Adequacy of Atonement

February 4, 1990

Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we [him] no more. Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Prologue to the sermon:

Early on in the service (an old chestnut) Children's Sermon- the "Hayford Street Gang" story. How a "big boy" walked me right through a gang of tough guys.

Introduction:

  1. [How I came to this short series:] Hardy Powers, Oct '58, in Pilot Pt, Texas, delivered an address on "What Nazarenes Believe." And I took notes: Dr. Powers said Nazarenes believe in:
    1. The authority of scriptures;
    2. The adequacy of the atonement;
    3. The reality of personal experience; and
    4. The urgency of Mission.
  2. Today we look at (2) The adequacy of the atonement. By "adequacy" I do not mean that all we need as Christians and as humans is religion. Dr. Bill McCumber had a "throw away line" this summer that brings us down to earth from making ultra extravagant claims. He said, "Some people say, 'All I need is Jesus!' But I need Doris, too!"
  3. The heart of this question is: Is what Jesus has done in and of itself ALL I NEED in order to have eternal life?

    The adequacy of the atonement does not negate the inequities of life. It does not deny the fact that we really do need each other.

    [The adequacy of the atonement has to do with the ultimate success or failure of each of us as creatures of God. But first, what do we mean when we speak of the ATONEMENT?]

I. THE ATONEMENT: WHAT IS IT?

  1. The word "atone" is its own ("pocket") definition! It is being "at one" again, when there has been a parting of the ways. It is what our text calls "being reconciled" to God. Atonement is the basic gift of Jesus to each one of us. The story of the atonement IS the Good News. It is the story of Immanuel.

    To understand atonement we begin with the scriptures, and they tell us of the manger and of Christ's miracles. They tell us of the cross of Calvary, and of the resurrection. They tell us of the ascension and of Pentecost, and all this has to do with making us at one with God.

  2. One fresh way of looking at the atonement is summarized in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians:

    [ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.]

    Here God's Presence is called COMFORT! God coming alongside! God with us! The "Hayford Street gang" story all over, every day!

[But I made the statement: "The ADEQUACY of the atonement has to do with the ultimate success or failure of each of us as creatures of God."]

II. THE ADEQUACY HAS TO DO WITH ULTIMATE SUCCESS OR FAILURE AS CREATURES OF GOD

  1. Adequacy means a place where we can STAND! Adequacy means that we are dealing with ultimate reality. God is not mocked! This way of faith can be trusted. Wasn't it Archimedes who was supposed to have said, "(I am so sure of my theory of the power of a lever that) 'If you give me a solid place to stand, I can move the world!'"?? The adequacy of the atonement means in Christ we have all that we need to be all that God wants us to be.
  2. Adequacy means a personal realization. Adequacy as people of God may not seem as important as, say, adequacy in business, or in finance, or in the things that give people status in our present day society. But each person here is more valuable than all the money on Wall Street. Each person here will outlive and outlast all the kingdoms of this earth. We have such an earthbound view (i.e., We identify our Christian faith with "democracy" or with our viewpoint on politics. The idea of a genuine Christian socialist seems absolutely foreign.)
  3. Adequacy centers around eternal matters, but matters that can and do carry over into everyday life and tend to make it significant.

    Not every Christian will be recognized as "great." But every Christian is called to be noble, and good, and holy. And holiness is God-likeness. And that is adequacy!

III. HOW THE ATONEMENT IS ADEQUATE TO WHERE WE ARE DAY BY DAY.

Let me leave you with some solid scripture to take home and re-read and digest:

Here in 2 Corinthians 5 are some of Paul's 'testimonies of adequacy'. [I'm once again using "therefores" as markers:]

Paul writes THAT BECAUSE OF THIS GREAT GOD OF COMFORT, THIS GOD THAT COMES ALONG SIDE we may know:

  1. Adequacy of ASSURANCE (5:6 Therefore we are always of good courage...)

    Do you ever need ASSURANCE? Do you ever wish that God could call you on the telephone? This is a way of faith! We have battles along these lines!

    Being reconciled to God means that we have an inner persuasion that we are saved; that we have passed from condemnation.

  2. Adequacy of MOTIVATION (5:11 Therefore we are made manifest to God) God knows what we do, and He cares about us! Having an observer while we do anything can be a source of encouragement or frustration. It is sobering to know that we shall give account at Judgment Day- and we shall!

    Being RECONCILED TO GOD means that He knows what we're doing, what we're thinking. Not just that we shall stand and give an account at the judgment- but that we are manifest (open) to God NOW! And we can live in openness and honesty before Him without fear! We know that HE knows! We want Him to know!

  3. Adequacy of LIFE ITSELF! [Of CONNECTION with 'the Vine;' Of RELATIONSHIP that is FILIAL, for we have become adopted children of God!] (5:17 Therefore we are new creatures...)

    To really KNOW God, to be AT ONE with Him is much, much more than informational knowledge.

    Here is an open secret: verses 16 and 17 tell us that we have to know Christ by His Spirit! We cannot even know Him as His disciples did before Calvary and the Resurrection!

    Being reconciled to God is more than just book keeping. There is a new quality of life. There is correspondence with REALITY.

  4. Adequacy of OPPORTUNITY FOR MAKING LIFE COUNT

    (2 Co. 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors...)

    In the plan of the atonement, every believer is assigned a place in the SHARING of the message of reconciliation!

    And what is more, we are not all that God would have us to be— we are not fully adequate- unless and until we have begun to take seriously the fact that we each have a place, a task, an assignment in the Body of Christ to help Him do the Work of Christ!

Conclusion:

Well, do we Nazarenes really believe in the ADEQUACY OF THE ATONEMENT?

Yes!

We believe in the adequacy of the atonement! Jesus IS (finally) all we need! For it is through Jesus that we receive all good things! The atonement is adequate because sin has lost its power to bully us and dominate us! Not that we never hurt, or suffer loss, or face situations that cause us involuntary dread.

We ARE reconciled to God! The atonement means that we are "at one" with Him. God's wonderful and mysterious plan and purpose through the ages— of sharing His life with us, and of living with us here and now, so that we may live with Him forever- - is already under way in the lives of those who know Jesus Christ.

Its a little like the story of "the Hayford Street gang." If God is with us, really with us, then we don't have to face life alone!

#283 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind