old man” and the “new man.” The old man is represented by Adam. The new man is Jesus Christ. Adam is defined by his sin and the condemnation that followed, resulting in death. Christ is defined by His righteousness (moral perfection) and the resurrection to eternal life. Those who are “in Adam” remain condemned (John 3:18-20). Those who are “in Christ” will rise to eternal life in like manner to how He has risen from the dead. Romans 5:12-21 is a key passage that explains this contrast. Verses 18-19 say, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Jesus is the new man who becomes the proxy for many. 

Predestination of Christ

Romans 8:29-30 says: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” People often focus on the word “predestined” and come to the wrong conclusion about what Paul is saying here. This has nothing to do with the predetermination of individual believers to be saved and everything to do with the predetermined plan of salvation accomplished by Jesus through His incarnation, sacrificial death, and resurrection. Ephesians 1 makes this clearer. Just count how many times you find “in Him” or “in Christ” in that passage, and you will begin to see how Paul is emphasizing Christ as our representative in the “heavenly places.” In Romans 8, he does the same thing. “Whom He predestined” can be translated as “Christ Himself,” with all those “in Christ” being connected to Him through representation. What is true then of Christ is true of those “in Christ.” The link is made: predestined → called → justified → glorified.

Glorified?

While we can certainly make a case that the first 3 steps apply to believers, it can only be said that Christ is presently “glorified:” raised from the dead into an immortal body. So how can we be said to be glorified (past tense emphasized)? Some have suggested that the past tense verbs refer to Old Testament believers. But they are, like us, waiting for the future redemption of their bodies. They cannot be said to be glorified any more than we are. Yet Jesus IS glorified! And because He is, we can be assured that we will be. Notice that Jesus is the “firstborn among many brethren.” How so? He is the first to be raised into a glorified body. Paul here is pointing to the victory of Christ over death that will be shared by all of us who have Him as our representative.

Consider also 1 Corinthians 15:20-23: “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” This makes it clear that “firstborn/firstfruits” is a reference to His resurrected body. Just as Adam was the first “old man,” Christ is the first “new man.”

Spiritual Bodies

Paul continues in verses 39-45: “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.’” Clearly Paul is emphasizing the importance of the glorified body in contrast to the fallen flesh we inherited from Adam. The old flesh, with its sinful appetites and inevitable breakdown, is unfit for eternal life. We need our bodies to be renewed. 

Atonement Made Effective

He goes on (48-49): “As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.” There is a mirroring of Christ to those “in Christ.” And it should become clear as we make these connections that the atonement is not summed up in the death of Christ on the cross, but is accomplished through the resurrection. Therefore the atonement has 3 significant steps: incarnation, death, and resurrection. The resurrection required His death to precede it, and His death was only made possible through the authenticity of His incarnation. Each step is needed to bring healing to the human condition.

We can see from all these passages that the atonement is made effective through Christ’s resurrection to eternal life. He died for the sin (singular and plural) of the world. This includes the sins of every individual who has ever lived. But will everyone then be saved? Based on what we’ve read, it is evident that salvation is for those who have their faith in Christ. So we can sum it up by saying that Jesus died for the sins of all individuals in all times and all places, but He is risen for the salvation of those who are in Him. (For an explanation of why those not in Christ suffer eternal punishment, see addendum.)

Spirit vs. Flesh

Those who have their faith in Christ receive the Holy Spirit, which Ephesians 1:13-14 describes as “the guarantee of our inheritance.” The Holy Spirit does the work of restoring our souls to alignment with God’s will. In this sense, eternal life begins at the moment one believes and receives the Gospel of salvation, as the soul is “born again” of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).

