The Atonement

By Ron Corson

Remember when you were a child, how the good news of the Bible was so simple. You can probably still remember the first real complete Bible verse you learned. It went like this For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV). We grew up knowing that the gospel was simple, even a child could understand it. But as a child did we really understand it, and now as adults can we really say we understand it. That is, how could Jesus come and give His life and through that process somehow save us.

How many explanations of this process have you heard, doubtless at least two or three. Some think Christ was a sacrifice to appease God who says that somebody has to die since the law was broken. Others feel that God mystically placed all the sins of the entire world on Christ who then paid the death penalty for sin. This is similar to the first reason mentioned in that someone is dying because a sin was committed. If these reasons were correct than God’s justice would certainly be questioned. An as we must remember God is a just God.

Now if the above is not the method by which God grants us salvation how then are we saved. First let us look at a verse that is frequently used by those who promulgate the aforementioned methods, namely Christ died because the law was broken. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV). All who sin should die but and this is a very large exception, God is willing to give us a gift, the gift of eternal life. So now we see that God is willing to save us for no other reason than that he loves us. Remember John 3:16 that favorite from long ago. Now we know that God loves us and wants to save us but what about God sending His Son to live and die. If he did not come to die to pay the price for sin, why did he have to die?

Remember those who told us that the gospel was so simple, well they were completely right. Somehow we have strayed from the truth's simplicity. It only takes one sentence to explain why Jesus Christ came to earth to live and die and live again. He came to show us what God is like, what the devil is like and what happens when humans rebel against God. Okay so there are several different items in the one sentence and yes more could be added but that is the gist of it.

Let’s takes a more in depth look at why Jesus came to earth. Hebrews 2:17 explains; Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (KJV) Jesus came to reconcile us to God. "That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:19 (NIV) Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines reconcile as: to restore to friendship or harmony. Now that’s an important mission for we were once God’s enemies. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- Colossians 1:22(NIV)

Now that we understand that Christ came to reconcile us to God, we must determine how this is done. Before we can answer how we are reconciled we must first review how we became estranged from God. Back in the Garden of Eden we find man making his tragic mistake. In this beautiful garden that God had made for man we find that man questioned whether God really had mans best interests at heart. With the help of Satan in the guise of a serpent, man disregards Gods warnings. Satan blatantly called God a liar and he made several charges against God:

1. God is not a God of love and he does not have mans best interest in mind.

2. God is vindictive and to disagree with Him will bring His wrath upon one’s self.

3. God is not the only source of life. Every being has the potential to become a god and to be as God is. God is selfishly withholding knowledge from us. Choosing to believe Satan man separated himself from God.

The best way for God to reconcile us to Himself was for Him to answer our questions and misunderstandings about Him. This is the work of reconciliation that Jesus came to earth to perform.

1. God proved His love by sending His son John 3:16

2. God proved he is not vindictive by providing a way of escape from our sins, Romans 6:23. Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (NIV)

3. God shows that he is the source of life by the resurrection of Christ. Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. (NIV)

You may be saying to yourself did not Jesus die a Substitutionary death for us. Did not he have to die because God’s law says the wage of sin is death. Think about what this is saying...it says that one innocent man’s death can substitute for billions of sinner's deaths. This could in no way be considered justice. Justice would have the one innocent man freed from any penalties while the guilty pay for their crimes. Perhaps we are missing something, maybe there is an exception in this law on the wages of sin. let us take another look at Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Yes, there is an exception, there is a gift that can be given to those who desire to receive it. The result of remaining in sin is that you will die, but if you want the gift of God he will freely give it to you. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is the method God used to bring us to the point where we would desire to receive God’s free gift of grace. Romans 3:23-25 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- (NIV)

Did not Jesus taste death for everyone, therefore is not he our substitute according to Hebrews 2:9? But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (NIV) Here we see that Christ did die for everyone, however it is not a Substitutionary death. Christ’s death was a means of drawing us back to God. Remember what Ephesians 2:16 says: and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (NIV)

Finally, does not Hebrews 9:28 tell us that Christ bore our sins on the cross? So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 (NIV) To understand this text we must understand what sin is. How could all the murders, violence, and pain of sins be placed on Christ. In fact they cannot, but the attitude that is where all sin begins could be placed on Christ at the cross. Our desire to do our own thing is the entire reason why Christ had to come and die. To show us that our desires bring us only disaster, but submitting to God’s will, brings us the life that we desire. Sin is often correctly defined as being separated from God. This is what Christ demonstrated by submitting to people in rebellion against God. Separation from God leads to the cruelty that was poured out upon the one who never sinned. So much hate and cruelty that people were willing to kill their own creator. Acts 3:15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. (NIV) This is the result of sin, and this is the sin that Christ bore on the cross. This is Christ’s sacrifice, he gave up the joys of heaven to come to earth and share in mans suffering and then upon the cross he died, yet even as he died he offered the forgiveness that love offers all.. Then on the third day he arose, proving what he had told us was true and commissioning us to help Him in spreading the message of reconciliation.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (NIV)

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