Atonement, Justification, & Regeneration Flashcards
Give a brief explanation of the scriptural teaching on atonement.
ATONEMENT: a payment for sin became necessary when Adam and Eve sinned. Without the shedding if blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
OLD TESTAMENT: shedding of animal blood
- Genesis 3: skins to cover Adam and Eve
- Genesis 4: Abel’s offering
- Exodus/Leviticus: sacrificial system for temporarily atoning sin.
NEW TESTAMENT: death of Christ that once and for all atoned for our sins.
The work on the cross appeases God’s wrath against us, turning it away from us.
Hebrews 9 and 10
Shedding of blood necessary for remission of sins
Romans 3:23-25
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
I John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Is there any limitation concerning who may benefit from the atonement of Christ?
NO.
Christ’s death was sufficient for all, efficient for the elect.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world…
Romans 3:23-25
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
John 10
The Good Shepherd
Rom 5:8-9
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
II Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What is the relationship between justification and sanctification?
JUSTIFICATION
A one time act at the moment of salvation whereby we are declared positionally not guilty and we receive the righteousness of Christ.
SANCTIFICATION
An ongoing life process in the life of a believer whereby our practices comes closer to matching out position.
What is the relationship between regeneration and sanctification?
REGENERATION
The work of the Holy Spirit by which we are made alive in Christ. We were formally dead in sin, enslaved in sin. Now we have been made alive in Christ, by the indwelling presence and power of the Spirit, we are able to pursue sanctification.
SANCTIFICATION
An ongoing life process in the life of a believer whereby our practices comes closer to matching out position
Define and contrast justification and regeneration. Give a brief explanation of the Scriptural tracing on the two.
JUSTIFICATION
A one time legal declaration whereby the sinner is declared righted or just by God based on the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
Galatians 2:16-21
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Additionally, the sinner receives the righteousness if Christ.
II Corinthians 5:21
The Great Transference
REGENERATION
The act of the Holy Spirit of making dead sinners alive in Christ. It is the new birth.
John 3:38, Ephesians 2:1-5, Titus 3:5, I Peter 1:23
Who performs the work of regeneration?
The Holy Spirit through to work if the Word of God.
John 3:3-8
Must be born again
Titus 3:5
…He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
I Peter 1:23
…Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
What is the nature of the change brought about by regeneration?
We who were dead in sin are alive in Christ.
Ephesians 2:1-5
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved
What is the continuing purpose of regeneration in the life if the individual?
Having been regenerated, made alive in Christ, the believer is now able to walk a sanctified life by the power of the indwelling Spirit.
Romans 6
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
Galatians 2:16-21
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
What aspects of man’s condition made atonement necessary?
Sin
Romans 3:23-25
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Could anyone other than Christ have made an acceptable offering?
Christ was the only acceptable offering. No animal blood could ever atone fully for sins
Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:26-28
But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many
Hebrews 10:12-14
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
I Peter 2:22-24
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
What assurance do we have that the offering was acceptable to God?
Jesus sat down at the right hand if God indicating the finished work and the Father’s acceptance.
Hebrews 10:12-14
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Isaiah 53:10-11
Speaks of the Father being pleased and satisfied with the Son’s work.
Is the atonement effective in human lives where the Gospel is unknown?
NO.
We believe in Exclusivism, explicit faith in the person and work of Jesus is necessary for salvation.
- No Universalism.
- No Pluralism (all religions worship the same God).
- No Inclusivism (Jesus’ death was sufficient for people who follow the tenants of their own faith that is similar to Christianity)
John 14:6
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
