Acceptance (Hastings' Dictionary)

Accept and connate words are used in Scripture to denote the relation of favour and approvELl in which one man may stand to other men, and especially to God. Of the various phrases employed to convey the idea, those of most frequent occurrence are in OT, fty'j ' to raise,' and nyi 'to associate with, have pleasure in,' and in N'r, tvap4<TTos, ' well pleasing.' The conditions of A. with God appear in OT partly as ceremonial, partly as moral ana religious.

Purifications and sacrifices (which see) are necessary in view of human ignorance and sin. But the sacrifices must be offered in a spirit free from greed or deceit. To enforce the moral disposition which must accom- pany every offering, is one of the great functions of the propnets. When the covenant has been established between God and Israel, entrance into it becomes a condition of receiving, and especially of having a joyful assurance of, the divine grace and favour. Similarly in NT, A.

is set forth as only in Jesus Christ and for His sake (Eph 1», 1 P 2») ; and, as the history of the patriarchs presents us with living pictures of what is acceptable to God under the old covenant, so Jesus is Himself the Beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased (Mt 3" 17°), and the type of all that God receives and approves. A. Stewart.