Atonement for believers, not
for unbelievers
"...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then,
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so,
but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now
received the
atonement.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned....
"For
if through the offence of one [Adam] many be dead, much more the grace of God,
and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is
the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of
many offences unto justification. For if by one
man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:8-12, 15-17
"...when He came into the world, He
said:
'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for
Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come... to do Your will, O God.’ ”
"...He takes away the first that He may
establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Hebrews 10:5-10
Substitutionary Atonement
"...as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness [See note below], even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is
condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the
light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the
light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 3:18-21
Note: Here is the Old Testament
illustration of atonement -- pointing forward to the actual atonement of Jesus
Christ:
"...the LORD sent fiery serpents
among the [complaining] people, and they bit the people; and much people of
Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned,
for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that
he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.And the
LORD said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be
that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.'"
Numbers 21:6-8
†
Limited (not universal)
Atonement
“But
you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
And in that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning,
For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
[The rebellious people's
response:] But instead, joy and gladness,
slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine:
'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!'
Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,
'Surely for this iniquity there will be
no atonement for you,
Even to your death,' says the Lord God of hosts."
Isaiah 22:11-14
"...the Lord,
having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who
did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but
left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for
the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities
around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual
immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering
the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 5-7
"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common
salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For
certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this
condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny
the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jude 3
"Provide
no atonement for their iniquity,
Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;
But let them be overthrown before You.
Deal thus with them in the time of Your anger."
Jeremiah 18:23
†
Old Testament Atonement
(pointing to the cross)
"...when he is guilty in any of
these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he
shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord for his sin which he has
committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin
offering. So the priest shall
make atonement
for him concerning his sin."
Leviticus 5:5-6
"Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the
blood of the sin
offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon
it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” Exodus 30:7
"Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of
meeting, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your
offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will
at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord.
"Then he shall
put his hand on the
head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to
make
atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the
priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around
on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ... Then the
priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on
the wood that is on the fire upon the altar.... And the priest shall burn all
on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma
to the Lord."
Leviticus 1:1-9
†
New Testament Examples
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he
who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd
of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he
calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own
sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do
not know the voice of strangers.'
"Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He
spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, I
am the door of the sheep. 'All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will
be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come
except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly.'"
John 10:1-10
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be
likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took
their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels
with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and
slept.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom 1is
coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their
lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our
lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not
be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for
yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were
ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
"Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord,
open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know
you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the
Son of Man is coming."
Matthew 25:1-13
See also
Salvation,
Justification and
GRACE