The Atonement.
I. As one of the wisest of the heathens said, everything has two handles one by which it may, and one by which it may not, be taken hold of. The handle by which this blessed truth of the Atonement should be taken hold of is that which Christ Himself pointed out to us. It is the moral it is the practical handle of it, not the theological, not the speculative. We need the doctrine, surely, as a comfort, and not as an anathema. We need it as a bond of unity, not as a test of difference. We need it as an incentive to holiness, not as a source of rancour.
II. There is a side of the Atonement which, when we contemplate, we can understand, and not only understand, but adore; for it is revealed to us not only on its transcendent side, but also on its human side not only in its relations to God, but also in its effects on man. And on this side you will see, if you search your Bibles, that there are mainly four metaphors by which it is shadowed forth. The Atonement of Christ is described (1) as a sin offering; (2) as our reconciliation to God; (3) as a ransom from slavery; (4) as the release from a debt which it was wholly beyond our power to pay. Now here we have no doubt, no mystery, only blessing and peace. Christ is our sin-offering. When the ancient Israelite had brought his sin-offering, and seen the flame consume it on the altar, he believed that in some way, he knew not how, his sin would be forgiven; but for us, Christ, by the Eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God. Christ is our reconciliation, not in type and shadow, but in very truth. He, as a mediator, stands in the place of God to man, and in the place of man to God. Christ is our ransom. Would you be grateful to one who, finding you chained in a dungeon, broke your chains and flung open your prison doors? Here is a redemption which delivers you from the captivity of sin and Satan, the worst of all captivities. Christ paid our heavy debt. If with a hearty repentance and true faith we turn to Him, the debt the debt of the horribly wasted and desecrated past the debt of the miserably blighted and wasted present is cancelled, and we are free.
F. W. Farrar, Penny Pulpit,new series, No. 1,024.
References: John 3:16. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons,p. 6; Homilist,vol. iv., p. 112; Ibid.,new series, vol. ii., p. 526; Preacher's Monthly,vol. i., p. 424; J. Keble, Sermons for Holy Week,p. 400; Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxxi., No. 1850; R. Glover, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxi., p. 170. John 3:16-21. Homiletic Magazine,vol. xii., p. 274; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. ii., p. 271.