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Atonement: The Death of ChristWe all believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. We know that he died there for us. But whywas his death necessary? And what did it accomplish?

The Necessity of the Death of ChristWhy must there be atonement?

GOD IS HOLY.

Holiness is essentially separation. God is separate from man and therefore, separate frommans sin. Gods holiness then is his self-affirming purity (Isa 6:3).

Gods holiness is inviolable; it is his eternal moral self-consistency. It is his fundamentalattribute, governing the rest of his attributes, including his love (cf. John 3:16; Rom 3:26).

MAN IS SINFUL.

Man has sinned, which contradicts Gods holiness. Gods holiness creates an absolute standardto which man must conform. That standard is perfection: perfect righteousness, or completeconformity to Gods holiness.

God administers this standard in complete justice. Perfect conformity is rewarded and allcontradiction must be punished. Therefore, any sin createsguilt: because man has sinned, he isguilty, or liable to punishment.

GUILT DEMANDS PUNISHMENT.

A holy God who administers his holiness in perfect justice must punish sin (Heb 2:2; 2 Thess1:6). The punishment for sin required by Gods holiness is death (Rom 6:23; 1:32). Furthermore,

because sin is a contradiction of an infinite Gods holiness, it makes the offender liable toinfinite punishment: eternal death in the lake of fire.

THE RIGHTEOUS ONE DIED IN THE PLACE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS.

God, in a perfect harmony of justice and mercy, graciously allows the death of a RighteousSubstitute in the place of a condemned sinner. In the Old Testament, God commanded theoffering of animal sacrifices. At the beginning of the ritual, the offerer laid his hand upon thehead of the animal, signifying that the animal was his representative (Lev 1:14). As a sinner,the man deserved to die for his sin, but a merciful God would accept the death of a sacrifice inhis place.

Jesus Christ, as our Righteous Sacrifice, did not die for his own sins; instead, he was punishedby God for our sins (Isa 53:36; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18; Gal 3:13). In the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21,For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might becomethe righteousness of God. Notice that Christ became sin in our place; he did not become asinner. Christ suffered the just punishment for our sins on the cross. The debt for our sins(eternal death) was paid by Gods infinite Son, who suffered as the righteous for theunrighteous (1 Pet 3:18).

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The Satisfaction of the Death of ChristWhat does the atonement accomplish and how does it meet our need?

CHRISTS DEATH EXPIATES OUR GUILT.

Theguilt that man had incurred by his sin was met by sacrificial expiation. To expiate means toremove or put away. Jesus Christ gave his life, offered in sacrificial death to God, as atonement

for us (Eph 5:2). Old Testament sacrifices provided atonement for guilt, but only a one-timeforgiveness: the life of an animal for the guilt of sin. The writer of Hebrews explains that Jesus,because of his infinite life, offers a better sacrificeone that provides eternal salvation (Heb9:26; 10:12).

CHRISTS DEATH REDEEMS US FROM BONDAGE.

As sinners, we were in bondage to the guilt of our sin. We deserved to die. By the death ofChrist, we have been redeemed from that curse (Mark 10:45; Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; Rom 3:24). Thatdebt could only be paid by our deathor the death of a God-appointed substitute.

As sinners, we were enslaved to sin. It was our master, and we eagerly did its bidding (Rom

6:620). The power of sin over us was broken by the death of Christ. The believer is now free toobey God; he no longer has any obligation to sin (Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 1:1819).

CHRISTS DEATH PROPITIATES GODS WRATH.

Because our sin offended the holiness of God, we were under his wrath. Sin, the contradictionof His perfect holiness, excites Gods wrath. Gods wrath is judicial, not necessarily emotional,just as justice is (or should be) unaffected by emotions, so Gods wrath is uniformly raisedagainst sin (e.g., Num 16:4648). However, since sin is not abstract, but committed byindividuals in rebellion against God, it is proper to say that Gods wrath is upon the sinner(John 3:36).

A propitiation is a sacrifice that satisfies Gods wrath. God is not angry and bloodthirsty;rather, his holiness has been rightfully offended by mans sin. The only thing that can calm orplacate Gods wrath is the punishment that justice demands: the death of the sinner or thedeath of a righteous substitute. In this way, the death of Christ is a propitiating sacrifice(1 John 2:2; Rom 1:18).

CHRISTS DEATH RECONCILES US TO GOD.

As sinners in rebellion against God, we were estranged and alienated from God (Isa 59:2; Col1:21; Eph 2:12; 4:18; Jas 4:4). God counts sinners as his enemies (Rom 5:10). Because Christsdeath removes the hostility that God has toward the sinner, God reinstates him to a position of

favor. God credits the sin to Christ, our Righteous Substitute, and credits his righteousness tous (2 Cor 5:1921). Man receives the reconciliation accomplished by Christs death at salvation.

Before salvation, we were guilty before God and worthy of death. We were enslaved to sin anddeath. We were under the righteous wrath of God. We were Gods enemies.

Now, because of the death of Christ, we stand justified (acquitted) before God. We are nowfree from the power of sin to obey God. Gods righteous wrath over us has been pacified. Weare now reconciled to God, counted as his children.