The Atonement as a Resounding Success or a Dismal Flop

It is hard to believe that any of those who call upon Jesus as Lord of life would consider Him and His work on the cross as a disappointing failure. We have to remember that is exactly how Jesus' first followers felt, at least for three days when they were cowering in the corner for "fear of the Jews." A conquering Messiah who would free them from the shackles of Rome? Instead, all they got for their three years of devotion to this rabbi from Nazareth was their hoped-for messiah dying at the hands of Rome. That was not exactly what they had in mind for a deliverer. In their depressed, misguided mental state for three days, Jesus was a dismal flop. Maybe the taunting crowd got it right--He could save others, but He could not save Himself. How can one deliver us from Rome when that same one is delivered over to Rome to die, and the one did nothing to prevent it?

Sunday came, and how a resurrection can be a cure for so many ills! The first Christian sermon was preached on the Day of Pentecost by none other than the thrice-denying Peter. All of a sudden as one reads Acts 2 we get the immediate impression that Peter, the other apostles and the first believers thought of Jesus and His crucifixion as a resounding success story. It finally dawned on them that Jesus' cry from the cross was not "I am finished", but "It is finished." The atonement for man's sin was mission accomplished. Deliverance from the power and penalty of sin, and one day from the presence of sin, was and is far more earth-shattering and world-changing than a political deliverance from some mortal enemies.

When it comes to understanding the impact of the atonement, are we in the corner with the post-resurrection apostles, or are we more identifiable with the pre-resurrection apostles? Are we relishing in a success story, or are we pondering an event of colossal failure and massive disappointment?

No matter how one wants to slice it or parse it, either we are on the side of "It is finished", or "Well, really it is not quite yet finished."

Did Jesus' death on the cross actually procure the salvation of anyone? Or did Jesus' death merely make it possible for a person to be saved? Are people redeemed by Jesus' blood, or are people just made redeemable? Did Jesus' death accomplish anything, i.e. "It is finished", or was Jesus' death a necessary piece of the salvation puzzle, but something is needed from us to make it complete, i.e. "Well, really it is not quite yet finished?"

As indicated in John 17 by Jesus Himself, Jesus died for all those whom the Father had given Him. If Jesus died for no one in particular and everyone in general, then we are stuck with two equally bad options: either all people are saved as logic demands it, or Jesus' death is insufficient to save us from our sin, because something else must be supplied by man and his "free will", in order for salvation to be realized. Look at the obvious results if the latter is true. Most die and go to eternity apart from God. "Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it." That means that Jesus' death was for the most part a dismal flop. Most of His blood was spilled in vain. Do we really want to believe we have a failure for a Savior?

We have much better news to share with the world than a "maybe so Savior and possible Lord with an iffy salvation offer." God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)

Those whom God has chosen, those whom God's Spirit calls, and those for whom the Son dies, all belong to the same group of people. They are God's success story. Every person for whom Jesus died will be saved. Every drop of Jesus' blood was shed for a definite purpose and for a definite people. It is finished.

How does a person know beforehand if he is a person that God has chosen beforehand, and that Jesus' death was meant for him? Easy. Just repent from sin and trust solely in Jesus, and that person will know. God will never refuse a repentant sinner. The verse that ends with "and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" is preceded by "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." (John 6:37) He will always get His man, His woman, His boy, His girl. And the man, the woman, the boy and the girl that come to the Lord will always get Him.

None of the apostles or early Christians in the book of Acts ever looked into the eye of a lost person and said, "Jesus died for you, or Jesus died for everyone in the world." Not one sermon or witnessing activity in the book of Acts ever records anything like that. What we do find over and over again is the telling of God's success story. Jesus died, He rose from the grave, you must believe in Him, you must turn from your sin, and when you do, you will find forgiveness from your sin and eternal life in Him. "And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)

There is not much good news in a dismal flop, if truly Jesus' death was weak and ineffective by itself. The ones who propose a really limited atonement are those who say that Jesus is severely limited in saving anyone, and truth be told, if Jesus died for no one in particular then it would be feasible that no one would ever be saved, since it relies upon the exercise of sinful man to complete what Jesus had done.

So either we believe that Jesus' death was a resounding success or a dismal flop. Either we belong in the camp of the post-resurrection apostles or the pre-resurrection apostles. During this most holy week of the year for all believers in Christ, I pray more and more will side with the victorious gospel, and let the world continue to traffic in all the stories of widespread disappointments and abject failures. That will only make God's success story stand out in sharper contrast.

Yours in Christ,
Chris