A VICARIOUS ATONEMENT

ROMANS 5:12–21

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous

(Rom. 5:19).

Jesus’ ministry was vicarious, which means He acted in our place. We can understand this concept in light of our relationship to the first Adam. When he sinned against God, we sinned “in Adam.” In the same way, when Jesus died for our sins, we died “in Christ.” Of course, we were not actually in Adam, and we were not actually in Christ on the cross. But they acted as our representatives—Adam representing all of humanity, and Christ representing the elect of God. The Atonement of Christ, therefore, is substitutionary. When Christ offered an atonement to satisfy the demands of God’s justice, He was not offering an atonement for His own sins, but for the sins of others.

This was His mission from the moment He entered the world. He came from heaven as the gift of the Father for the express purpose of working out redemption as our substitute, doing for us what we cannot possibly do for ourselves. We see this quite early in the ministry of Jesus during His meeting with John the Baptist. When John saw Jesus approach, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God.…” Jesus would fulfill all that was symbolized in the Old Testament sacrificial system, by which a lamb was slaughtered and offered on the altar to represent atonement for sin. The lamb was a substitute sacrifice to satisfy the demands of God’s justice.

When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, the Baptist was humbled and shocked. He baptize the perfect sacrifice? The rite of baptism symbolizes cleansing. The perfect Lamb did not need cleansing, for He was sinless. Jesus understood John’s hesitation, but He simply replied, “… it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” How was it fitting? Baptism was given as a rite from God to His covenant people. Jesus, before He could ever go to the cross, had to submit Himself to every detail of every law of God. This was His vicarious mission. He did not need to be cleansed but was baptized because He had to fulfill the law.

Jesus’ mission, from beginning to end, was to act in our place. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” Take away the substitutionary Atonement and you take away Christianity; you empty the Cross of all legitimate meaning.

CORAM DEO

Lamentations 3–5

Hebrews 8

Read carefully today’s passage from Romans. How was Adam our representative head? Who chose Adam to be your representative? Do you think you would have fared any better than Adam? Can you reject the truth that you sinned “in Adam” and still believe that you can be righteous without being “in Christ”?

For further study: Isa. 53 • Eph. 2:1–7 • Phil 2:5–11

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november