A big question inevitably follows: “Why do Christians still sin?” Paul anticipates this as he transitions from his explanation of Christian freedom from sin (Romans 6) to the inconsistency we find in our actions (Romans 7). Verses 18-20 say: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”‭‭

While there is much controversy around this passage, it makes perfect sense in the context of all that I have explained up to this point. Going back to the idea that we are souls that have bodies, we can see that while our souls are reconciled to God in Christ, the body remains in its fallen state. We still suffer, and we still die. We experience the working of the Holy Spirit in our desire to please God and forsake sin, but the flesh still pulls us toward disobedience. This is why Paul can say that it is no longer “I” who sins, but the body of sin that he inhabits. He explains further: “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭7:21-25‬) 

Our Future Hope

Paul points to Jesus Christ as our hope to be freed from the desires for sin that continue to war against our souls. That hope will be realized in the future resurrection, when Christ returns, as we receive bodies that perfectly align with our souls, enabling us to live sin-free in the presence of God. Then, as Revelation 22:1-5 describes, we shall eat from the “tree of life,” whose leaves are for the “healing of the nations.” (v. 2) “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” (v. 3-4) Having our identity “in Christ,” we will be reconciled to God, the curse will be undone, and we will live forever with Him.

Atonement Summarized 

The Word of God became a man so that He could, like the rest of us, suffer the curse of death, and that through His resurrection, He would defeat death and offer the same victory to those who desire to be free of sin. As the unblemished “Lamb of God,” He suffered the consequences of sin in a bloody, horrific display of self-sacrifice on the cross that demonstrates the severity of sin and God’s wrath towards it. Through His resurrection, He displayed the victory over the devil and sin in His glorified body, showing how we can likewise be made new and freed from the body of death that we currently inhabit. Jesus died for all “in Adam.” He rose for those “in Christ.” The atonement shows how the curse is both shared and overcome by God, and how those who place their faith in Him will ultimately be restored to a place of moral innocence where they can dwell in His presence forever and ever. 

Looking Ahead / Catching Up

How then can we be “in Christ?” Join me next time to find out, as we conclude this series with “Grace Through Faith.”

1. The Creator God
2. Personhood & the Image of God

3. Sin & Death

4. The Spiritual War

5. Atonement Through Incarnation

6. Atonement Through Sacrifice

7. Resurrection

8. Grace Through Faith 

Addendum: Eternal Punishment

Since “ the wages of sin is death,” it might seem cruel and unnecessary for God to punish unbelievers in hell. However, I think there is a distinction to be made in the kinds of sins that Jesus atoned for and sin that results in eternal punishment, whether that be eternal conscious punishment or a second physical death that also kills the soul. 

As I explained earlier in this series, there are sins we commit as we follow the desires of our flesh, but there is also the sin of willful rebellion against God. This may be a temporary rebellion out of anger or frustration with God, but it might also become a hardening of the will at the deepest levels of the soul in rejection of the one true God. In this sense, the human has joined forces with Satan and the demons in war against Him, whether they are conscious of this fact or not. This individual will regard the truth of Christianity and the Gospel of salvation with contempt. He/she will reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit that draws the unbeliever towards Christ, regarding that very conviction as evil. In so doing, what the unbeliever is guilty of is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.” (Mark 3:28-29) It seems that Jesus is saying that one kind of sin is different from all others, and is unforgivable. Other sins are forgiven. Jesus has provided atonement for these, but not the other. 

His intention has always been to reconcile sinners to our Creator by restoring us to the purpose for which we exist. Yet He cannot restore those souls that are unwilling to bow before Him as Lord. They, like Satan and his demons, will never surrender to Him. This alignment with the Satanic rebellion is made evident in Jesus words: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” (Matthew 25:41) Therefore, eternal punishment is a distinct punishment for joining in the Satanic rebellion. 

This should give comfort to those who mourn the loss of children and others who die before they can understand the Gospel. All sins done in ignorance are covered in the saving work of Christ. God is the source of all goodness, and we can know that how He deals with those who have not expressed faith in Him is good and right. By the nature of who He is, it cannot be otherwise. 

With all of this in mind, consider the following passages, which demonstrate that our God is compassionate and just:

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

Matthew 9:36

“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’”

Luke 23:33-34a

“And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”

Jonah 4:11

Making Sense of Christianity 6: Atonement Through Sacrifice

Last time, I proposed the idea that the atonement of Christ is best seen through the lens of healing. What was accomplished through His death is not about taking away eternal punishment, but was a way in which Christ, though He Himself was not guilty of sin, shared in its consequences as a human being. Through His sharing of our experience, He can sympathetically minister as our eternal High Priest. 

