9. Debrief
Now we return to the key issues of atonement listed in Chapter 3 and compare them to the Lumen Christi model.
a) Human responsibility for sin.
Responsibility implies the freedom to choose to do otherwise. Sin occurs because of humanity’s failure to trust in God. Christ, who will one day judge the world, holds human beings responsible for their sins. But being guilty of sin does not bar one from forgiveness and sinners are free to repent and believe in Jesus. By the grace of God, they are also free from the burden of trying to win God’s approval.
b) Forgiveness and Reconciliation.
Christ’s forgiveness operates on a different plane to God’s reconciling action. Jesus forgave sins prior to his death on the cross as well as subsequently. But God’s holiness illuminates and eliminates the darkness of any evil that comes into his presence. Forgiveness, by itself, is insufficient to save sinners from destruction. But Christ, as mediator, reconciles his friends with God.
c) Justice and Punishment.
Good overcoming evil enacts justice in God’s kingdom. People die because of sin, but God raises Christians to righteousness. Paul says in Romans 1:32 that the godless deserve to die. Even if Paul was putting his opponents view, most Christians believe this. The punishment for, or consequence of, sin is death (Prov 1:18) and ultimately, separation from God. Scripture speaks of two deaths (Rev 2:11). Christians raised from death to righteousness need not fear the second death.
d) Sacrifice.
The Son of God’s incarnation into human form was, itself, a sacrifice. The Son emptied himself of his divine powers and humbled himself, becoming obedient to God the Father (Phil 2:7-8). Christ’s crucifixion was the lowest ebb in the sinful world’s rebellion against the Son of God. Jesus responded by submitting to crucifixion instead of calling upon his Father to send twelve legions of angels to rescue him. This was indeed a great sacrifice.
e) Righteousness.
Righteousness is an eagerly awaited characteristic of citizens of God’s kingdom. Christians in this world, even though they are sinful, are God’s representatives whose guilt and shame has been dealt with. After death, God gives Christians a spiritual body of righteousness and they live in heaven without sin. At the final judgement, Jesus gives them a new physical body to live in righteousness on the renewed earth.
f) God’s goodness and mercy have equal priority with his holiness and majesty.
Justice and mercy are not opposing attributes of God. God’s love for his people requires justice for them. The holiness of God will not allow evil to persist in his creation forever. God’s compassion at humanity’s predicament motivates him to restore holiness to them. Christians will eventually enjoy an abundant life free from sin, guilt and shame. By this means, God establishes justice and peace.
g) Evil in nature and in the angelic realm.
In the fullness of time, God’s patience with the evil infecting his creation will come to an end and Christ will return to eradicate evil. The Spirit’s presence with his people ensures their ultimate well-being. Christ’s exaltation included the authority to restore creation as a fitting place for God’s people to inhabit. The renewed world will be immersed in God and, therefore, free from fallen angels, natural disasters and suffering.
The Lumen Christi model meets the criteria given in Chapter 1 for a good atonement theory. Here is a brief review of the requirements.
1. Does this explanation enhance the preaching of the gospel?
Lumen Christi lends itself to preaching with no need to explain difficult concepts such as “imputation” or “expiation”. The model can be used in both western and eastern cultures. The logical expressions used in Chapter 4 might cause concern that this approach is too academic to be useful in proclaiming the gospel. But a sermon from this model does not proclaim the tools of critical reasoning. The mechanics of the model remain in the background. Christ saves those who believe in him, not those who excel in critical reasoning.
Jesus instructed his disciples to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is near (Matt 10:7). Atonement theories are vital to Christian teaching. God’s goodness and grace shine through the story of his reconciliation with sinners who place their faith in Christ Jesus. The gospel is more than a story or a message. It proclaims the power of the Holy Spirit to reconcile people to God. The indwelling Spirit makes communion between fellow believers integral to life in Christ. Christianity applies the love message of Jesus to all human relationships. The new covenant in his blood celebrates the love commandment.
