Night, do you believe that intercession is part of atonement?
No. My position is the same as outlined in
Questions On Doctrine:
Sacrificial Atonement Provided; Sacrificial Atonement Applied
QUESTION 30
Seventh-day Adventists are frequently charged with minimizing the atoning sacrifice completed on the cross, reducing it to an incomplete or partial atonement that must be supplemented by Christ's priestly ministry; perhaps it might be called a dual atonement. Is this charge true? Does not Mrs. White state that Christ is now making atonement for us in the heavenly sanctuary? Please explain your position, and state wherein you differ from others on the atonement.
349
May we at the outset state most earnestly and explicitly that Seventh-day Adventists do not believe that Christ made but a partial or incomplete sacrificial atonement on the cross. The word "atonement," in the Scripture, has a wide connotation. While it involves basically the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, it also embraces other important aspects of the work of saving grace.
The word "atonement" itself is like some other words used in the Bible, such as "salvation" and "redemption." Salvation involves something that is past, so that one can say, "I
have been saved." It also refers to an experience in
progress, so that he can say, "I
am
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being saved" (see Acts 2:47, R.S.V). It also refers to the future; for there is a sense in which he can also say, "I
shall be saved."
Much the same is true concerning the word "redemption." While the purchase price—the ransom—was paid at Calvary, and because of this we can say, "I
have been redeemed," yet there are also certain aspects of redemption that are yet future. In Scripture we read of "the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23), and our Saviour, referring to His second advent, bade His followers "look up . . . for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).
The same principle obtains with reference to the word "atonement." Most decidedly the all-sufficient atoning sacrifice of Jesus our Lord was
offered and completed on the cross of Calvary. This was done for all mankind, for "he is the propitiation . . . for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).
But this sacrificial work will actually benefit human hearts
only as we surrender our lives to God and experience the miracle of the new birth. In this experience Jesus, our High Priest,
applies to us the benefits of His atoning sacrifice. Our sins are forgiven, we become the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and the peace of God dwells in our hearts.
In the tabernacle days of old, when the mysteries of redemption were foreshadowed by many typical sacrifices and ordinances, the priest,
after the death of the sacrificial victim, would place the blood on the horns of the altar. And the record states that in this act "the priest shall make an atonement for him [the sinner] as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him"
351
(Lev. 4:26). Here the atoning sacrifice
provided is followed by the benefits of the same atoning sacrifice
applied. In Old Testament days both were recognized as aspects of the one great over-all work of atonement. The one aspect provided the atoning sacrifice; the other, the application of its benefits.
Hence, the divine plan of redemption involves more than the vicarious atoning death of Christ though this is its very core; it also includes the ministry of our Lord as our heavenly High Priest. Having completed His sacrifice, He rose from the dead "for our justification" (Rom. 4:25) and then entered into the sanctuary above, there to perform His priestly service for needy man. "Having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Heb. 9:12) on the cross, He now
ministers the benefits of that atonement for those who accept of His mighty provision of grace. Thus the atoning sacrifice, having been completed on Calvary, must now be applied and appropriated to those who are heirs of salvation. Our Lord's
ministry is thus involved in the great work of atonement. So as we think of the mighty sweep of the atonement, in its provisions and its efficacy, it is seen to be vastly more comprehensive than many have thought.
We should remember that men are not automatically, involuntarily, impersonally, or universally saved en masse. They must individually accept of grace, and it is our understanding that while Christ died
provisionally and potentially for all men, and nothing more can be added, yet His death is
actually and ultimately efficacious for those
only who individually accept and avail themselves of its benefits
352 In order to be saved, there must be individual repentance and turning to God. The sinner must lay hold of the provisions of the fully completed atoning sacrifice made by Christ on Calvary. And
application of the atoning provision of the cross, to repentant sinners and supplicating saints, becomes effective only through Christ's priestly ministry—and this whether a man fully understands it theologically or not.
It is this latter provision of priestly ministry that accomplishes the actual, experiential, and continuous heart cleansing in the individual, not only from the guilt but also from the pollution and power of sin. It is this that makes it efficacious to men. Christ's heavenly ministry in our behalf brings about the realization of peace and the joy of redemption through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which our ministering High Priest sends forth into our hearts. The atonement therefore involves not only the transcendent act of the cross, but also the benefits of Christ's sacrifice which are continually being applied to needy man. And this will continue on to the close of human probation.
For extracts concerning the atonement, see Appendix 661.
I. The Vast Sweep of the Atonement
In common with conservative Christians, Adventists teach an atonement that necessitated the incarnation of the eternal Word—the Son of God—in order that He might become the Son of man; and living His life among men as our kinsman in the flesh, might die in our stead to redeem us. We believe that the atonement provides an all-sufficient, perfect, substitutionary
353 sacrifice for sin, which completely satisfies the justice of God and fulfills every requirement, so that mercy, grace, and forgiveness can be freely extended to the repentant sinner, without compromising the holiness of God or jeopardizing the equity of His rule. "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26).
