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Mr. Ratliff has made several appearances in our blog, with increasing frequency. It's almost to the point where we're tempted to create his very own tag, but we will delay this decision for a while.
Today's article has him opening with a passage from Ephesians chapter one, which he doesn't discuss or even mention again.
What he really wants to talk about is Penal Atonement, the Reformist doctrine that the Father punished Jesus for our sin. Amazingly, he asserts that not believing this vile doctrine means one is fleshly and not orthodox. That is the essence of his case, the bare assertion.
So we will respond with our own bare assertions. The doctrine is vile first because first, the Bible does not teach it; second, because there's no reason to punish the Son for our sins if His blood is sufficient; and third, Jesus did not substitute Himself for us.
Later in his article the author alternately gets atonement right and wrong, depending on whether he is appealing to Scripture or his doctrine. It's a shame he is unable to see this, probably due to his Reformist/Calvinistic predisposition.
We must regard this as Bad Bible Teaching.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him 10 for an administration of the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him. 11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who first have hoped in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:7-12 (LSB)
A proper study of the doctrine of Penal Substitution will reveal that it is actually a line of contention, or line of demarcation if you will, that divides Orthodox Christianity from those forms whose advocates have in some way come up with their own version of the Gospel. These forms are diverse and too numerous to go into here. As we read the “opinions” of those decrying the validity of Penal Substitution, it becomes quickly apparent that the modus operandi or focus of these people was never from the perspective of God’s glory or His majesty or His righteousness or His justice or His Sovereignty. No, it was always from man’s perspective of either the writer’s religiosity or philosophy. There is never any attempt to use Biblical exegesis to make their points. (This is an astoundingly ignorant claim. There are many thoughtful Bible-based commentaries on every aspect of this doctrine, pro and con. We ourselves have made deep analyses in this very blog [see our links above], replete with Scripture and thoughtful consideration. We make no claim as to being luminaries in the field of theology, but we certainly would be happy to put our perspective into the mix and see how it fares.
In any case, it is the product of a limited mind to summarily dismiss one's doctrinal detractors.)
In other words, those who decry Penal Substitution also seem to have a serious issue with Sola Scriptura. So, instead of focusing this post on these vain arguments and speculations, let us focus on the incredible mercy of the Atonement (Having started with no comments about Ephesians chapter one, he also takes a pass on discussing the nature of the debate about Penal Substitution. So it's on to the third thing, the Atonement.)
in which Christ reconciled His people to God the Father and what that purchased for them.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (LSB)
This passage summarizes the Gospel for us. (Well, no. It lacks crucial elements of the Gospel, like repentance and faith.
Nearly all of the author's errant doctrine is based on this verse, which we think is misused. We discuss it here.)
First, Christ is sinless, however, God the Father imputed the sin of those being reconciled to Him. (This imputation is simply presumed. He doesn't discuss it or even tell us what "imputed" means.)
He did this for their sake. He did this so that they might become the righteousness of God. What does that mean? Christ was the substitute for those being reconciled. (No, he was not substituted for us. No Bible verse says such a thing. Rather, He died as the perfect sacrifice for us. His blood is all that is required to deal with sin.)
He accepted the penalty for their sin. (No, He did not accept our penalty for sin. No Bible verse says this. Rather, He carried our sin as a burden and nailed it to the cross.)
What does it mean that those being reconciled “might become the righteousness of God?” Just as God the Father imputed the sins of all those who will ever believe and be saved to Christ at the Cross, (No, Jesus was not imputed with our sins. No Bible verse says this. Rather, Jesus turned away the Father's wrath by shedding His blood.)
He justifies them when they do believe and repent imputing to them the righteousness of Christ. (No, His righteousness is not imputed to us. No Bible verse says this. We become righteous by faith.)
The Geneva Bible has a note next to this verse, referring to this imputation, that says, “By imputation, when we shalbe clad with Christs justice.” (The Geneva Bible clearly has a theological bias.)
(I updated the spelling a bit). Those who are justified by faith at that moment of belief (The author swerves into the truth. We are indeed justified by faith.)
and repentance are clad with Christ’s righteousness or justice (But for some reason he walks quickly away from justification by faith and adds in this unbiblical idea.)
and, therefore, are seen in the eyes of God as wholly acceptable into the beloved. (Hmm. In other words, we are not righteous by faith. In fact, we are not righteous at all. Even though we are washed by the blood we remain unrighteous. Apparently, Jesus is standing in front of us before the Father saying, "don't look at them, look at Me!!"
The Bible does not tell us this. Anywhere. The fact of the matter is that the blood was completely sufficient to make us righteous.)
He then sanctifies them and adopts them into His family. While some may take this for granted, we must never lose sight of the incredible act of mercy this is for like sheep we have all gone astray into our own way of self-rule (Isaiah 53:4-6).
