Divine Propitiation Part 4 -- By: Richard Herman Seume
Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 100:398 (Apr 1943)
Article: Divine Propitiation Part 4
Author: Richard Herman Seume
BSac 100:398 (Apr 43) p. 289
Divine Propitiation
Part 4
(Concluded from the October-December Number, 1942)
{Editor’s note: Footnotes in the original printed edition were numbered 48–56, but in this electronic edition are numbered 1–9 respectively.}
The Object of Propitiation
1. Theological Aspects.
A great deal of misunderstanding has arisen through failure to distinguish the three essential doctrines which compose the finished work of Christ. Theologians have not been precise in their definitions of terms, and as a result there has been much confusion in seeking to set forth the categorical difference which obtain with the doctrines of redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation. There is an important distinction to be made. We shall endeavor to set forth that distinction briefly.
Redemption is the sinward aspect of the death of Christ. To say this necessarily contradicts what most modern theologians conceive of as the meaning of the term. To them, redemption includes all that our Lord wrought in His sufferings and death. We believe, however, that the extent of Christ’s work on the cross was far too extensive to be comprehended adequately in any single term. To quote Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, “Redemption is an act of God by which He Himself pays as a ransom the price of human sin which the outraged holiness and government of God requires. Redemption undertakes the solution of the problem of sin, as reconciliation undertakes the solution of the problem of sinners, and propitiation undertakes the problem of an offended God. All are infinitely important and all are requisite to the analysis of the whole doctrine of Christ’s finished work-a work finished, indeed, to the point of divine perfection...”1
Therefore it is to be concluded that the doctrine of redemption properly concerns the problem of sin. Christ in
BSac 100:398 (Apr 43) p. 290
His death paid the ransom price, and all that a sinner need do is to believe that which has already been accomplished in his behalf.
The second doctrine in this vital trilogy is that of reconciliation. Here we are discussing the effect of the death of Christ upon the sinner himself. The Word of God always speaks of man as the one who is reconciled, never God. There is nothing in God that requires changing, but man does need to be brought back into the place of right relationship with God and is therefore the legitimate object of the reconciliation. Note such passages as 2 Corinthians 5:18–20; Romans 5:10,
Click here to subscribe