1. False: It was Unnecessary
          God required no satisfaction for sin before He could pardon the sinner

        2. False: It was Hypothetically Necessary
          God could have redeemed us by a host of means, but He chose the Cross

        3. True: It was Absolutely Necessary
          Understand Two Things: There is a Holy God, and Sin is an offense before that God

          "It is quite evident, however, that atonement was necessary in view of the justice of God. This was violated
          by man's transgression, and therefore naturally called for satisfaction. The righteousness and holiness of
          God, which can brook no sin, certainly cannot simply overlook open defiance to His infinite majesty. God
          hates sin with a divine hatred, and His whole being reacts against it (Gen. 18:25; Ex. 20:5, 23:7; Ps. 5:6, 7;
          Nah. 1:2; Rom. 1:18, 32). Moreover, the veracity of God required that the sentence which He had
          pronounced on sin should be executed (Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 6:23)." - Manual of Christian Doctrine, by Louis
          Berkhof

     The Prime Mover
     It was God's good pleasure to save sinners by a substitionary atonement. Some see Christ as assuaging God's
     wrath, but there was no division of thought within the Trinity.

        2. An Expression of Enmity (hostility versus love) Mankind is at enmity with God. He is the offended party,
          and Jesus Christ acts as a Mediator.
               We are enemies and haters of God, openly defiant to His infinite majesty. We follow after our father,
               the devil.
               God is the injured party. We have severed the relationship, not Him. He has never violated us, nor
               acted wrongly towards us. God is "sorely displeased."

        3.A Crime against the Law of God
          Mankind has committed a crime against God. God is our Governor and Judge, and Christ becomes a
          Priest and Victim.
               We have transgressed against God's law.
               God is the Judge. We are judged using His holiness as the standard.

     God hates sin
     "Not all the vials of judgement that have or shall be poured out upon the wicked world, nor the flaming furnace of a
     sinner's conscience, nor the irreversible sentence pronounced against the rebellious demons, nor the groans of
     the damned creatures give such a demonstration of God's hatred of sin, as the wrath of God let loose upon His
     Son." - The Attributes of God, by Stephen Charnock

     "The god which the vast majority of professing Christians love, is looked upon very much like an indulgent old
     man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the indiscretions of youth. But the Word says,
     'Thou hatest the workers of iniquity' (Ps. 5:5). And again, 'God is angry with the wicked every day' (Ps 7:11). But
     men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their
     attention." - The Attributes of God, by A. W. Pink.

     Our sin (debts, enmities, and crimes) require satisfaction if we are to stand face-to-face with God.
        1. Pecuniary offenses require payment. Anyone with the means can pay this debt for another. No human has
          the means to pay someone's pecuniary debt before God.
        2. Penal offenses demand punishment, and unlike a pecuniary offense, God has the right to accept or reject
          a substitution on our behalf.
        3. Jesus is our substitute and pays our offenses, both pecuniary and penal, and God accepts His payment
          on our behalf.

     Salvation is deliverance from a present danger. What is our present danger? We are under God's judgement and
     wrath, and Jesus is our ransom.

     Definitions
        1. Redeemer: one who provides a ransom
        2. Ransom: setting something free. In ancient societies, it was the price paid to set free slaves, etc.
        3. Expiation: to make atonement for someone
        4. Propitiation: to appease an offended party. For example, "God is propitiated by Christ's expiation."

     Christ is victorious over Satan in His death on the cross, but that does not mean Christ paid Satan the ransom
     to free us (i.e., the Ransom Theory). Christ's life and death served to placate the wrath of God against us (irae
     placata Deo).

     Justification is related to man's sin (unjust) and God's holiness (just).
        1. Total Depravity refers to the sinful pollution of all of mankind. "Total" does not refer to utter depravity (as
          bad as we can be). "Total" means it is radical -- affecting the whole person in every area. Our sin is
          measured externally by the law and internally by the heart.
        2. If God is too holy to even look on sin, so how can the unjust become just? God could not overlook our
          unjustness without forfeiting His own justness. There needs to be a mediator.

     Justification is a double transaction
        1. Justification is a forensic term (i.e., a formal, declarative act) and an imputation of something not ours.
        2. Jesus takes on our sins, and we get His righteousness. We are "simultaneously a sinner and justified by
          God" (M. Luther). This is the Good News -- Christ's death was my punishment and His life, my justice. We
          have a foreign righteousness.
        3. Justification is applied by faith alone (sola fide) and is by Christ alone (solus Christus).
 

     The Atonement of Christ is the culmination of centuries of God's work within His covenant.
        1.A covenant has the following aspects: a historical prologue by the Sovereign involved, terms and
          stipulations of the agreement, and dual sanctions (rewards and penalties).
        2. In the Old Testament (e.g., Deut. 28), the reward was a "blessing" and the penalty, a "curse."

     The Meaning of Blessing and Curse
        1.A blessing to a Jew meant the supreme favour of God.
               "The LORD bless you and keep you,
               The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
               The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
               (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV)
               The above text uses synthetic parallelism to compare three identical ideas. The blessings of the
               Lord are compared to His face shining upon us and His countenance lifted up to us. These ideas
               show blessings to be a proximity, a nearness, to God.

        2.A curse is the opposite of a blessing.
               The Lord is removed from us; He has turned His face away from us.
               He is judgmental (opposite of gracious) and gives turmoil instead of peace.
               Note that the Gentiles were strangers and foreigners, outside of the Israelite "household". Note also
               that the scapegoat under the sacrificial system had the sins of the people ceremonially transferred
               to it, and that it was driven outside the camp into the wilderness. Both are symbols (i.e., types) of a
               curse.

     On the cross, Christ becomes a curse for us -- all the covenantal sanctions are passed to Him (cf. Galatians
     3:8-13).

        1. Literally, Christ was driven outside the camp. He was delivered to the Gentiles for judgement. He was killed
          by death on a cross, a Roman means of execution, not Jewish. He was crucified outside Jerusalem.
        2. Christ was forsaken by the Father when He took on the sins of the world. He was completely and utterly
          cut-off. He suffered hell on the cross.

        2. The atonement can be described as:

               "sufficient" - the atonement holds infinite value "efficient"

                  1. Defined as "acting directly to produce an effect"
                  2. Universalists say Christ's atonement was "efficient for all" (i.e., all are saved).
                  3. We don't believe it was "efficient for all", but for whom was it efficient? To answer that, we
                    must consider the intent and design of the atonement.

     The Efficiency of the Atonement: the Intent and Design

        1. For those who aren't universalists, there are two options for the atonement's intent and design:
               Option 1: God intended and designed the atonement for all men. (Armenian)
               Option 2: God intended and designed the atonement for certain people (the elect). (Calvinism)

        2. The Arminianist position holds that Christ's saving work makes possible salvation for all men on the
          condition of faith, but does not guarantee or secure the salvation of any person. The atonement is limited
          in effectiveness. It saves no one, but makes it possible for all people. Salvation is conditioned on a
          person's faith. The expiation and propitiation of Christ are conditioned on man. God can be frustrated
          when people reject Him, and He hopes some will be saved.

        3. The Calvinist position holds that Christ's saving work actually secures the salvation of certain people and
          not others. The atonement is limited in scope (or extent). It saves only certain people. God is not
          frustrated, and He knows with certainty all He secured salvation for through Christ will be saved.