The Atonement 1

Did you increase by our faith by trusting in what you have told us? We thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Alright, so I guess you had Advanced the slide. Alright, we're studying the the doctrine of salvation tonight and we have looked at Grace number one. We spent a lot of time looking at the grace of God As a matter fact in the him that we sang tonight. The third verse of the second verse here. Seven in the third verse said my grace all-sufficient shall be like Supply and that's just a very eloquent way of putting the fact that the god pours out abundant grace upon us and that grace is sufficient for us. and as we we considered Grace, I don't know about you but it is just impactful to me to know the blessing of God and the presence of God is in our lives no matter what and so truth is like that which is what salvation is all about Ami we are talking about eternal truths that have far-reaching impact obviously, but also have impact for our lives today and it all hinges upon our relationship with Jesus Christ as these doctors and we're going to start the atonement today these these doctrines are indispensable for our lives that they are absolutely necessary and they reveal to us and help us understand what God has done for us and why he has done them and the provision that he has given to us to live this life that we live and then when this life ends we we don't die we From here to there and and we are continuing to walk in the blessings that he gives to us. So God's grace Goes Forth and we spent a lot of time talking about that and as we come to the doctrine of the atonement, which I'm sub categorizing under salvation are seeing verse which is up there now is going to be 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 18. So this is our theme verse for this doctrine of the atonement for Christ also suffered once for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh, but Mayo live by the spirit, so just an amazing statement of what Christ has done for us. He suffered once and why did he suffer for our sins and the end that's just the amazing love of God right there. He didn't suffer because he did anything to deserve to suffer. He didn't suffer because of anything that you know that that he had caused a brought upon himself. He suffered because of us he came to this Earth because of us and he suffered once for our sins as hell. That's the grace of God in the love of God. If you consider your life and all of the you know the right and the wrong that you have done all of the sins that you have committed that's that's what he suffered for. He offered himself for that and that and then the next race says the just for the unjust right and what a contrast their Christ the just suffered for us the unjust full of sin. And and why did he do that that he might bring us to God that it's it's all about our relationship to God. It's all about our salvation. And this is a spiritual truth spiritual reality for us to try to comprehend and that and hopefully it has the impact that it ought to have in the way that we live the life that we live here while we're on this Earth. So he was put to death in The Flash but may live By the spirits and then last race is important because it's refers to the resurrection of Christ and you know from 1st Corinthians 15 if Christ did not rise from the dead then our faith is vain as of the importance of the Resurrection. He died in The Flash but the spirit of God gave him life and talking about the Resurrection Day resurrection that we to look forward to so that's the. That's the key verse for this atonement the doctor of the atonement and if we have to give a definition for the atonement, I put the I put the key verse there at the bottom again, so I'm not going to read that we just went through that but the definition for the atomi what is the atonement that's a theological word a million-dollar word right there the atonement and basically it's it's pretty simple. It only talks about reconciling us to God. So it's fixing our relationship to God. They're fixing the relationship between God and man. So that's a Reconciliation is is just like if you get into a Les Schwab with somebody if you're reconciled that's what we're talking about here. I reconciliation. So the reconciliation is between us and God and what separates us or what has broken our relationship to God sin sin has broken our relationship to God so through the death of Jesus Christ that broken relationship with God because of sin has been fixed and we are reconciled to God. So now where is we didn't have a relationship with him or that relationship had been separated now the Revelation the relationship has been fixed and done. And so this is what the atonement is all about. When we talk about a tummy the fall of the Fergus Falls on the life and death of Jesus Christ. We talked about this reconciliation. It's all about what Jesus did for us on the cross. And and so we're going to we're going to actually look at some verses in the minute that talk about the cross and the significance in the import of that but We're talking about the life and death of Jesus Christ. And and here there actually is a distinction between Christianity and other religions because when you look at other religions, even though there is some famous Prophet there something that you know was involved or responsible for founding the the religion the religion primarily revolves around the teachings of this person, whoever started the religion and so it it's kind of disconnected or disappointed from the kind of life that they lived as a matter of fact the life that they live really doesn't have much of a Imports in the religion besides their teachings so we can look at you know, how many of how many people know about the history of Muhammad while we might not know about that or if you if you look at the foundation of the Mormons, who is that John Smith or something some very common name? Like that was Joseph Smith is that Who's the founder of founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses?

