Basic Truth Or Nonessential Belief ON THE INCARNATION - THE DISTINCTIVE ESSENTIALS Perhaps the most central doctrine to Christianity is that of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Without the incarnation, Christianity has no foundation and provides no hope for a fallen creation. "After over four millenniums, the first promise given to man is fulfilled, and Jesus was born as 'the seed of the woman' (Genesis 3:15; Matthew 1:1). Paul was very careful to state that when God sent forth His Son that He was 'made of a woman' (Galatians 4:4)—bit if a man and a woman, but only of a woman. Christ is the only babe the world has ever known who did not have a human father. He was divinely conceived. In this aspect of out meditation we are not principally concerned with the fact, time or place of Christ's birth, but with the manner of it. As the doctrine of the virgin birth is one of the most vital of the great doctrines of the Christian faith, it is imperative to consider it somewhat fully. The Incarnation is the most stupendous miracle comprehending and involving all other miracles, and because it is a theme both deep and delicate, infinite and incomprehensible, how necessary it is to follow Solomon's advice about 'finding out acceptable words' (Ecclesiastes 12:10)." — Dr. Herbert Lockyer, All The Doctrines Of The Bible, p. 39 READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The End Of The Incarnation Benjamin B. Warfield 1851-1921 That The Second Person Of The Trinity Assumed Human Nature Into Personal Union With Himself Thomas Goodwin 1600-1679 ON THE INCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST "It is not putting the matter too strongly when we say that the incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement. At least this seems to be the testimony of the Scriptures. Jesus Christ partook of flesh and blood in order that He might die (Heb. 2:14). . . .The very purpose of the entire coming of Christ into the world, in all its varying aspects, was that, by assuming a nature like unto our own, He might offer up His life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. . . .The atonement naturally arises out of the incarnation so that the Son of God could not appear in our nature without undertaking such a work as the word atonement denotes. The incarnation is a pledge and anticipation of the work of atonement. The incarnation is most certainly the declaration of a purpose on the part of God to save the world." — Dr. William Evans, The Great Doctrines Of The Bible, p.70 READ ABOUT THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST ON HIS WEBSITE The Incarnation Of The Triune God John F. MacArthur The Nature Of The Person Of Christ John Owen 1616-1683 Christ's Humiliation In His Incarnation Thomas Watson 1620-1686 ON THE INCARNATION OF TRUTH In a society that is ever searching, but never for the purpose of finding and performs based on the premise that truth is only what it means to any particular individual at one exclusive period in time, the concept of ultimate and unchanging truth is a foreign concept. This concept is foreign, except in one instance, where world society in unison states that it is absolutely true that there is no absolute truth. "As far as historic Christianity is concerned, continuity in the Church is maintained by a well- defined content. . . . In contrast, the new theology has little or no place for content, For its proponents, the continuity of the church rests and turns on the experience which men have had down the ages. The men of the Old Testament, the men of the Early Church, the men of the Creeds and the Reformation and so on, all had experiences. It is not that the content of the experiences is the same, nor even that there is any content. It is the existence of experience as such which gives the continuity. . . . How then do the new theologians view the bible? They would say this: surrounding each of the men who wrote what makes up the bible there was a cultural pattern. This pattern was full of mistakes, mistakes of a primitive age and of man because he is finite, and they correspond to the writer's own level of cultural advancement. Therefore what the writers said was intrinsically linked up with the mistakes of the culture in which they happened to live. They expressed themselves in the faulty though-forms of the day. When they had an existential experience, this too was expressed verbally in a way which reflected the errors in thinking of their contemporary surroundings. Consequently, as the reader goes back to the Bible he must realise that what he reads is invariably full of mistakes, because of the era in which it was written. The words of the text are already an interpretation of experiences, the content of which cannot be known." — Francis A. Schaeffer, The God Who Is There Unlike the standards of the world, in which experience is the personification of truth rather than content, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of truth within Himself in which the nature and reality of His life is the standard by which truth is determined. Entering the stream of humanity, in which the concept of a tangible and unchanging standard of real and actual truth had been abandoned, Jesus Christ is the incarnation of truth, the embodiment of everything that is real and unchanging in relation to truth. Jesus Christ established Himself in the position of being literal and actual truth against which no other definition of truth can stand. As long as Jesus Christ lives, truth is established which cannot be denied or changed. READ BENJAMIN WARFIELD'S ARTICLE ABOUT INCARNATE TRUTH ON THIS WEBSITE Incarnate Truth Benjamin B. Warfield 1851-1921 ON THE INCARNATION - FALSE DOCTRINES Does it really matter what is believed about the Incarnation? So what if a person does not believe that Jesus Christ was divine? So what if a person believes that Jesus Christ was only human? He was a good man and said many good things, so isn't