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SEAM.
XXX7.]
THE ATONEMENT
OF
CHRIST.
87
large
by
the apostles in
their
writings, when they were
fully furnished for
their
ministry,
by
the
gifts
of
the
Holy Ghost. Read
St.
Paul's
letters
to
the
churches,
and
you find them
abounding
in
such
expressions as
these
:
"
Christ died
for
our
sins
;"
1
Cor.
xv. 3.
" He
gave
himself
for
us,
to
redeem
us
from
all
iniquity,
""
14.
"
We
have
redemption through
his
blood,"
Eph,
i.
7.
"
God
was
in
Christ reconciling
the world
to
himself;
not
imputing
their
trespasses
to
them.
He
was
made
sin,"
2
Cor.
v.
19,
21.
"
And
he was
made
a
curse for
us,"
Gál.
iii.
13.
"
He
is
our propitiation
.
and
atonement,"
1
John
ii.
2.
"
He appeared to
put
away sin
by
the sacrifice
of
himself,"
Heb.
ix.
26.
"
When
we
were
enemies
we
were
reconciled
to
God
by
his
death,"
Rom.
y, 10.
"
He
made peace
by
the
blood
of
his cross,"
Col. i.
20.
"
He
was
delivered
for
our
offences,
and raised again for
our justification,"
Rom.
iv.
25.
"
By
the righteousness
of
one man,
the
free
gift
came
-upon
all
men
to
justification
of
life. By
the obedience
of
one shall many be made righteous,"
Rom.
v.
18,
19.
Nów
in
the writings
of
St.
Paul
on this subject,
we
may
observe
three
things.
1.
He speaks
this
language, when
in a plain
doctrinal
way
he
is
teaching
the gospel
of
Christ,
therefore these
expressions of
his
are
to be
understood
in
the common
sense and
meaning of
the
words.
It
would
be
a
very
great
force and
torture
put
upon these expressions,
if
we
construe
them only to
mean,
that
God
promised
for-
giveness to
penitent
sinners
by
Jesus
Christ,
as
a messen-
ger
of
grace,
and
that Christ
died
as
a
martyr
to
bear
witness
to
this
truth.
Read
his
epistles to the
Romans,
the Ephesians, the
Colossians,
and
the Hebrews, where
he
treats
of
these subjects,
and
you
will find
that
the
apostle
in his
doctrine
of
atonement,
means much more
than
this
;
for
he
talks
in
a plain rational and argumen-
tative
style
and
method,
to inform
the minds
of
men,
of
the true
design
of
the death
of
Christ,
and
give
them
the clear
knowledge
of
the
truth.
2.
He not
only
represents
the death
of
Christ
as
our
atonement
for
sin,
but
he
declares this
to be
the
great
end
of
his
appearing
in
the
flesh.
Heb.
ii.
14.
"
Be-
cause
the children
were
partakers
of
flesh
and blood,
G4