Many proponents of views similar to mine, Christus Victor, or moral influence theory will accompany their view with a disdain for the idea that the cross was a demonstration of the wrath of God towards sin. I believe this is a significant error. While the understanding of the transaction of penal substitution is incorrect, it remains true that what Christ endured was purposefully intended to display the severity of sin and God’s hatred of it. This is a needed component of the atonement, and the reason why it would not have been satisfactory for Jesus to have simply died of old age or in secrecy. No, Jesus did not simply happen to die by crucifixion, but He willfully went to the cross as the spotless “Lamb of God.”

The Perfect Sacrifice

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) This introduction from John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the Jews to receive their Messiah, was a declaration of the significance of Jesus Christ as a sacrificial atonement for sin. The Jewish people had been living under a system of animal sacrifices to God as a covering for their sins. John’s announcement foretold that Jesus would not only be a sacrifice for sins, but He would be THE sacrifice to end all sacrifices. 

Once again, the book of Hebrews helps us to understand the sacrificial aspect of the atonement, as it focuses on Jesus’ role as our High Priest. “Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” (Hebrews‬ ‭7:23-28‬) We see that, as our eternal High Priest, Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He is the only sacrifice that is sufficient to cover any and all sins for all time. There is no need to offer any other. 

This point is clarified and reiterated in 9:25-28: “not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” 

Common Errors

Because Christ lives eternally, His sacrifice on our behalf is sufficient to save any sinner. But note that His sacrifice is not itself to be equated with salvation. This is a common error among Christians. The atonement makes salvation available to anyone, but it is only applied to “those who eagerly wait for Him.” Remember the analogy of the serpent on the pole. It was only effective to heal those who fixed their gaze upon it. So we can say that the atonement of Christ is “sufficient for all, but efficient for the believer.” People are often confused by the concept of the blood atonement, thinking that Christ shed x number of drops of blood to cover y number of people. This is not the case. Neither the amount of blood shed nor the duration of Christ’s suffering are the issue. What is important is that He offered Himself as a blood sacrifice on our behalf. Because He is the spotless (sinless) Lamb of God who has been perfected forever, there is no need of any further sacrifice.

The Purpose of Blood Sacrifices

But why were blood sacrifices needed? As we discussed last time, the punishment for sin is death, so it doesn’t make sense to say that the Old Testament blood sacrifices of animals were a punishment for the one who sinned. Hebrews 9:13-14 offers an explanation: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” 

There is a connection between the blood of the innocent and the purifying and cleansing of the guilty sinner. The conscience is provoked to forsake sin and serve God. How does this work? The blood illustrates the severity of our sin by shattering the illusion that it only affects ourselves. When we choose to sin, we inevitably bring harm to others. Blood sacrifices illustrate how our sin contributes in bringing suffering and death into the world, which brings conviction that leads to repentance. We may be ok with taking the consequences of sin upon ourselves, but when we see the collateral damage, we are made to face its ugliness. At the cross we see how the blood of God Himself is shed and His life is taken because our sin’s effects are felt even at the source of all creation.

Counterfeit Blood Sacrifices

If anyone doubts this, consider the number one objection to the blood atonement of Christ: “It’s unjust for an innocent man to die for someone else’s sins.” We all know this, but the Christian recognizes that his or her sins do not exist in a vacuum. God has given us free agency, but our actions profoundly impact the world around us. Our sins stain the world. 

Those who reject the atonement of Christ fail to see the hypocrisy of their own beliefs. Nothing makes this clearer than the abortion of over 60 million children in America. If ever there was a case of innocent life being taken as a covering for sin, it is this. In the name of autonomy and human progress, we have sacrificed our children on an altar to ourselves. And this is the inevitable result of any false system of belief: the innocent will die for the sins of the guilty. Human history is a testament to this fact as hundreds of millions have died for the sake of empires and ideologies that war against the will of the one true God. 

