Effectual Atonement, or No Atonement
Don Fortner

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:10-12

What happened at Calvary? Did the Lord Jesus Christ redeem us from all iniquity; or did he merely make us redeemable? Did he actually put away our sins; or did he merely make it possible for our sins to be put away? Did the Lamb of God reconcile us to God; or did he merely make us reconcilable? Did he justify his people; or did he simply make it possible for them to be justified? Did he effectually secure the salvation of those for whom he died; or did he only make salvation a possibility for them? Did the incarnate Son of God actually make atonement for sin by the shedding of his blood; or did he just make a stab at it? Either the Son of God made an effectual atonement for the sins of his people, or he made no atonement at all.

Hear the Word of God as it was spoken by the mouth of his prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53:10-12 is a true, divinely inspired description of the sin-atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and its results. Read every word with thoughtful reverence, and learn the Bible doctrine of the atonement.

“He shall be satisfied!”

God’s prophet declares, “He shall be satisfied!” How I love this word of promise from our God! Let me state it as emphatically as I possibly can. “He,” the Son of God, our glorious Substitute, our great Sin Offering, our divine Savior, the one who died in our place at Calvary, “shall,” without a doubt, without the possibility of hindrance, most assuredly, “be satisfied,” fully, completely, eternally satisfied! He was satisfied with the terms of redemption proposed to him as our Surety in the covenant of grace before the world was made. He is satisfied with his purchased possession, his bride the Church. He is satisfied with himself as a ransom price for the satisfaction of justice. And he shall be satisfied with us, his redeemed ones.

“He shall not fail!”

This is an inspired declaration of complete, effectual redemption accomplished by Jehovah’s Righteous Servant, our Substitute and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. “He shall not fail!” The Son of God can never be frustrated in his purpose, defeated in his design, or hindered in his work. Christ was not conquered at Calvary. He conquered! “He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied!” The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ shall never be discovered a miscarriage. The Lion of the tribe of Judah must prevail. Isaiah prophesied of, and the Word of God universally teaches the infallible efficacy of Christ’s atonement. I want you to see from the Word of God the glorious, absolute, saving efficacy of Christ’s atonement.

Prophets of Baal

The subject matter before us is a matter of utmost concern. The one thing that characterizes every messenger of Satan is a denial of the efficacy of Christ’s atonement. The one point of doctrine upon which all false prophets are agreed is this: — They all deny that every soul for whom Christ died shall be saved. They may give lip service to Bible doctrine and Bible terms; but they deny the very foundation of the gospel, which is substitution.

These modern day prophets of Baal preach a redemption that redeems no one, an atonement that atones for nothing, and a salvation that saves no one. They preach possibility redemption, possibility atonement, possibility grace, and possibility salvation. The Word of God teaches that every sinner for whom Christ died shall, upon the grounds of justice satisfied, be saved.