Atonement: 2nd Part of Meaning of Christ's Death

2^nd Part Meaning of Christ’s Death

ATONEMENT

ATONEMENT – coming from the Hebrew words:

1.      “KAPHAR” to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch

2.       “PIEL” – to cover over, pacify, propitiate, atone for sin, make atonement for, atone for sin and persons by legal rites

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 people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2^nd Corinthians 5:18-19

According to 2^nd Corinthians 5:18-19, we were once enemies of God but because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, He purged us, cover our sins and reconcile us to the Father. Jesus is the bridge to get us to the Father, and He is our only way, there is no way we can please God, there is no way we can reach His standard and there is no way we can be made righteous or justified by our own acts, the Bible declares in Isaiah 64:6, “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.

No matter how we tried to please God, our righteousness is likened to filthy rags. In Ephesians 2:8-9 it states there that, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Our salvation and reconciliation to God does not depend on how many times we pray, how much we donated to churches, how much we give to the poor or how fervently we follow the Ten Commandments, if these are sufficient for the salvation of souls, then Christ need not die on the cross, He need not suffer in the hands of sinners, He need not took the form of a servant and be marred on the cross as it is written in Philippians 2:6-8, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;  rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death —even death on a cross!

If one accepted the power of Christ’s work, he was made one with God, all his sins were covered, purged, atoned for and God removed the curse, judgment or condemnation to that person by restoring the favor which was removed by the effect of sins. The atoning power of Christ’s death takes away the power of sin and its effect, thus causing us to be made right with God, not by our own merit. It is the initiative of God to restore us back to Himself, it is God’s desire that all be saved not with human terms but with God’s terms. Therefore I urged you to come to God, if you are not yet sure of your salvation come to Jesus and be “at one” with Him.