that enough? Why can't we just leave all of this stuff about God in man alone and concentrate on the good things about love, peace, happiness and brotherhood that Christ taught? That's the true message of Christianity, isn't it? Well, isn't it? READ THE ARTICLES ABOUT FALSE DOCTRINE ON THIS WEBSITE The Principle Of The Incarnation Benjamin B. Warfield 1851-1921 ON THE ATONEMENT - THE VIEW OF GOD There are many opinions about the Atonement. Books and articles have been written and sermons given over the centuries. Religious pronouncements continue to be made regarding some new and improved view that has been discovered through the self-proclaimed brilliance of some individual. Every clergyman has his own view and every religious leader has their personal agenda, but, what does God say about the Atonement? What is His view as to its nature and purpose? "But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors."READ THE ARTICLES ABOUT GOD'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE ATONEMENT ON THIS WEBSITE Looking At The Cross From God's Perspective John F. MacArthur Did Christ Die For Us Or For God John Piper Of Christ The Mediator Thomas Goodwin 1600-1679 ON THE ATONEMENT - THE NECESSITY OF CHRIST'S DEATH "It is not fully comprehended why it was necessary that Jesus Christ should leave the heavens, ...and come upon the earth to offer himself up a sacrifice; ...why this should be, why it was necessary that his blood should be shed is an apparent mystery. ...what sins of the world did he take away? We are told that it is the sin which Adam committed." Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, Prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, pp. 114 - 115, 1863. Spreading confusion as to the nature of the Atonement is the hallmark of virtually all false religions. If the nature and necessity of the atonement can be confused or are unknown, then the gospel message becomes meaningless and salvation itself is lost in the perplexing profusion of meaningless words. The death of Jesus Christ does have meaning apart from the doctrines taught by human beings; it was planned by God, accomplished by Christ Himself and He was not confused or ignorant about what was its nature and meaning. "...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."Is there confusion about the necessity of Christ's death? Has God hidden the reason for the death of His Son or was His death unforeseen by God and Christ? The apostle Paul was not ignorant of the reason and he stated: "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of god the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."READ THE ARTICLES ABOUT CHRIST'S DEATH ON THIS WEBSITE The Necessity Of The Atonement Francis Turretin 1623-1687 The Atonement J. Gresham Machen 1881-1937 ON THE ATONEMENT - THE SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST What is it that is called, "so great a salvation" in Hebrews 2:3 but is unknown by the majority of church members and leaders today? "When asked if 'only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved,' 43 percent of parishioners, 50 percent of elders, 39 percent of clergy and 24 percent of specialized clergy agreed. The nature and role of Jesus in salvation has divided the church in recent years. A furor erupted in 2001 when one pastor rhetorically asked, 'So, what's the big deal about Jesus?' and suggested there may be other avenues for salvation." — Kevin Eckstrom, Religion News Service, Presbyterians: Jesus is True, But Not Necessary for Salvation READ THE ARTICLES ABOUT THE SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST Was Anyone Saved At The Cross? James White Christ The Redeemer Thomas Watson 1620-1686 ON THE ATONEMENT - FALSE DOCTRINES "For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine respecting "the atonement and priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." We must boldly maintain that the death of our Lord on the cross was no common death. It was not the death of one who only died like Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, as a martyr. It was not the death of one who only died to give us a mighty example of self-sacrifice and self-denial. The death of Christ was an offering up to God of Christ's own body and blood, to make satisfaction for man's sin and transgression. It was a sacrifice and appeasement; a sacrifice typified in every offering of the Mosaic law, a sacrifice of the mightiest influence on all mankind. Without the shedding of that blood there could not be, there never was to be, any remission of sin." — J.C. Ryle, Pharisees and Sadducees "That the modern mind fails to see in the doctrine of the atonement what the orthodox faith has held for centuries to be the truth of God regarding this fundamental Christian doctrine, there is no doubt. To some minds today the death of Jesus Christ was but the death of a martyr, counted in the same category as the death of John Huss or Savonarola. Or perchance Christ's death was an exhibition to a sinful world of God's wondrous love. Or it may be that Christ, in His suffering of death, remains forever the sublime example of adherence to principles of righteousness and truth, even to the point of death. Or, again, Calvary may be an episode in god's government of the world. God. being holy, deemed it necessary to show to the world His hatred of sin, and so His wrath fell on Christ. The modern mind does not consider Christ's death as in any sense vicarious, or substitutionary. Indeed, it fails to see the justice as well as the need or possibility of one man, and He so innocent, suffering for the sins of the whole race—past, present and future.." — Dr. William Evans, The Great Doctrines Of The Bible, p. 73 READ THE ARTICLES ABOUT FALSE DOCTRINE ON THIS WEBSITE Open Theism's Attack On The Atonement John F. MacArthur The Gospel Of Inclusion On Doctrine or E-MAIL ON DOCTRINE AT: ondoctrine@ondoctrine.com
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