Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

95
The very heart of the atonement is the
overcoming of sin: sin in its character as the
rebellion of man against God, and in its
character as the ground of man's hopeless
destiny in death. It was to fulfill this
judgment on sin that the Son of God as man took
our place as s1nners.2
For Barth, Jesus' atonement was by no means 'limited'.
He died in the place of all sinners. All mankind shares
equally in redemption. "In the suffering and death of
Jesus Christ it has come to pass that in His own person
He has made an end of us as sinners and therefore of sin
itself. . . In His person He has delivered up us
sinners and sin itself to destruction."
Stewart's position is similar. with only slight
difference in emphasis. Stewart saw personal sin as a
barrier preventing (from man's side) man's relationship
to God, but also placed great emphasis on God's need to
overcome an evil force objective to man. This objective
evil served as a primary cause of man's sin.'" On the
cross, however, Jesus both bore the consequences of man's
sin and destroyed the greater evil force."5
Although Stewart was more hesitant than Barth to
avow universal salvation, he leaned toward this position.
Thus, according to both Barth and Stewart, the death of
Christ has objectively changed humanity's state, bringing
all men to reconciliation with God.
While both Barth and Stewart believed in the
obiective significance of the cross, neither saw any
change occurring within God himself. God's love and
acceptance of man eternally predate the cross.