91

LECTURE V.

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Rom. v. 11.

I AM to speak this evening of salvation: to show in what it consists, and by whom effected: to refute the vulgar notion of satisfying an infinite dissatisfaction; and to explain the doctrine of reconciliation.

The text, therefore, which I have chosen, will not be considered unappropriate; especially when it is noticed that the Greek word, zaraλλayn, rendered atonement, in the text, should have been translated reconciliation, as it is in the marginal reading; and also, in 2 Cor. v. 18, 19; which see.

If this word had been correctly translated, the word atonement, and, of course, the doctrine of atonement, as it is now understood, would not have been found (as it is not contained) in the New Testament. Neither is the doctrine of atonement, i. e. in the sense of making satisfaction to divine justice, by the means of a suffering victim, any where to be found in the Bible. In the Old Testament, wherever we read of making atonement, &c. the Greek word, in the Septuagint, is isng, a propitiatory, or mercy-seat. It alludes to the lid or covering of the ark, which was made of pure gold, and on and before which, the high priest used to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices on the great day of atonement. This signifying, that, as the mercy-seat covered the ark of the covenant, so the blood of sprinkling covered, concealed, or put away, their sins, and hid them from the face of Jehovah.

Ιλατηριον comes from έλαομαι, οι ἱλασκομαι, to be propitious; or, with an accusative of the thing, to make atone

ment for. Heb. ii. 17. Εἰς το έλασκεσθαι τας αμαρτίας, τω make atonement (or reconciliation) for the sins of the people.

In the LXX, (i. e. Septuagint,) izangov generally answers to the Heb. n, from the V. 55, to cover, expiate. See Parkhurst's Greek Lexicon, under the word Ιλατηριον.

But, not to be too critical, we shall proceed, as has been proposed, to speak of salvation. Salvation, as revealed in the scriptures, may be considered in a twofold sense. First, salvation, by faith in the truth, i. c. the truth which is brought to light by the gospel of Jesus Christ: and, secondly, salvation, by being brought into the actual enjoyment of that truth, in another world, which we now only enjoy by faith. Salvation, in the first sense, is enjoyed, or may be enjoyed, by every believer in the truth. Salvation, in the second sense, is enjoyed, i. e. now, by none; except those who have entered upon a state of immortality; but will be enjoyed by ALL; i. e. when they shall enter upon this immortal state. For then will be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." (Isa. xxv. 8. 1 Cor. xv. 54.) Thus, "we trust in the living God; who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." (1 Tim. iv. 10.)

Salvation, in the second sense, as named above, will come under our consideration in the seventh lecture; when we come to speak of the deliverance of the creature from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. This lecture, therefore, will only embrace salvation, in the first sense of the word; i. e. a salvation by faith in the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

This salvation implies reconciliation to God; i. e. not only a calm submission to his laws, to his government, and the dispensations of his providence, but also a hearty acquiescence in the same; believing them to be all right, just, and good. For while the mind is 'in a state of unreconciliation to God, it is supposed to be in a state of

opposition; and while in opposition, it is in a state of

sin.

This reconciliation is produced wholly by a manifestation of the love of God to the sinner; and hence, for the reconciliation to be perfect, the manifestation must be made in such a manner, and to such a degree, as to overcome and completely destroy all opposition. This complete manifestation of the love of God to the sinner is tantamount to, and all that can be understood by, the forgiveness of sin: as the forgiveness of sin can by no means imply a change in the disposition of God toward the sinner. Hence the apostle says, "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John, iv. 19.) And if the manifestation of the love of God in a Redeemer, or through the ministration of his son Jesus Christ, when fully realized, and perfectly understood, be not sufficient to reconcile the sinner to God, and thereby save him from sin, I know of nothing which can save him; i. e. in the sense in which believers are specially saved, in which sense we are now speaking. "For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts, iv. 12.) Now it is very evident, that all men are not saved, in this sense of speaking; but I have reason to believe it is either owing to an ignorance of, or else a disbelief in, the truth and not to any want of divine efficacy in the truth, were that only known and believed. But it is the believer only who is saved in this special sense. "We walk by faith and not by sight." There may be, it is true, degrees of faith, according to the strength of evidence which is made clear to the understanding; but let the evidence be ever so strong in favour of immortality and eternal life, we still walk by faith, as well as hope for things which we see not: and this will continue to be the case, as long as we continue in this state of existence.

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Salvation, in the second sense of the word, will take place when this mortal puts on immortality; i. e. in the resurrection; when we shall be "children of God, being children of the resurrection." But of this I shall speak hereafter.

Thus I have endeavoured to show the nature of salvation; and also, what it is that produces it; viz. the manifestation or commendation of the love of God; which shines most perspicuously through the medium of him who is the "Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world."

I might here expatiate largely on the love of God as manifested in Jesus; but this I must dispense with, in order to make room for arguments, which, if not more edifying, may be more necessary.

It will already have been perceived, that, if the arguments and statements laid down respecting sin have been correct, there has been no occasion for an infinite sacrifice, nor for any sacrifice, to divine justice, in order to open a way for the forgiveness of sin, and the reconciliation or salvation of the sinner. I am fully convinced that the idea of a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, or to appease almighty wrath, is a corruption of Christianity, which crept in gradually, with other gross absurdities, some of which have been already exploded; (i. e. by Christians in general, especially in this country ;) but others still remain.*

Atonement, under the law, signified cleansing, or making those things pure, which, either were in reality, or else were supposed to be, impure; and thus the blood, by which the atonement was made, was applied to the vessels of the tabernacle, &c. as well as to the people. But the blood was only a type or figure; and therefore is to be understood in a figurative sense: for it contained no purifying quality in itself, but was rather considered as a covering; which the root of the Hebrew word signifies; (i. e. the word used for the mercy-seat, the lid or covering of the ark of the covenant, and also used for the expiation, or atonement;) viz. a covering, or something that covereth. See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, under the word 5 KOPHER, in general, to cover, overspread.

Sin was considered as defiling the man, and rendering

* See Dr. Priestley's History of the Corruptions of Christianity.

him impure. Our Saviour saith, "that which cometh out of the man, (i. e. out of the heart,) that defileth the man." (Mark, vii. 20.) Hence, man being considered in an impure state, he needs to be sanctified, i. e. purified, or cleansed, and made holy.

Agreeably to this idea, St. Paul says, "Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Eph. v. 25, 26.)

This presupposes that the church which Christ so loved, and for which he gave himself a ransom, was in an unsanctified, unholy, and impure state: yet this state of impurity did not prevent the love of Christ; he gave himself for it, notwithstanding; and that too, for the express purpose of making her pure and clean; "that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ibid, v. 27.)

This shows the scriptural doctrine and nature of atonement. But as the word (in consequence however of an erroneous translation) is now incorporated into the gospel dispensation, and the doctrine of atonement is thought to be the real essense of the Christian religion, it becomes necessary to say something respecting it. But still we must be permitted to use the word in the sense of scripture, although that should not be altogether conformable to the creeds of men. If atonement be considered as synonymous with reconciliation, which certainly is the meaning of the Greek word xarαλays, and is the marginal reading of this very passage, the only one in which the word atonement is found in the New Testament, then the idea is not so essentially different from the atonement under the law, according to the idea which has already been given of that. For as that was to cleanse, or to make pure ;* so the sinner may be considered as cleansed, or made pure, in a moral sense, when he is reconciled to

* The word reconciliation, (Gr. ¡Axoxoda,) in Heb. ii. 17. answers better to the atonement of the Old Testament, than the one in our text.