22 December 2024
Atonement
Atonement is one of the central messages of the Bible.
●If man needs to come to God ,there needs to be reconciliation between sinful man and the Holy God.
● Sin separates man from God,
●A reconciliation process is required to reconcile man to God.
●This reconciliation is done through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
●Romans 3:25 ,Romans 5:11 ,Romans 5:19
●Romans 3:23 reads
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed
●Romans 5:11 speaks about the reconciliation we have received through Jesus Christ
“And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
●Chapter 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
●We were justified by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
●In the Old Testament to cover sin ,there were animal sacrifices.
●The book of Leviticus there are many sacrifices.
●5 kinds of sacrifices are mentioned,
●Chapter 1 speaks of Burnt Offering
●Chapter 2 speaks about Meal Offering
●Chapter 3 speaks about
Peace Offering
●Chapter 4 speaks about
Sin Offering
●Chapter 5 speaks about
Tresspass Offering
●This is a general typology we see in the Old Testament.
● In the New Testament ,we see the antitype of all these sacrifices and that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
●The Old Testament is a shadows of the things to be reavled, whereas a new Testament is the reality.
●There are several Atonements in the Old Testament, and every one of them involves the sacrifices of animals and the shedding of blood.
●There was:
▪︎Atonement for Priests,
▪︎Atonement for people,
▪︎Atonement for objects in the tabernacle
●Leviticus 23:7
Also, the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement.
●There were 7 festivals in Israel ,and one of those festivals was the Day of Atonement.
●On that day ,Atonement took place for the people of Israel ,and this Atonement was applicable for a year.
●In the New Testament, Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for all humanity, once and for all.
●Atonement and remission of sins required the shedding of blood.
●Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins .
●Jesus shed his blood on the cross for the remission of the sins of all mankind.
●Without the cross, there is no Christianity.
●Hebrews 2:14 says
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.
●So how did Jesus destroy sin , through death .
●Why did Jesus come to this earth?
People may give different answers. Some may say He came to heal the people, yet others may say that He came to perform miracles .
●But what is the real purpose of Jesus coming to earth?
●Jeasus became man and came to this earth for one purpose, He came to die.
●You are not saved by the preaching or by the manifestation of His glory, but by His death and resurrection.
●His death is the most important purpose of his incarnation.
●Mathew 20:28 reads
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
●The very purpose of incarnation was to shed His last drop of blood for humankind.
●We can see that the blood of Jesus Christ is mentioned 175 times in the New Testament.
●Luke 9:28 ,where we see Jesus transfiguration on the mount
30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
●Verse 31 suggests that they were discussing Jesus’ death,
●His atoning death is the only topic of discussion between Moses, Elijah,and Jesus .
●1 Peter 1:10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you
●What were the Old Testament prophets searching about?
They were searching for information about the suffering of the Messiah.
●1 Peter 1:11 says
searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
●In the book of Revelation
Revelation 1:38 reads
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world
●It means that Jesus had become a sacrifice on the Cross even before the foundation of the world.
●It also means that the death of the Messiah happened in the heart of the Father.
●All this shows the importance of the death of Jesus Christ.
●Also ,from the book of Revelation, one of the major topics of discussion in heaven is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
●Revelation 5:9 reads
And they sang a new song, saying:
“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain ,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
●Verse 12 saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
●We find the most important slogan that is repeated in the heavens is worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
●The choir in heaven is repeatedly speaking about His death on the cross ,they are not speaking about the healings or about the miracles He did on this earth ,they repeatedly speak about His death.
●God houners the death of His Son.
●The central theme of heavens song is the death of Jesus Christ.
●This shows the importance of Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary.
●Romans 5:9 says
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood , we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
●Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood , the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
●These verses suggest that once and for all ,every sin you have committed is forgiven, and you are made a just child of God.
●You have been made righteous before God by His blood, just as if you have never sinned!!
●Sanctification is mentioned in Hebrews 13:12
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
●Sanctification is a progressive (ongoing) process.
●1 John 1:7 says
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
●The blood of Jesus is alive even today ,and it is one that speaks