Okay, so Joseph Smith is Justice Smith.

Yeah Moore. Okay, that just doesn't sound right, but the Why you couldn't have John Smith? That's just too, right. So yeah. Yeah. Up at 1 to Joseph Smith. So anyway, you look into the life of Joseph Smith and you see some pretty like unchristian things that took place during the course of his life, but that's like neither here nor there it all focuses on the Revelation that he reported to have and the teaching and said this is very common in religions. This is the teachings that matter specially if you go into the Eastern kinds of religion Buddhism Buddhism and all that that Eastern mysticism, it's it's about the teachings more than anything else but Christianity is different Christianity not only focuses on the teachings of the truth, which you know, they have to be there but it also revolves around the the the Deeds of Christ what Christ did primarily the death of the Cross because we really do not have Christianity. If you do not have the death of the Resurrection real life event, I take play You do not have Christianity. And so we look at the death of Christ on the cross for the suffering that Christ did for our sins so that we have this this faith of ours that's not just about teachings but it's about real life and real life actions. And and and so that's an important distinction to make with Christianity and the other religions of the world Crisis Death and Resurrection. Like I mentioned a moment ago on the cross really become a focal point in the so I will find a lot of versus we're going to go over a couple of those verses in scripture and now the Catholic crucifix has the body of Christ on the cross still and Protestants basically have removed Christ from The Crossing while he was taken down from the cross and rose again from the dead and I can understand that I think however, we need not make such a big distinction between whether the cross is depicted with Christ on it or not, because what we're doing is when we take a crucifix and I don't mean in however, and I'm not sure how the Catholics, you know, go ahead and use the crucifix and and all of their if you know practice there, but we need not be upset that Of a depiction of the crucifix because what are we doing? We are remembering that Christ died on the cross. I mean, even the symbol of the Cross without Christ on it just the symbol of the Cross is a reflection back to what Christ did on the cross as a we're really not overstepping the bounds of there's nothing really wrong with, you know, having a depiction of Christ on the cross. Now, I have to tell the story and I shared it before but we were Catholics when I was growing up and when I came to when I came to Salvation And I accepted Christ. So you remember the story right? And I accepted Christ. I went around my house. I was 17 years old. I went around my house in my Zeal and passion for guys and I took all the crucifixes off of book. We had one over every door in the house and I went and I removed them all but needless to say my dad thought I was a fanatic and that it didn't go over very well and But then I was taught that it was wrong to have a crucifix. And so I took matters into my own hands and removed all the crucifixes. I don't remember anything else about what happened. I just remember that and that they weren't too happy about it. But anyway 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2, this is Paul. I determined not to know anything among you accept Jesus Christ and him crucified. So so here in this verse we have a reference to Christ crucified and the picture is Christ on the cross and Paul says I am determined not to know anything about you except that. Suppose really among other things. He's really elevating for the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his death and for our sins on the cross out so much. So and if you read you know, 3 Corinthians and other writings of Pop Paul is intent on putting this the world aside and focusing on Jesus Christ and his life that that's that that is what his life is all about. And so this verse reflects that and this is what the atonement is all about is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and other verse 1st Corinthians chapter 118. So if we go back a little ways The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved. It is the power of God.

The world cannot understand someone dying on the cross for the sins of others that that is just a that is a gross, you know, maybe an animal sacrifice. But even that has a negative view in our worlds estimation. There's a negative idea of the Cross and someone dying on the cross that is to the world foolishness. So we look at that and and it's it makes all of the difference in the world. Doesn't it that Christ died for us for us? It is the power of God for salvation. What an amazing thing. That's all we look to it in a completely different light than the way that the world looks to it. I was in a literature class and I was a freshman at the University of Miami and literature class and I wrote a paper.