1 Then Yahweh called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man from among you brings an offering near to Yahweh, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. 3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall bring it near, a male without blemish; he shall bring it near to the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh. 4 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Leviticus 1:1-4 (LSB)
Here we have the Old Testament “picture” or “form” of the atonement. The burnt offering must be an unblemished male. This refers to Christ’s sinlessness and purity. Before the sacrifice is made the one bringing the offering must lay his hand on its head. Only then shall it be accepted for him to make atonement for him. What significance does this have for us in understanding the atonement made by Christ for us? The following is from Spurgeon’s Evening by Evening devotional for April 13.
Our Lord’s being made “sin for us”1 is set forth here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was made by the elders of the people. The laying of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other places of Scripture the original word has the meaning of leaning heavily, as in the expression, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon me” (Psalm 88:7). Surely this is the very essence and nature of faith, which doth not only bring us into contact with the great Substitute, but teaches us to lean upon Him with all the burden of our guilt. Jehovah made to meet upon the head of the Substitute all the offenses of His covenant people, but each one of the chosen is brought personally to ratify this solemn covenant act, when by grace he is enabled by faith to lay his hand upon the head of the “Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” Believer, do you remember that rapturous day when you first realized pardon through Jesus the sin-bearer? Can you not make glad confession, and join with the writer in saying, “My soul recalls her day of deliverance with delight. Laden with guilt and full of fears, I saw my Saviour as my Substitute, and I laid my hand upon Him; oh! how timidly at first, but courage grew and confidence was confirmed until I leaned my soul entirely upon Him; and now it is my unceasing joy to know that my sins are no longer imputed to me, but laid on Him, and like the debts of the wounded traveller, Jesus, like the good Samaritan, has said of all my future sinfulness, ‘Set that to My account.'” Blessed discovery! Eternal solace of a grateful heart!
“My numerous sins transferr’d to Him,
Shall never more be found,
Lost in His blood’s atoning stream,
Where every crime is drown’d!”
12 Corinthians 5:21
My brethren, all in Christ have had their sin transferred to Lamb of God. Those sins will never more be found because they are washed away in Christ’s blood, which is an atoning stream. (Waaait. The author contradicted himself in the space of two sentences. He's correct that Jesus' blood washed away our sins, but incorrect that our sin is transferred to the Lamb. Doesn't he see this obvious thing, that if our sins are washed away they cannot and need not be transferred?)
All reconciled to God by Christ have had their sins completely atoned for. (Actually, propitiated. This is different than atonement. Atonement is to cover over [Kaphar in the Hebrew]. Propitiate [hilaskomai in the Greek] means to turn away or satisfy wrath. They actually mean two different things. The OT atonement covered over sin, but
He. 10:4 ...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
This means a greater thing is needed, the blood of Christ. This totally satisfies the Father's wrath, which is why there is no need to punish the Son.)
However, this does not mean that all in Christ can live according to the flesh because of their new standing before God. No, in fact, no regenerate believer (Redundant.)
can be at peace with any of the three major obstacles to their spiritual growth. The first is the world and its ways. The second is the flesh. The third is Satan, the Devil. The world can only be overcome as we work to conform our minds to Christ (Romans 12:2). The flesh is simply the remnant of our sin nature that remains after regeneration. (Born again...)
The regenerate believer (Redundant.)
will be totally involved in the struggle between their new nature, their new life in Christ, and their old nature, the flesh (Romans 7:7-25; 1 John 3:2-3). Satan is the great tempter as well as the accuser of the brethren. The Christian must follow our Lord’s example of rebuking Satan (Where in the Bible did Jesus rebuke Satan? We do find Him telling Satan to go away, but that is not a rebuke. Synonyms for REBUKE: condemnation, reprimand, censure, denunciation, criticism, reproof, excoriation, reproach...)
and, instead of crumpling under his accusations, confess our sins to God as we repent (Isaiah 54:17; 1 John 1:8-9).
The victories over these obstacles is made possible by the fact that we are regenerate (Born again.)
and accepted in the beloved because of the atoning (Propitiating.)
work of Christ on our behalf, for our sake. Because of our right standing before God and as we mature spiritually, we learn to pursue holiness by devoting our lives to being spirit-filled and living sacrifices as we abide in Christ.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:18-21 (LSB)
1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 (LSB)
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He cleans it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5 (LSB)
These miracles of spiritual maturity are only possible for those who are regenerate. (Born again.)
These true Christians were bought with the price of Christ’s atoning (Propitiating.)
sacrifice at the Cross. They are accepted in the beloved and are on the narrow path of sanctification that leads to the gates of the Celestial City. They will prove the verity of their salvation by completing this journey to be called home to be with their Saviour forever. I pray that all reading this are on this path. If you have realized that you are not after this study then I pray that the Lord will open your heart and draw you to Jesus for salvation. Then, I pray that you will begin your own journey toward the Celestial City as you are taken through whatever God determines is necessary for your sanctification and ultimate glorification when you arrive home.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Soli Deo Gloria!
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