| Image | Context | View of Sin | Salvation | What Jesus’ Death does | The way of the cross | Texts |
| Redemption | Slave-Market/Israel’s Exile | Bondage (to the law, often, but also to sin) | Freedom (from condemnation) | Pays the price (to whom?) | ‘For freedom Christ has set us free’; | Ps 130:7, Rom 3:24, Col 1:14, Luke 2:38, Eph 1:7, 1 Cor 6:20; Is 52-53 |
| Sacrifice | OT Holiness code | Impurity, unholiness | Cleansing, sanctification | Substitutes as a sacrifice; propitiates God’s wrath | ‘offer your bodies as living sacrifices’ | Rom 3:23-25; Hebrews; I John 2:2 |
| Justification | Legal-covenantal | Law-breaking; | Making righteous; right with God | Bears the penalty for sin; meets the righteous requirement of the law | ‘instruments of righteousness’ | Rom 3:23-25; Rom 5:16-18; Eph 2; Acts 13:39 |
| Victory | Military | Aligned with the enemies of God | Defeating the enemies of God – death, sin, the devil | His death (and resurrection) disarms the powers (whose power was the accusation against us) | ‘overcome the world’ | Mat 12:20; 1 Cor 15:53-5; Rev 17:14 |
| Reconciliation | Relationships | Enmity/ broken relationship | Restores relationship; forgiveness | Deals with that which was keeping us apart | ‘forgive as you have been forgiven’; ‘blessed are the peacemakers’ | Rom 5, Eph 2 |
Friday, August 19, 2011
Models for the Atonement
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Obedience?
Recapitulation?
Moral?
exemplar?
Or are we only talking of approved models
Now, can you explain why sacrifice, justifcation and reconciliation have been spoken of under the one heading, and in greater frequency within our tradition against all the others? I mean, I know they are all related of course (the overlap of the Bible texts says as much), but historically in the protestant west we've spoken about PSA leading to forgiveness as the dominant image. Is it just thanks to Calvin and guys like Dodd and our inheritance from them? Maybe also the RSV?
AND to add another picture: Divinization (1 Peter). AND, might be good to also add a column with figures from church history who have championed each view.
AND could we do the same with metaphors for the church? Body, Gathering, Candlestick, Household etc?
Great reference chart.
I tend to lean more towards the reconciliation model - and think a plain reading of Luke - Acts does support it.
Post a Comment