On Atonement
"Atonement" is the way in which Christ, through his suffering and death, reconciles sinners with God. While all Christians agree that Christ, our redeemer, died to atone for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), we vary in our understanding of
how Christ atones for our sins. Debates over which model of atonement is correct have divided Christians throughout history, but each model has something valuable to teach us about who Jesus is and how Jesus redeems a sinful world.
Below are descriptions of three understandings of the atonement adapted from a lesson on salvation from
Lessons at the Lamppost: A 4-Week Journey Through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Mike Poteet (Abingdon Press 2005):
- Perhaps the best known and most influential model of the atonement (particularly in western Christianity) is the substitutionary model. The substitutionary model of atonement teaches that, by dying on the cross, Jesus took upon himself the punishment we, as sinners, deserved. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 and 1 Peter 2:21-25 emphasize this model of atonement.
- According to another model of the atonement, the moral influence model (or subjective model), Jesus' willingness to die saves us by showing us how much God loves us. This divine love moves us to repent of our sings and turn to God. It also moves us to love others. Adherents to this model point to John 3:14-16 and 15:12-13.
- A model of the atonement that was present in the early church, the Christus Victor model (or "victorious Christ" model), says that Jesus was a divine warrior who was victorious over the devil when he died on the cross then returned to life. According to this model, Satan thought that Jesus was his for the taking but was surprised when Jesus overpowered him. Jesus, by his victory, removed Satan's false claim on human beings once and for all. Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1 Peter 3:18-20 emphasize this model of atonement.
The article on "Atonement" from the
New & Enlarged Handbook of Christian Theology (Abingdon 2003) says of these (and other) understandings of the atonement:
If there is a current trend [among theologians], it is away from insistence upon a single metaphor for atonement and the conceptual framework that seems to grow from it, and toward appreciation of the variety of images, each of which suggests something important about divine initiative, human response, and continuing obstacles to the renewal of life.
The Articles of Religion of The Methodist Church, which are found in
The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, say in Article XX—Of the One Oblation of Christ, Finished Upon the Cross, "The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone."
The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, also found in
The Book of Discipline, says in Article VIII—Reconciliation Through Christ, "We believe that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required."