2. Does the model accord with the full range of Bible teaching?
The Lumen Christi model finds support from Scripture. It encompasses such biblical imagery as sacrifice, the offering of self in love, the fight against evil, and forgiveness for sins as displayed in Jesus’ life and in his death on the cross. The model explains Christ’s use of Old Testament concepts in his teaching. Self-sacrifice as the giving of one’s best, which in an ancient agricultural society meant the best of one’s flock or crop. The important difference between Cain and Abel’s sacrifices was Abel gave his best. God did not want an animal’s blood or someone’s violent death. The Old Testament sacrificial system foreshadowed God’s overcoming evil with good through Christ’s sacrifice.
3. Is it consistent with the good, gracious, holy and merciful nature of God?
Atonement models should not cast any aspersions on the goodness of God. Sinners bring “punishment” upon themselves, where punishment is the inevitable result of sin. God is under no obligation to save anyone, but he would not have gone ahead with creation unless he had a vision for what it should be like. This vision is expressed in the covenant of God that undergirds the atonement.
God is the Lord. He is good, and he is holy. Lumen Christi supports these and does not suggest that God accepts evil or indulges in any activity that is vindictive or arises from insecurity. Saying God is not answerable to anyone and does not have to comply with his own commands makes out that God’s laws are arbitrary. God’s law is an expression of his character. Furthermore, the plan of salvation involves all three persons of the Godhead without playing off one against another.
4. Does it encourage Christ-like behaviour in Christians?
Lumen Christi stresses the relationship between Christ and his followers for, through Christ’s forgiveness and their response of repentance and faith, people enjoy communion with God. The guiding principle for Christian behaviour is Christ’s teaching of the love commandment but not understood as an external rule to decide how to live (as in situation ethics). Instead, the indwelling Holy Spirit guides the Christian. Unlike the Pharisaic insistence of obedience to the letter of the law, Jesus acts in love and mercy for people.
Christians are free to enjoy following Christ without the burden of trying to prove they are God’s people. Sanctification is freedom in the Spirit and not a process people endure as if God is dealing with them. The aim of sanctification is not to become righteous, appease God or earn forgiveness, but to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in unleashing God’s love in the world. God’s people can live in the freedom of the Spirit (2 Cor 3:17).
5. Is the model coherent, reasonable, and ethical?
Lumen Christi includes the truths found in the traditional theories but links them into a coherent logical framework. At the cross, Jesus won the victory over Satan, sacrificed his life for sinners and displayed the love of God. The atonement logic set out in Chapter 4 displays the reasonableness of this central Christian doctrine and avoids the moral difficulties of the traditional theories. Faith is not merely the acceptance of certain doctrines, but a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as a friend.
6. Does it support ecumenism and include the truths found in the churches’ historical atonement teaching?
The Lumen Christi model is ecumenical. Evangelicals will welcome the model’s reliance on Scripture while Progressive Christians will appreciate the concern with ethics and reasonableness. This model can help promote unity in a Christendom divided by systematic theologies. The atonement is at the centre of systematic theology. Each of the atonement traditions has developed its own systematic theologies supporting the misconceptions of their soteriology. As a result, each denomination questions the authenticity of the others. The Lumen Christi model calls the traditional theories into question and seeks to unite the church by embracing the truth in each tradition. If the traditional atonement theories do not satisfy all the criteria listed here, why not re-evaluate them? The church needs a better alternative.
The proposed model does not reject the valid concerns and truths of the traditional theories. It does not see people as contributing to their salvation. Even a believer’s faith only yields communion with Christ. It is Christ who saves them. The Holy Spirit’s transformative role in the life of the Christian is a gift of Christ for his people. Christ, through his righteousness, establishes justice by overcoming the evil in this world.
Lumen Christi employs the Catholic Church’s teaching that God imparts righteousness to the believer, except it locates righteousness in the Holy Spirit. Total holiness for mortals awaits the resurrection.
The model retains the Reformed churches’ pivotal doctrine of justification by faith, but with a new direction.
Those Protestant churches working towards bringing God’s kingdom into the world will appreciate the model’s broadening of atonement to include the repair of all the damage done to the world by sin.
The Orthodox Church’s teaching about the Christian’s goal of union with God resonates with this model’s hope of sharing in the glory of Christ (1 Pet 5:1). Christians participate in the glory of God through Christ: “For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess 2:14).
The model recognises Charismatic/Pentecostal churches’ concern that the Holy Spirit empowers the life of the church and individuals.
Ecumenism is not optional for the church. Theologians need to be mindful of how their work impacts on church unity.