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Sermon #7701

The Necessity of the Atonement

A Sermon on the Atonement

Originally preached Nov. 6, 1953

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Sermon Description

What does the Bible mean when it calls God both just and the justifier? Moreover, was the atonement really necessary? Were there any other ways? In this sermon on the atonement, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores these questions in his ongoing series of the Doctrine of the Atonement. After he reviews his previous seven arguments for the Protestant view of the atonement, he gives his final and last reason: the Bible emphasizes the death on the cross as an absolute necessity. By exploring Jesus’s words in the Garden of Gethsemane and epistles of Paul, Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives a clear picture for the biblical and Protestant view of the atonement. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also navigates through some objections against both the general doctrine of the atonement and the specific doctrine of the penal substitutionary atonement. This sermon by Dr. Lloyd-Jones is helpful as he gives arguments for and against this glorious doctrine of the atonement and offers robust understanding of salvation and justification by Christ alone.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon begins by reviewing the previous discussion on the false theories of atonement and the substitutionary view of atonement.
  2. The substitutionary view teaches that Jesus vicariously suffered the penalty of sin as a substitute for believers.
  3. There are 7 arguments for the substitutionary view of atonement:
  4. Analogy from OT sacrifices
  5. NT teaches Jesus saves through his death
  6. Certain NT terms like ransom, propitiation, reconciliation
  7. Certain NT terms teach substitution like "for us" and "for our sins"
  8. Statements emphasizing union with Christ teach substitution
  9. Statements saying Jesus' death frees us from the law teach substitution
  10. Statements emphasizing God's activity in Jesus' death teach substitution
  11. An 8th argument is that the Bible teaches Jesus' death was necessary. Jesus' agony in Gethsemane and cry of dereliction on the cross show his death was necessary.
  12. Romans 3:25-26 directly states Jesus' death was necessary to demonstrate God's righteousness.
  13. Hebrews 2:9 and Romans 8:32 suggest Jesus' death was necessary.
  14. The sermon then addresses objections to the substitutionary view of atonement.
  15. The view that God's love alone is enough fails to account for God's justice and holiness.
  16. The view that substitution derogates from God's character fails to recognize Jesus willingly volunteered to die.
  17. The view that Paul invented substitution fails to recognize Jesus taught he would give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus couldn't fully explain substitution before his death due to the disciples' lack of understanding.
  18. The view that substitution portrays God as reluctant to forgive fails to recognize God's love initiated the plan of salvation. Substitution supremely demonstrates God's love.
  19. The law must be satisfied through both Jesus' passive obedience in dying as our substitute and active obedience in perfectly keeping the law. Christians are freed from the law's condemnation through union with Christ.

Sermon Q&A

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sermon Questions on the Atonement

What is the essential Protestant doctrine of the atonement according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the essential Protestant doctrine of the atonement (also called the substitutionary teaching) is "the doctrine which teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ vicariously suffered the penalty of the broken law as the substitute of his people." This view emphasizes the substitutionary and penal elements of Christ's sacrifice, where Christ took our place and bore the punishment that we deserved for our sins.

What are the biblical arguments that support the substitutionary view of the atonement?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents eight key biblical arguments supporting the substitutionary view:

  1. The analogy of Old Testament sacrifices which were "piacular, expiatory, substitutionary"
  2. New Testament teachings that Christ saves us by His death
  3. New Testament terms like "ransom," "propitiation," and "reconciliation"
  4. New Testament terms that explicitly teach substitution (Christ died "for us")
  5. Statements emphasizing our union with Christ
  6. Statements showing Christ's death liberates us from the law
  7. Statements emphasizing God's activity in Christ's death
  8. Statements showing Christ's death was an absolute necessity

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe Christ's death was an "absolute necessity"?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that Christ's death was an absolute necessity based on:

  1. The agony in Gethsemane where Christ prayed, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass by"
  2. The cry of dereliction on the cross: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
  3. Romans 3:25-26, showing God had to be both "just and the justifier"
  4. Hebrews 2:9, showing Christ had to "taste death"
  5. Romans 8:32, showing God "spared not his own Son"
  6. John 3:16, showing God "gave" His Son

He argues these passages demonstrate there was no other way for God to forgive sins while maintaining His justice. The cross was the only solution to this divine dilemma.

What common objections to the substitutionary view does Dr. Lloyd-Jones address?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses several objections:

  1. Those who deny sin is guilt will reject this doctrine
  2. The argument that God's love alone should be sufficient for forgiveness
  3. The claim that substitution derogates from God's justice by punishing an innocent person
  4. The idea that demanding payment before forgiveness derogates from God's pardoning grace
  5. The argument that Paul invented this doctrine and it's not found in the Gospels
  6. The misconception that Christ had to persuade a reluctant God to forgive

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain God's love in relation to the atonement?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly refutes the idea that "God was reluctant to forgive us and that our Lord had to die and to go to God and plead his death" to persuade God to forgive. Instead, he emphasizes:

  1. It was God Himself who initiated the entire plan of salvation
  2. The atonement flows from God's love, not the other way around
  3. "It was the love of God that thought out this way of salvation"
  4. "It was the love of God that carried it out"
  5. The substitutionary view actually provides the greatest demonstration of God's love

As Lloyd-Jones states: "There is nothing anywhere in the scripture which in any way approaches the substitutionary and penal doctrine of the atonement as an exposition and an explanation of the love of God."

How does Christ's atonement relate to the law according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that Christ's relationship to the law has two aspects:

  1. Passive obedience: Christ bore our sins and their penalty on the cross
  2. Active obedience: Christ perfectly kept the law in His life

Through our union with Christ, both aspects become ours: - "When Christ honored and kept the law by his active obedience, he wasn't only doing it for himself, he was doing it for me." - "What he did actively is imputed to us. What he did passively is imputed to us."

This means Christians are "no longer under the law" but "under grace" because Christ has fulfilled the law's demands on their behalf.

Great Biblical Doctrines

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.