(1.) As to his legal relations, the Scriptures clearly teach that, at his creation, he was put under the equi- table Covenant of Works for a certain probationary period. This just constitution provided (a) everlasting well-being on condition of perfect obedience, and (b) everlasting ill-being on condition of disobedience. Now, although under that covenant man failed, it is evident that, nevertheless, both of these conditions must be maintained in their integrity. To relax them would be to violate the word of God, to dishonour his law, and to render his ‘promises and his threatenings alike unworthy of respect. The penalty, when once incurred, can be preserved inviolate only by being executed. The pro- mise of everlasting well-being can be truthfully granted only when the condition of perfect obedience has been fulfilled. Suffering a righteous penalty entitles no crimi- nal to a reward ; and to offer eternal blessedness to such, on terms denied to unfallen Adam and to all angels, would be placing a premium on sin.
(2.) As to man’s moral disposition toward God, Scrip- ture and experience teach that it is a condition alike of conscious guilt and of alienation. (a) It is a condition of conscious guilt. Conscience is an indestructible ele- ment of human nature. It is God’s incorruptible witness in the soul, in the midst of all its moral corruption, judging of sin as he judges of it. It is armed with the vindicatory emotion of remorse, which demands expia- tion, and which never can be pacified by mere pardon. Pardon allays fear ; sanctification allays self-abhorrence ;
CHAPTER II.
Attitude of the in- dividual sinner,
26 THE NATURE OF THE ATONEMENT,
cxarterR but only expiation can appease remorse. (b) Man’s con-
Attitude of the moral
universe.
The or- thodox
~ doctrine
compre- hensive and con- sistent.
dition involves a disposition of fear, distrust, sullen alienation as respects God. This might all be removed by an exertion of new creative power. But God works upon man in consistency with his nature as a rational and free agent. Such an exhibition of God’s character and disposition toward man must be made, therefore, as shall tend, according to the laws of man’s moral and emotional nature, to subdue his alienation and to dissi- pate his distrust.
3. There is the moral universe, embraced in one gene- ral system of divine government. If sin is punished in one province, government is strengthened throughout the empire.’ On the other hand, if law is relaxed and sin pardoned by mere sovereign prerogative in any one pro- vince, the government is just so far forth dishonoured and weakened throughout all provinces and for all time. Sinful men, therefore, cannot properly be reconciled to God until after provision has been made to demonstrate to all the subjects of God’s government his immutable determination to punish sin in all cases without exception. _ The orthodox doctrine provides exhaustively for satis- fying all these conditions of redemption at once, by the one act of the Lord Jesus, in vicariously suffering the penalty of the broken law as the Substitute of his people. His motive was infinite love. The precise thing he did was to suffer the penalty of the law as the sub- stitute of his people. His direct intention was to satisfy justice in their behalf, and thus secure, on legal terms, their salvation. In doing this, he also neces- sarily satisfied the natural Cemand of the sinner’s con- science for expiation, and subdued his sullen alienation, and removed his distrust of God, by the supreme ex- hibition of divine love made on the cross. At the same
time, and by the same Ne to the whole
Ae
STATEMENT OF DOCTRINE. 27
moral universe the highest conceivable demonstration of czarrex God’s inexorable douunnation to punish all sin, just be- cause he did so punish it even in the person of his Son.
‘The Socinian, or Moral Influence Theory, supposes the
that the sole design and effect of Christ’s sufferings was }o™
to subdue the Paad alienation of man by an eehibe Bane partial,
tion of self-sacrificing love. It is evident that this invertea, and ab-
view is not only partial and inverted, making the recon- ,..4 ciliation of man to God everything, and the reconcilia- tion of God to man nothing, but it is also absurd when detached from the central idea of expiation. Christ's sufferings subdue the alienation of man because they exhibit divine love. They exhibit divine love, because they were endured as the means necessary to remove obstacles otherwise insuperable even by God to the exer- cise of favour to sinful men. <A tragedy got up for the transparent purpose of affecting our feelings, having no inherent principle or necessity in itself, would disgust rather than conciliate enmity.