In this way God completely justifies the repentant sinner, however vile, and imputes the perfect righteousness of Christ to cover his unrighteousness; and then imparts, through sanctification, His own righteousness to the sinner, so that he is transformed into the very likeness of Christ.
And the wondrous ultimate of it all will come through the glorification of our bodies at the second advent of our Lord, which will bring full and final deliverance from the very presence of sin forevermore. Christ, then, is in Himself the sacrificial offering, the ministering priest, and the coming king. That covers past, present, and future. And this, we believe, will eventuate in the final eradication from the universe forever of all sin and its effects as well as its malign originator. This, we understand, is the ultimate effect of the atonement made on Calvary
II. Atoning Sacrifice and Ministering Priest
We feel it to be most important that Christians sense the difference between the atoning act of Christ on the cross as a forever completed sacrifice, and His work in the sanctuary as officiating high priest,
ministering the benefits of that sacrifice. What He did on
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the cross was for
all men (1 John 2:2). What He does in the sanctuary is for those only who
accept His great salvation.
Both aspects are integral and inseparable phases of God's infinite work of redemption. The one provides the sacrificial offering; the other provides the application of the sacrifice to the repentant soul. The one was made by Christ as victim; the other, by Christ as priest. Both are aspects of God's great redemptive plan for man.
That Seventh-day Adventists are not alone in this concept is evident from the following extracts from a recent book:
The Atonement is the work of God in Christ for man's salvation and renewal.—Vincent Taylor, The Cross of Christ (Macmillan, 1956), p. 87.
In its nature and scope, the Atonement is both deliverance and attainment. It concerns man's sin and his blessedness; and it cannot be the one without being at the same time the other.—Ibid., pp. 87, 88.
It is important at the outset to distinguish two aspects of the doctrine which can be separated in thought, but not without grave loss in practice. These are . . . (a) the saving deed of Christ, and (b) the appropriation of His work by faith, both individual and communal. These two together constitute the Atonement.—Ibid., p. 88.
In consequence, atonement is both accomplished for us and wrought in us.—Ibid., p. 89.
Perhaps our greatest need today, if we would rise above the poverty of much of our worship, is to experience once more the wonder and reliance upon Christ's ceaseless saving ministry, which is the true centre of Christian devotion and the abiding source of Christian living.—Ibid., p. 104.
When, therefore, one hears an Adventist say, or reads in Adventist literature—even in the writings of Ellen G. White—that Christ is making atonement now,
355 it should be understood that we mean simply that Christ is now
making application of the benefits of the sacrificial atonement He made on the cross; that He is making it efficacious for us individually, according to our needs and requests. Mrs. White herself, as far back as
1857, clearly explained what she means when she writes of Christ's making atonement for us in His ministry:
The great Sacrifice had been offered and had been accepted, and the Holy Spirit which descended on the day of Pentecost carried the minds of the disciples from the earthly sanctuary to the heavenly, where Jesus had entered by His own blood, to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement. Early Writings, p. 260. (Italics supplied.)
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Take note of this opening statement:
"May we at the outset state most earnestly and explicitly that Seventh-day Adventists do not believe that Christ made but a partial or incomplete sacrificial atonement on the cross."
So, belief in partial atonement at the cross is
not orthodox SDA belief, but heresy.
If not, what is it for?
Intercession is part of the process that applies the merits of the atonement already made.
What about this text?
"For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14
"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not right.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways." Ezekiel 33:20
"For I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37
What about them? None say that at the cross partial atonement was made only. Neither is dual atonement theory proven by them.
Amen. But when you say "becomes our own by faith" what do you mean? Imputed not imparted?
Imputed. Imparted righteousness is a part of our maturing process and spiritual growth. Salvation is
not determined by imparted righteousness.
Overcoming by the blood of the Lamb is not just Christ's sacrifice, but the change wrought in us by Christ's sacrifice. Remember, blood and water poured out of His side. If there is no change, all we can cry is "Lord Lord".
You are confusing overcoming and gaining victory over specific behavioural sins, which is a part of our sanctification experience, with the overcoming of sin and death that Christ
alone accomplished through His sacrifice. The latter victory is ours by faith.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling!
"...work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
Correct. You had better have things right with Christ and have accepted Him as your Saviour, or you will be trembling in the judgment. It's not saying 'through sheer will power and determination work to maintain the salvation which is already yours by faith out of fear that He will burn you in Hellfire.'
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Phillipians 2:12-13
"however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained...for our citizenship is in heaven,
Christian maturity and growth. Not referring to the assurance of our saved condition. The fruit not the root of salvation.
from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself." Philippians 3:16, 20-21
Glorification.