Christian Science and the Atonement
By R.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE denies the vicarious atonement of Christ. It denies that His sufferings and death were, in a substitutional sense, sacrificial. It admits that He is our example, a demonstration, a lesson, but not that we are to receive Him as our substitute. With Christian Science, death is the mere belief of mortal mind. It belongs to the material, or natural. But Christ, according to Christian Science, was only spiritual; therefore, He did not really die. It was “what seemed to be death.”—“Science and Health, chapter Atonement and Eucharist.” Tho the Scriptures speak of His death, it is to be spiritualized away by calling the whole event a demonstration. And so we have been deluded all the years by the words of Scripture when it bade us hope and trust so much in His sufferings and death; and Mrs. Eddy is the one who has undeceived us. She tells us in the chapter on “Atonement and Eucharist,” that “the material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon ‘the accursed tree,’ than when it was flowing in His veins.” Why then did the Word assure us that “without shedding of blood there is no remission”? Heb. 9:22. And why did God set forth Christ “to be a propitiation through faith in His blood”? Rom. 3:25. And why does the Word say that we are justified by His blood and reconciled by His death? Rom. 5:9, 10. And what about the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing us from all sin? 1 John 1:7. Why all this, if the shedding of that blood amounted to nothing, or the whole thing is an illusion of mortal mind? And what was the meaning of those countless sacrifices, with their shedding of the victims’ blood, from the time when Abel’s offering pleased God and Cain’s bloodless offering did not? What meant the sacrificial work until the day the veil of the temple was rent in twain with the expiring cry of the Christ, the Lamb of God? What meant the sanctuary and the temple worship, the priestly rounds of offerings, and the sprinkled blood before the consecrated veil? Ah, there is but one meaning. They all were types and shadows pointing to and foretelling the coming of the real sacrifice and the blood that avails. And are all these passages of Scripture which speak of Christ’s sacrificial work, and which so sharply deny the teachings of Christian Science, to be explained away by calling them metaphors, figures of speech? And if so, why do Christian Scientists appeal to the Word when they think it agrees with their teachings? Is it consistent to cite that which is agreeable as if it were authority, and then explain away that which denies? On the sixth page of the chapter “Atonement and Eucharist,” we find this statement: “One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin.” So says Mrs. Eddy: it is offered on her own authority. But listen: “Now once at the end of the ages hath He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Heb. 9:26. Whether we believe it or not, and whether we accept Him or not, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was to put away sin, and “by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Heb. 10:14. The one sacrifice, according to the Word of God, is to put away sin; and it will do this by removing sin from the saints as it perfects their characters; and it will remove the sin of the sinner by destroying both sin and sinner from the universe of God. “For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of Hosts, that it shall leave neither root nor branch.” Mal. 4:1. Mrs. Eddy says, “One sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin.” But the Word of God says He “offered ONE SACRIFICE for sins forever.” Heb. 10:12. Which do you believe? Mrs. Eddy says that “one sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to PAY the DEBT of sin.” But the Word of God says we “were BOUGHT with a PRICE.” 1 Cor. 6:20. Thus we were bought with a price great enough to pay the debt; here is the price: “Ye were REDEEMED [bought back] . . . with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19. Which word do you believe? Mrs. Eddy says that “one sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin.” But the Word of God says that Christ has “been once offered to BEAR the SINS of many,” and “now once at the end of the ages hath He been manifested to PUT AWAY SIN by the sacrifice of Himself.” Heb. 9:28, 26. Which word do you believe, that of a woman, or that of God? Mrs. Eddy says that “one sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin.” But the Word of God says, “For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell; and through Him to RECONCILE ALL THINGS unto Himself, having MADE PEACE through the BLOOD of His cross; through HIM, I SAY, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.” Col. 1:19, 20. This is plain enough; which word do you believe? Mrs. Eddy says that “one sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin.” But in the statement, she is but fulfilling one of the prophecies of the Word of God, and thus verifying its truth. Here is the prediction: “Among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, DENYING even the MASTER that BOUGHT THEM” (2 Peter 2:1); denying the Master that bought them, by saying that His one sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. But the denial of Christian Science does not mar the fact that Christ has bought us, has paid the debt of sin, and bore it away in His own body on the tree. If we will but count it a fact in our lives, we will find it blessedly true in our experience. One sacrifice paid the debt; we are bought with a price; He has reconciled us to God by His death.