No actually had nothing to do with the paper that the teacher was up there and you know, of course. You read you read books and I don't even remember what books he has read, but we were reading one book and and it's hard to escape references to Christianity in the world literature. And even today in the you know, the TV shows in the movies and all of that. So anyways, he would regularly go off on you know on a Christian Rampage. He was not a Christian you would go off on a Christian Rampage and I remember one class where he basically said they something to the fact that the idea of someone dying on the cross and shedding. His blood is a Butchery and a horrible terrible, you know, and he just kind of went on on on how gross and and horrible of an event that isn't that Christians worship that that that was kind of his point and that illustrates this verse that to the world the crosses. Foolishness but to us, it's the power of God. Again. We talked about the atonement and our attention turns to the Cross where Jesus died and that is all important another verse Galatians chapter 6 verse 14 Says but God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world and I remember just a moment ago when we were looking the First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2 passage. I was talking about how when Paul says I am not going to think on anything except Christ and him crucified here kind of reflects that same thought that I am not going to boast in anything except the Cross of Christ. Well after all if we are anything it's because Christ has made us that And so we are left with nothing to boast about their who I mean, what are we going to look at our lives and say well, you know, I deserve credit for this and I deserve credit for that and I deserve credit for that. I mean the things that we might come up with would only be valuable in a you know, person-to-person kind of comparison, which we do all of the time and not always so, you know for our benefit, but before God, what do we have to bust? Well, nothing except Christ. So here it is. Paul says I should boast in nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ if if I can Hold up anything. It's that Jesus died for me and that I have a new life as a result of that. That's something to boast about as a matter of fact, that's part of what sharing the gospel is all about. Right? We hold up Jesus Christ and what he has done and we we say he has done it for me. That's the testimony that we have and he offers it to you that's sharing the gospel with other people. So he said that I'm going to bust in the cross and then he says he says that the world has been crucified to me and I have been crucified to the world. So because of the cross the world holds no value to me and of course, I hold no value in the world, right? Cuz the world, you know just does not care for this. So that's Galatians chapter 6 verse 14 again. The the focus is on the cross of Christ. And it is on the only way that the gap between God and man. Can be crossed it is because of Jesus Christ, you know, the the four spiritual laws by Bill bright Bill bright go bright. He kind of popularized Bridging the Gap between God and man with the span of the Cross and that and so that that's you know, sin separates us and the cross bridge that Gap and brings us back together again. So that is the only way that is the only way jobin chapter 9 verse 2. It says, how can a man be righteous before God and really from a man's perspective in through man's efforts. It is impossible. But with God nothing is impossible. So some questions could send have been taken any other way. What's the death of the Son of God necessary important questions as we go through the study? We're going to address some of these. So in the end, we're going to understand have a have a better understanding of the Cross when you have a better understanding of the Bible because at the heart of the message of scripture is the Cross of Christ. And so that'll become all important. As a matter fact. We we realize that Christ had to die on the cross. This is the only way for salvation to have been brought about is by Jesus Christ dying on the cross. Now if you consider the Gospels, it is really interesting. I had not realized this although I've heard it before but if you read through the gospels a good percentage of the gospels deal with the final. Of Christ life as he's heading towards the cross and his process and in his death in the resurrection, so Luke, which is Longest gospel actually not by chapter Kappa by word count Luke is the large gospel and it has the smallest percentage as you might expect cuz it's the longest but 25% of the Gospel of Luke is on the the last. Of Christ and his work on the cross 25% So forth of the Gospel of Luke is on that Matthew is the third at 33% Mark is a little more 37% and 42% of the Gospel of John focuses on Jesus heading to the cross and his work on the cross that's nearly half of the Gospel of John. So that's pretty amazing. Not that the statistics necessarily matter that much except to show that it's important in the message of the Gospel in the message of the life of Jesus. It is important to speak about his death and Resurrection his death on the cross and his resurrection impossible to avoid salvation comes through this and it comes through Jesus suffering and that's going to be an important point to ask a question. Did it have to be this way could have been taken care of in some other way while I don't know the answer to that but it involved it's unavoidable it involve the suffering of Christ know we know she get killed that way that's suffering, but that's the way that it had to be. And it's impossible to avoid so if we go back to Genesis and he was kind of the first this is the first mention of the Gospel. Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel and take why the injury to the head why the injury to the hill right? What why suffering are both part why it why not? Just coming in stopping on his head, right? Is that what you do? When you see a snake time? You can find a lots of snakes. You have them in your garage you whack them on the head. Stop them on the head. And be done with it, but that's not what we have here. We have the suffering of the seed of the woman depicted here. And Isaiah 53. This is a well-known passage in the Old Testament concerning Christ and notice it says he was wounded for our transgressions. This is long before he came. So this is this is God's plan from the beginning the suffering of Christ. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed so the requirements for suffering on the part of Christ. It was prophesied long before Christ came and then of course when Jesus came he talked about it in South Matthew chapter 16 verse 21 from that time Jesus began to show to his disciples. Look at this. He began to show them that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed and then be raised the Third Day by the way, I don't think the baked that third that last phrase that ever sunk in until after the fact but the you know, of course if somebody's going to tell you something that you love or care about tells you what I'm going to do, so I'm going to die and I'm going to come back to life again while you're going to focus on what do you mean you're going to die, you know who wants to hear that and so went with the disciples that's what he told them and it was after the fact that they began to remember after he rose again from the dead that they remember that he said he was going to rise again from the depths. But the point at this the point here is that Jesus said I am going to suffer many things. In this process so suffering is a part of it an important part Romans chapter 5 verse 8, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ what for us. Christ died for us that's suffering against suffering and death. It was going to experience I so that's the plan of God from the beginning and if that's the plan of God when we talked about the atonement we were talking about something that has to do with the suffering of Christ for our sins. So let's go back to the Old Testament because wow here we are in the New Testament, right? We look back to Jesus and what he did we look back did Jesus and what he did for us is really easy. Jesus Christ went to the Cross. He died. He bore our sins paid the penalty rose again for the dead, right? That's the atonement R Us. That's easy to understand but imagine living before Christ. And they couldn't look back or what he had done had done because he hadn't done it yet. They had to look forward to. All of this, and then it's not so easy to look forward to just to just to give you a kind of an example. If I were to ask you. Can you tell me the events that are going to take place in Christ Second Coming? Well, what are you going to do? Going to turn to some passages in the Book of Revelation and maybe some passages and Matthew and what's going to happen is well, we're going to really struggle to come up with some kind of consensus on what's going to happen. When Jesus Christ comes the second time. We're not looking back to that. We're looking forward to that and there's a lot of questions that we have. and so if you try to go back to the Old Testament and picture the same sort of thing looking forward to Christ first coming that kind of shows the difficulty or the challenge it looking forward to an event that has not happened is very difficult and yet We're in a privileged place because we can look back and take the event that happened. We can we can imprinted on what happened in the Old Testament and kind of see so how were people saved in the Old Testament. How did the atonement work in the Old Testament? So this is what we want to dress next to the Old Testament and the atonement. How did it work for the people in the Old Testament? He be surprised people ask me that question. Not just one so, you know that every once in awhile not too often, but it comes up. What about the people in the Old Testament? How were they say so that question Rises and it's important to consider and the reason it's important to consider is because of all of the pictures and of all the things that God put in the Old Testament to give them Clues to what was going to happen in the future. And the future work of Jesus Christ. So the people in the Old Testament We can look at them a couple of important points. First of all, there were the sacrifices sacrifices that this this was an important part of the Salvation. If you will of the people in the Old Testament, they offered sacrifices and who told them to offer sacrifices. Well God told him to offer sacrifices. So we look back in the Old Testament and now we're going to see sacrifices. Now, we have Cain and Abel and this is the first mention of a sacrifice with Cain and Abel. It says in Genesis Chapter 4 verses Justice for 3 & 4 says in the process of time. It came to pass that Kane brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord a table also brought of the firstborn of his flock and if they're fat and the Lord respected Abel and his offering You've heard the joke, right? Why didn't God accept Cain's offering? Why wasn't Cain's offering acceptable on the guitar? Why couldn't why couldn't Kane offer a good sacrifice to God and the answer is he just wasn't able?

