THE ATONEMENT by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Mar 4, 1889

THE ATONEMENT.

By Editor

AMONG other vital doctrines of the Bible which have to do battle for their existence in the cultured and religious world of to-day, none is more important than that of the Atonement. How God can be "just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," is what many candid, intelligent, reasoning minds cannot comprehend, especially in the light of what is represented as the atonement by many theologians of to-day. Logical minds demand consistency, and the loose theories of the present are utterly inconsistent. Some follow a theory to its conclusion and become Universalists. Other theories force men to become ultra Calvinists or to reject the atonement entirely; and they generally reject the atonement. The true theory leads to no such conclusion. As the atonement is the great central doctrine, or rather that which comprehends all doctrines of the Bible, a proper understanding of it is necessary in order that the many winds of doctrine in these last days do not unsettle faith in the word of God.

Among the many works written on this subject, no one sets it forth more clearly than "The Atonement in the Light of Nature and the Revelation," by J. H. Waggoner. The arguments made are so clear and logical that all may comprehend them; at the same time, they stimulate thought, and lead the mind into unexplored fields not less fruitful than delightful, as the plan of man's redemption—the bringing of man into at-one-ment with God—is developed by the author. Some of its chapter headings are as follows (Part I.): Comparison of Nature and Morality, The Moral System, Requirements of the Moral System (Part II.), Principles of the Divine Government, Sin and Its Penalty, Justification and Obedience, What the Atonement Is, The Judgment, Redemption. Added to these sixteen chapters are two appendices, illustrating and amplifying Justification by Grace, and comparing, or contrasting, the teachings of Confucius and Mahomet with the gospel of Christ. It is a book which every minister, and which everyone who wishes to become intelligent in the Scriptures, ought to have. The positions taken in Part I. on the atonement in the light of nature, have been commended by eminent jurists who have examined them. This work can be procured at this office, or at the office of Pacific Press, 43 Bond Street, N. Y. Price $1.00.