Ordination #2, Art. 6a: The Atonement

After dealing with sin, we now move to the remedy, which is the work of Christ. The next series of posts will deal with Article 6 of the Evangelical Free Church of America doctrinal statement, which deals with the atonement at the cross and the application of that sacrifice for our salvation. While Jesus died for my sins is profoundly simple, it is amazing how complicated this can get when it comes to some of the details. Here’s the statement with the first section of my paper to follow.

That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus become children of God.

The shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection (Rom. 4.25) is grounded in the OT sacrificial system where death was required to atone for sin (Job 42.8; Lev. 1.3-4) and Isaiah looked forward to a Servant who would bear the sin of His people (Isa. 53.6). Jesus died in the place of sinful humanity, as our substitute sin-bearer (Isa. 53.6; 2 Cor. 5.21; 1 Pt. 2.24) by becoming an atoning sacrifice for our sin (Heb. 9.6-15), which is due punishment. This sacrifice satisfies the just wrath of God against our sin (Rom. 3.25). This unique sacrifice provides the only ground for God’s saving work in an individual’s life (Jn. 14.6; Acts 4.12).