Lux Lucet

The Atonement by Gordon H. Clark (Jefferson, MD: The Trinity Foundation, 1987, 163 pages), $8.95.

Chapters Include: Introduction on Method; The Doctrine in its Simplicity; The Covenant of Redemption; The Covenant of Grace; The Incarnation; The Virgin Birth; The Human Nature of Christ; The Purpose of the Incarnation; Active Obedience; The Covenant of Works; The Vicarious Sacrifice; Expiation; Propitiation; Satisfaction; Federal Headship; Absolute Necessity; Traducianism; The Sovereignty of God; The Extent of the Atonement.

A few years back, American Express ran a television advertisement that featured the story of a man who visited Norway thinking he was going to see the land of his ancestors only to find upon arrival that he actually was of Swedish descent. Or perhaps it was the other way around. At any rate, he wasn’t who he thought he was.

I had a similar experience when I first began to study theology. As I worked through a book on systematic theology with a very generous and learned reformed Baptist pastor, I found, much to my surprise, I was an Arminian. This was particularly shocking to me, as I had never so much as heard the word before, let alone realized I was one. In truth, my experience wasn’t so unusual. Such is the dominance of Arminian theology in American Evangelical churches that Arminians generally are unaware of their Arminianism. It’s taken for granted that Christ died for all men, and little or no serious thought is given to an alternative. When the doctrines of grace, what we would call Calvinism, are discussed, many folks raised in the broad evangelical church are shocked and offended that someone actually could believe that God does not love all men, that some are in fact reprobate and fitted for destruction, and that this is the historic teaching of the Reformation.

The Atonement by Clark is a masterful treatment of the Biblical doctrine of the atonement. Clark is an unabashed Calvinist and his defense of limited atonement is as logically sound as any this reviewer has read. But The Atonement is not principally written as a refutation of Arminianism. In fact, Clark does not address this issue until the last chapter. For the most part, Clark focuses the reader’s attention on the various subsidiary doctrines that that make up the doctrine of the atonement, which is simply what the Bible teaches about how sinful men are reconciled to an all holy God.

Those familiar with Clark’s work will find themselves right at home in The Atonement. The author quotes a good deal of Scripture right in the text itself and then proceeds to exposit them. He also spends a good deal of time refuting, “well-meaning but inadequate defenses of the Biblical truths and definite attacks on the Christian faith” (7).

One such attack Clark addresses is that of Dispensationalism. It may come as a surprise to some that Clark would bring up this issue in a book about the atonement, but his explanation of dispensationalist teaching makes clear that this subject falls within the scope of a work on the atonement. In short, Clark argues that Dispensationalism, “in effect says that sinners during the millennium will be saved, not by the blood, merits, and grace of Christ, but by their obedience to the beatitudes, which are ”pure law”…The Scripture quite the reverse of Dispensationalism, asserts that there is just one way of salvation.” Clark then concludes, “this is the fatal error that removes Dispensationalism from the sphere of evangelical Christianity.”

This may seem a harsh judgment to some. But when considered in light of the historic meaning of the term “evangelical” – “evangelical” was originally used to describe someone who believed 1) that the Bible is the sole authority in matters of Christian doctrine and 2) that justification is by faith [belief] alone – this is entirely fair. For Dispensationalism denies that justification is by faith alone, positing instead that some persons can be saved by their law keeping. For those interested in reading Clark’s comments on Dispensationalism, this portion of The Atonement is posted on the Trinity Review website under the title Dispensationalism.

As one would expect from Clark, the book is full of definitions. Among the most helpful are Clark’s discussion of the terms “expiation”, “propitiation”, and “satisfaction”, all three of which, as Clark points out, are different aspects of the Vicarious Atonement. “Expiation,” Clark tells us, “means the canceling of sin” (70). On the other hand, “propitiation is some process or other by which the anger or wrath of one person toward another is dissipated…sins are expiated; God is propitiated.

Chapter 14 addresses satisfaction. And Clark, drawing on his knowledge of church history brings up a fact that likely will surprise contemporary readers. Remarkably, as it turns out, “From sub-apostolic times well into the Middle Ages the predominant view was that Christ’s death was a ransom paid to Satan. Satan had certain rights over man, whom he had enslaved, and man could not be redeemed without someone’s paying a satisfactory ransom-price to Satan” (80). The correct view of satisfaction, as Clark tells us, is given in the Westminster Confession Chapter VIII.5, “The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself…hath fully satisfied the justice of the Father.” God has so constructed the universe that all debts must be paid. Christ’s death was the ransom, the satisfaction, for the sins of his people. In this way God is both, “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

A subsidiary point is Clark’s treatment of “justice”. Clark distinguishes between two types of justice, “civil or financial justice as distinct from criminal justice.” Clark illustrates the difference thus: “If Mr. X owes Mr. Y a hundred dollars, financial justice is completely satisfied if Mr. Z pays the debt for Mr. X. But if Mr. X robs a bank or murders someone, Mr. Z cannot satisfy justice by taking his punishment” (84). Note well, Clark does not talk about “social justice,” which is simply another name for theft by government, a notion popular with the Romanists and progressives.

Worth noting too is Clark’s treatment of the incarnation. Shortly before his death, Clark wrote The Incarnation in which he posited two revolutionary ideas: 1) he defined a person as a the ideas he thinks, and 2) asserted that Jesus Christ was and is two persons on one individual, a divine person and a human person. In the opinion of this reviewer, Clark was correct on both counts. While one sees some of these same ideas expressed in The Atonement, they are not set forth with the same clarity as is found in Clark’s later work.

Perhaps it should have been mentioned earlier in this review, but I would be remiss if I failed to express my admiration for the Forward to the book written by John Robbins. It is remarkable both for its brevity and profundity.

All in all, The Atonement is an exceptional work and belongs on the bookshelf of every serious Christian.