Human Sacrifices Rejected

Some may object: “But what about God commanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?” (Genesis 22:1-18) Many see this as evidence that the God of Scripture is cruel, bloodthirsty, and unworthy of worship. Yet the whole point of the story was to show quite the opposite. Unlike the false gods of pagan cultures throughout the Old Testament and the entirety of human history, the true God does not require the taking of innocent human life to appease Him. He provided a substitute to Abraham. At the cross He volunteered Himself.

Self-Sacrificial Love

This brings us back to the very identity of God. He is love, and that love is self-sacrificial. As Jesus said to His disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” ‭‭(John‬ ‭15:13‬) Where the world says “let nothing stand in the way of your happiness,” Christ offers His own life for our benefit. To love as He loved is to nail our own lives to the cross and submit to His will. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭16:24-25‬) Real love always comes at a cost to the one who gives. Jesus exemplified this at the cross, and He calls us to model that love to others. 

Through the Lens of Healing

It can then be said that the death of Christ serves as a moral example which can be understood through the lens of sacrifice. Yet that sacrifice is best seen through the lens of healing. Often cited in support of penal substitution is the prophecy of Isaiah 53, but there we see further support for healing as the principle that governs the atonement: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” ‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭53:5‬) Yes, Jesus suffered by the will of the Father. Yet that will was His own, as He is one with the Father. He went willingly, “as a lamb to the slaughter,” (53:7) with the intention of restoring us to His will. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:32) This is the healing of the human condition. 

Looking Forward

But one glaring question remains: How can the death of Christ effectually save the human race? That will be the subject of the next installment, as we discuss “Resurrection.” 

1. The Creator God
2. Personhood & the Image of God

3. Sin & Death

4. The Spiritual War

5. Atonement Through Incarnation

6. Atonement Through Sacrifice

7. Resurrection

8. Grace Through Faith 

Making Sense of Christianity 5: Atonement Through Incarnation

As I have demonstrated through this series, our world is in a seemingly hopeless condition resulting from each individual’s choices to sin. This is made all the more difficult through the profound rebellious influence of the demonic realm. Sinful choices have resulted in much pain and suffering, and ultimately in death. We experience the effects of sin within our own bodies, and as we obey the desires of the flesh, our souls are drawn away from the desire to live our lives in accordance with God’s purposes for us. Once God’s perfect creation was corrupted in part, the whole of creation was inevitably corrupted. Why would an all-knowing, all-powerful, all benevolent God design a world that could so easily go wrong? The answer lies in “Felix Culpa.”

The Fortunate Fall

Felix Culpa, which translates to “the fortunate fall,” explains that a fallen world which experiences the incarnation of Jesus Christ and His atonement for sin is better than a world that never experiences the Fall and lacks those goods. His incarnation and atonement are far greater than the sum of all the evils of this world, and they are so good because of the existence of those evils (this video explains). I hope to show in the remainder of this series how this difficult claim is true. 

Definitions

First, let’s define our terms. “Incarnation” is the taking on of flesh. In Christianity, this is the belief that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God who became a human being, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. As it says in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

‭‭“Atonement” is the reconciliation of sinful human beings to God, which is accomplished through Jesus Christ. While the meaning of the incarnation is not particularly controversial among orthodox Christians, a proper understanding of the atonement has been much debated throughout the history of the Christian Church. Most popular in America has been “penal substitutionary theory,” though historically Christians have also held to views under such names as “Christus Victor,” “ransom theory,” “satisfaction theory,” and “moral influence theory.” 

While each of these models fits the basic definition of the atonement, there are substantial differences in the mechanics of just how Jesus has reconciled believers to God. Penal substitution and satisfaction theories emphasize how Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied God’s wrath towards guilty sinners, while Christus Victor and ransom theory put the emphasis on God’s rescuing of sinners from enslavement to the Devil. Therefore we see a tension between God’s anger and the compassion of Christ. I would like to share how I have come to make sense of the atonement, and how I tie these two aspects together by also connecting the incarnation to the atonement. 

