From its very inception, atonement has been 100% God’s doing and zero percent man’s. History illustrates man is incapable of saving himself. Furthermore, humanity possesses an unequivocal predisposition to sin and self-condemnation. The Bible teaches “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And the messy business of sin necessitates an unpleasant solution that only comes through sacrifice and loss of life. From the slaughter of bulls to the oblation of an unblemished lamb, there is a price to be paid.
The Bible tells us that, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22). While many find this notion offensive, what is truly revolting is the blood loss that results from sin. This often manifests as the blood of innocents that is shed at the hands of oppression, in some of the most horrific and abusive violations of human rights.
It is absolutely tragic that humanity willingly embraces the lure of temptation and capitulates to sin with such acquiescence. Carnal deception is the entrapment that holds civilization in bondage to the father of lies. From the presumed innocence of the uncritical consumption of pornography to the harsh reality of child trafficking, sin is subtly progressive. Sin propagates a cycle of pain that enslaves society. Sin is a nasty business.
Full blown sinfulness spawns: abuse, oppression, persecution, violence, murder, torture, war and all kinds of evil. It penetrates the human heart, disrupts relationships, creates injustice, generates greed, drives division, and causes suffering, while undermining social order and spiritual well being. Sin is ultimately a filthy, bloody mess.
FRON THE VERY BEGINNING
From the very beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden, blood was shed in response. Not only was paradise lost and innocence forfeited, but death entered the world because an animal had to pay the price of their sin.
When Adam and Eve realized they were naked, they “sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” (Genesis 3:7). And they hid from God when they heard Him coming because they were afraid. How quickly their spiritual fellowship with God became apprehension and spiritual estrangement! They died spiritually that very day!
Interestingly, God did not accept their attempt to hide their shame and “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21). This significant act of mercy demonstrated the inadequacy of their efforts to address their guilt and reinforces the truth that God alone provides meaningful atonement which requires sacrifice.
Adam learned the hard lesson that without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sin. However, he also was the recipient of grace whereby God covered his shame with the animal’s skin. What Adam and Eve were incapable of – God accomplished through love and mercy. In that moment, His grace was greater than their sin and He alone provided the necessary atonement to cover their guilt.
Additionally, this first sacrifice foreshadowed the Mosaic dispensation, and was symbolic of the atonement that Jesus Christ provided on the cross at Calvary. It was the initial illustration of substitutionary sacrificial ransom, where the innocent pay the price of the guilty. The righteous for the unrighteous.
HUMANS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF THEIR OWN REDEMPTION
Furthermore, this act demonstrates that humans are not capable of their own redemption. Isaiah 64:6 discloses, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.” We can only be redeemed by the gracious intervention of God.
This fundamental precept is proclaimed by Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Salvation is all of God and none of man.
But Jesus did more than make atonement for the sins of humanity. By resurrecting, He removed our sins from our record of wrongs. He stripped away the inadequate works of our attempts at righteousness and clothed us in His supreme righteousness. Isaiah 61:10 reminds us, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,”.
In Leviticus 17:11 God declares, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” However, as the writer of Hebrews teaches, “The Law is only a foreshadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would have no longer felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said,’ Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, My God.’” (Hebrews 10:1-7). We receive our righteousness through Christ’s sacrifice.
JESUS PROVIDES MORE THAN ATONEMENT
Furthermore, Jesus provides more than atonement, He also serves as our advocate (Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1). And He assumes the role of judge over all of humanity as well. Paul writes in Acts 17:31, “For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
Imagine standing in a courtroom and listening as the judge reads out your crimes and the punishment for each. One by one, the penalty of death is declared before the court. But before pronouncing the sentence, the judge stands up and walks around the bench to stand next to you. He then takes your place as the accused and accepts his own sentencing. You receive a complete pardon because he pays your indebtedness to Himself.
This is a difficult concept for some to accept, yet it has been God’s methodology from the very beginning. That is precisely what our Creator did by incarnating as the man Jesus of Nazareth and offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin, once – for all. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is underscored by the fact that what humans were incapable of achieving, our Creator has lovingly offered as a gift through grace.
In 1 John 4:9-10 the disciple declares, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
From the very first trespass in the garden to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, it has always been God covering man’s shame. Thus, the intrinsic divinity of Jesus is evident in His efficacious propitiation for the sins of the entire world, “once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:2).
This concept is underscored by Psalm 49:7-9 which declares, “No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – so that they should live on forever and not see decay.” No one but God – no payment but Himself.
We can only be redeemed from sin through the gracious intervention of God. From the inception of atonement, man’s attempts to make amends for sin have proven inadequate. And God has exclusively demonstrated His love for us through His grace and forgiveness in the face of sin and judgement – of His own volition.
