Atonement

(Hebrews 9:11-14)

Introduction:

I want to accomplish two things from this study of the blood of Christ.

One – I want those who are members of the Church of Christ to have a since of joy of being in Christ Jesus.  We are among the most blessed people that have ever lived.

What a joy it is to just say I am in Christ Jesus.  To lay down at night and to sleep a sleep of peace and to know that “all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord.”

Secondly – If you are here tonight and you are not in Christ Jesus, I want you to decide that “ I have put it off too long and I want to be where salvation is.”

Remember, salvation is not a matter of your disposition.  It is not a matter of your goodness.

There are a lot of people who are good people, but are not saved.

You will never go to heaven upon human achievement.

It is not about your disposition.  It is about your position.

You are either in or outside of Christ.

If you are in Christ (you are where salvation is)

If you are outside of Christ (you don’t have Christ and you are without God in the world)

It is important that you understand something about salvation.

Atonement

I want you to appreciate something about the atoning blood of Jesus.

Define: Atonement (Set at one) (Two are enemies)

Something has happen in a relationship where two friends have become enemies.

Something must be done to make amends and make the two enemies friends.

(How can two walk together except they agree?)

So these two enemies become friends again (on the same road/ on the same page)

Atonement means that something is done to make enemies friends.

Atonement means I can do something that can take somebody whom I have offended and cause us to be together again.

Problem:

It is alright if I can do something to make amends.  But what if I can’t?

Can you imagine the problem that a person has when they know they have offended somebody and they would like to make amends

They would like to make it right, but they don’t have the ability to do so.

Illustration:  Old man

I begin to appreciate why he was willing to give to anybody and help anybody.

He was trying to make amends.

I understood why he was so willing to do anything and everything.

He was trying to make amends.

I understood why he was at the church building everytime the doors opened.

He was trying to make amends.

I understood why he never said an unkind word about anybody.

Why he was so forgiving, why he was so willing to do everything he could do.

He was trying to make amends.

As he thought about dying he said, “let me go to jail.” 

Maybe going to jail will make it right.

Take me down and turn me in to the sheriff.  Let the authorities take me.

I think he would have poured out his life if he could have done anything to make amends.

Point:

The person he needed to make amends to was died.

There are times when you cannot make amends. 

When you cannot atone for something you’ve done.

Now, if you see that let’s look at the text.

The Hebrew writer needs to show us that an atonement needs to happen.

Somebody has been offended.  Somebody has been hurt.

Somebody’s heart has been broken.

Somebody who didn’t deserve to be wronged has been wronged.

An atonement needs to take place.  The making of amends needs to happen.

Read: Hebrews 9:1-5

Verse 5 gives us the first hint that an atonement needs to be made.

The Ark of the Covenant

That golden box in which were the tables of  the Ten Commandments

Those tablets of stone where the finger of God had written the Ten Commandments

Point:

This box was 3ft 9in long, 2ft 3in wide, 2ft 3in high, overlaid with gold.

On that box that was overlaid with gold was the mercy seat

And at each end of the mercy seat was a figure of an angel

Who by rank are known as cherubs.

Angel Ranks:

angels, archangels, cherubims, seraphims, principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, virtues

In this golden box were the tables of God’s law.

If you tread upon God’s law, you offend God.  You hurt God.  You injure God.

Every lawbreaker deserves to die.

That’s why the Ten Commandments were such, if you broke the law, You Died!!!

Here is God’s law in the box and the cherubs on top of the box

Role of Cherub:  Execute God’s wrath on those who offended

If you broke God’s law, the cherub was the administrator of God’s retribution.

If you did something against God, the cherub would rain down God’s wrath upon you.

Example:  Man in the garden / Sodom & Gomorrah (Cherub – Trail of Lightening)

Symbolism

Here is God’s Law.

Here are the administrators of wrath upon those who break God’s law.

The cherub represents those who would administer punishment

The law represented that which you should not tread on.

But we are all lawbreakers (All have sinned…)

By right the cherub should rain down God’s wrath upon every one of us as lawbreakers.

BUT, there was something between the cherub and the law of God.

That was called the mercy seat.

The mercy seat was between those lawbreakers and those who would cause God’s retribution to come down on them.

The mercy seat is what we need because we cannot atone.

God is so clear.  When God gets ready to show you something, He makes it so clear.

Illustration:  Adam needed somebody

God brought every animal to Adam to see what he would call them

(God didn’t need Adam to name those animals)

(Cow / Bull) (Mare / Stallion) (Lion / Lioness)

Example:  Treat our wives right

She is not suppose to be just like you.

She is not suppose to response to stuff the way you respond to them.

Example: Biological (Men – Logic / Women – Intuition)

When man sinned, God wanted man to understand how desolate now he was.

When God came in the garden after man had sinned (Where are you)

Now God is offended.  They had a relationship that was a beautiful relationship.

Man was in harmony with the elements (Climitized)

Weather was pretty everyday (man didn’t wear clothes)

Blue skies everyday, Starry skies everynight (It had never rained)

Paradise had a sprinkling system (midst would come up out of the ground)

Perfect relationship with the animals

Perfect relationship with his wife.

But when he sinned, everything is cursed:

Man is cursed

The animals are cursed

The ground is cursed

Man Has Offended God.

Now, something has to atone.  Now we need somebody to make amends for offended Holiness.

Man needs to avoid the wrath of offended Holiness.

You don’t want to stand before a God, who is our God and He is offended and ready to rain down His wrath upon you.

Example:  People say they talked to God (children of Israel)

There needs to be something there to atone.

Now, the first five verses were symbolism.

Example: Priest brings the blood (animal sacrifices)

(Sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat to cover the Law of God)

So that God didn’t look at the broken law, but He saw the Blood

And Jesus is our Mercy Seat

But His blood doesn’t just cover our sins, it takes it away.

Read:  Hebrews 2:14-17

Three things that the blood of Christ does:

What the blood of bulls and goats could not do, the blood of Christ DOES.

The reason the priest had to offer the blood sacrifices every year on the Day of Atonement was to keep in their faces the wrath of offended Holiness.

There you would come, as it were, in the presence of God and offer that blood for the sins of the people.

And even though the Glory of God moved into this sanctuary, it was still an earthly sanctuary

It was never designed to be permanent because you had to do it year after year after year.

The blood of Jesus is a propitiation.

Define: Propitiation (To appease) – To pardon and bless the sinner

1st – It removes the wrath of offended Holiness.

It appeases God’s wrath not just for a year (But forever, and ever, and ever)

I no longer have to worry about sacrifices.

Now, I am hidden by the blood of Christ.

I’m made accepted in the beloved by His blood.

Illustration:  Communion

What you are called to remember is that Jesus’ blood removes the wrath of offended Holiness.

2nd – It has an expectant.  Something that gets the stain out.

Example:  Shout It Out / Tide / Cheer

Something that you cannot make amends for.

Something that you can’t do anything to appease.

The blood of Christ removes the stain of the sin that produced the wrath in the first place.

Conclusion:

Jesus did not die just so our sins could be forgiven.

When you are in Christ, thank the Lord.

It is not just my sins are forgiven.  The wrath of God is taken away.

And the sin that stained my robe (my life), the blood of Jesus will get it out.

Finally, it sets the two enemies at one with another, which was the definition from the beginning, so that Jesus can call us Friends.

That’s why the gospel is the gospel of Peace.

Question:  How can I access the blood of Christ?

Read:  Romans 1:16-18

Romans 5:10

Romans 6:1-4, 7

Story:  Boy with bird / Man buys them and set them free (Satan & Jesus) - Atonement