Dr Paul Allen

Who needs to be saved? Everyone! Not one person has escaped sin’s devastating effects, and no one can do anything about this on their own. We come to the solution to this universal problem: the doctrine of salvation. The basis of salvation for any and every individual is Christ’s death—and only Christ’s death. This truth is known as the sufficiency of the death of Christ . Anything we sinful humans might contribute to our own salvation is excluded. When Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished” ( John 19:30 ), he meant it. The gospel—the good news of salvation—is succinctly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:1–8: 2-5 By this gospel you are saved … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared [to the disciples and hundreds of others]. The good news is that anyone can be saved by believing that Jesus died for their sins, was buried, and was resurrected. The significance...

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. NB - slightly cut down - for full size see here (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In our day, few seem concerned with the question, "How can a sinner like me live with God forever?" But that question is central to the biblical storyline. The doctrine of atonement answers that question, and what many fail to see, is that this idea started all the way back in Eden where out of judgment a triumphant promise sounds forth: the seed of the woman—the Messiah – will crush the serpent's head! While many critique the Christ -centered interpretation of the Old Testament as reading back into the text what's not there, these critiques fail primarily because they assume the OT on its own terms is not Christ-centered. But that's exactly what it is! So when we think about Christ's atonement we must go back to the beginning. In Eden, God establishes an expectation...