A Nagging Question

As someone who has grown up in the American Church, there’s been a question that has not been answered to my satisfaction: If Jesus “took away” the punishment for my sin on the cross, why would my punishment for rejecting Christ not also be to die by crucifixion? It seems that the punishment He endured on the cross was far greater than what most (if not all) of us will suffer in this life, but what followed was not the same as what we would suffer in the next. Most Christians believe that those who die apart from His atonement will live eternally in a conscious state of separation from God. A minority believe that both body and soul will be annihilated in hell. Jesus did not suffer an eternity in hell, nor was He annihilated. As Jesus says in Matthew 25:46, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” So if the cross is seen as the punishment due for our sins, then it is not the punishment described in this verse. (I will offer an explanation for eternal punishment in part 7.) While the way in which He died is significant, what is most important is that He died. 

A Genuine Incarnation

As Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death.” Going back to Adam: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” (Genesis‬ ‭2:16-17‬) The consequence of sin is death, and though Jesus did not sin, He took on its consequences in the flesh. Through the incarnation, Jesus lived a genuine human experience, and that experience needed to include death and suffering. It is truly mind-blowing to think that the eternally existent Creator God of the universe would Himself experience death as a consequence of sin. And to think that He did this by His own free choice!

Much of my view of the atonement is shaped by my study into the book of Hebrews. The author makes a number of points that are relevant here. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews‬ ‭2:9‬) The emphasis on Jesus “tasting” death for everyone is illuminating. 

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” ‭‭(2:14-15‬) Here we see the connection to the incarnation, with the emphasis on Jesus sharing in our flesh and blood. 

This is an act of God’s compassion and love for us, that He condescended to our level of experience so that we could be freed from the power of death and the Devil would be defeated. Score a point for Christus Victor. But there’s something more fundamental than victory over Satan.

A Sympathetic High Priest

Continuing in Hebrews: “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (2:16-17‬) Here, the author makes the connection specifically to his Jewish audience. Jesus was in every way a fellow Jew, and therefore qualified to minister as High Priest and make atonement for their sins. 

“For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” ‭‭(2:18‬) And further on, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (4:15‬) The heavy emphasis on Christ being able to sympathize with us in our experiences, whether that be in temptation, or suffering, or even death, is significant, and opens a door to a fuller understanding of the atonement: one that sees its primary purpose in the healing of the human condition.

Healing a Sin-Sick World

Consider the analogy Jesus prophetically uses to describe His death on the cross: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (‭‭John‬ ‭3:14-15‬) Jesus likens Himself to a symbol of healing from Israel’s past: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9) Therefore we have a healing aspect of the atonement that is sufficient for all who will look upon it to be healed. 

This also brings continuity to Jesus’ healing ministry. As He healed those who were sick, disabled, or even had passed away, He gave a glimpse of what the future holds for those who are in His Kingdom. Revelation 21:4-5a says: “‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’”

Someday the restoration will be complete. This restoration will not only be for us, but for the created world, which also suffers from disorder as a consequence of sin. As Paul writes to the Romans: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Romans‬ ‭8:18-23‬) The end result of the atonement is a world and a people restored to their good teleological purposes, free from the effects of sin and the influence of the Devil, flourishing in the perfect will of God.

Looking Ahead

This is a beautiful picture, but how is it better than a world that never fell into sin in the first place? Couldn’t God have spared us (and Himself) a lot of trouble? We haven’t really proved Felix Culpa to be true, have we? In order to do so, there must be something more to the atonement that brings about a better end than where we started. The answer is multi-faceted, but can be summed up in the concept of self-sacrificial love. I will discuss this next time as we look at “Atonement Through Sacrifice.” 

1. The Creator God
2. Personhood & the Image of God

3. Sin & Death

4. The Spiritual War

5. Atonement Through Incarnation

6. Atonement Through Sacrifice

7. Resurrection

8. Grace Through Faith