Hey, I got the laugh. I got some tacos out of that one.

Alright, so if you have a Cain and Abel, how did they know to offer sacrifices somehow they knew summit. We're not told how they knew we can just kind of try to you know, guess how they knew but they knew how to say they were supposed to offer sacrifices and both of them bring a sacrifice to God evil brings up his Of his work which were the blocks in the Hearth Cambridge of his work, which is the fruit of the ground and they bring their sacrifices unto the Lord. This is the first mention of a sacrifice in the Bible. So right from Cain and Abel the necessity we could even go back further. But anyway, this is the first time somebody brings an offering unto the Lord Cain and Abel. And Abel's sacrifice was accepted while canes was not Hebrews 11 verse Force comments on this. It says by faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice, then came through which he obtained witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gifts and through it. He being dead still speaks. So of Abel's sacrifice, it says that he offered it by faith. He offered a better sacrifice a more excellent sacrifice and he showed that he was a righteous man. That's what Hebrews tells us about the sacrifice. And again, there's there's no explanation as to how they knew what they were supposed to sacrifice or what they were supposed to sacrifice. They just both bring their sacrifices and Abel's is accepted pain is not and Hebrews 11:4 just gives us a little bit of a clue the faith of Abel the righteousness of Abel The better sacrifice available gives us a little clue as to what went on back there. Now if we moved past Cain and Abel was still talking about sacrifices obviously and we come to Noah and with no are we have the first mention of an altar that is being made or has been made so says that Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. So no is the first time we have the explicit mention of an altar so you have to sacrifice and then you have the altar Now we go forward a little bit more would come to Abraham and it's really interesting with Abraham. You have sacrifice with Abraham you have an altar but there's this incident with the offering of Isaac his son. Remember that we're God tells Abraham to take his son Isaac and offer him on the altars the sacrifice. Etc Abraham does that and in Genesis chapter 22, I'll starve Universe 12. I don't have the whole passage up on the screen. But in Genesis 22 verse 12, it says Abraham was about to strike Isaac and I'll offer him unto the Lord do not let your hand on the lad or do anything to him for now. I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son your only son from me then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked and they're behind him was a ram caught in a Thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the RAM and and here it is. Here's the important part and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son into the status in the place of his son. And so there is the first clear picture of a substitute. And it's just such a such a graphic picture of you know, the offering of the first born son the son of the promised the offering of him and then the substitute in the place of him. So just an amazing picture there, of course when God offered his son there was no substitute the sun actually died. And he died in the place in the stead of us. So the substitute was in our place he died. But here is a God is asking Abraham to offer his son and keeps him from doing it in the end. God does offer his son and there's no hand to stay his sacrifice throw up. All of this Mabel Noah Abraham Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They offer sacrifices on the office. All of this is before the law. Okay against there's no Ten Commandments. They're not following any law or not following the Mosaic law at this point. This is all before the law of Moses. So everything that takes place in the Book of Genesis is before there was a lot before there was technically, you know a Bible if you will. So we move on to the time of Moses and you have the Passover and when you come to the Passover, you really have, you know, I don't say this dogmatically but you basically have the first required sacrifice and what I mean by that is for the first time you have a law given that is not just kind of a one-time thing. But this is going to be an ongoing thing that you are to practice. So that's a lot. This is this is what you're going to do from here on out. So that's what we have with the Passover. They remember the Passover, right? This is during the time of Moses and the plagues have been coming against the Egyptians. And the last plague is the slain of the oldest. It all of the households of Egypt including the Israelites. However, God had given them instruction to kill the lamb to take the blood and to put them on the doorposts. And if they did that if they obeyed their commandant, then when the angel of death moved through the land and saw the blood it would pass over that house and nobody within the house would die. And of course I do whatever anyone who spurned the command of God and did not heed it would not have the blood on the doorpost. They would not have made the sacrifice. They wouldn't have the blood and the angel of death would not pass over. So this is the Passover in Exodus chapter 12 verses 26 and 27. It says this is when your recounting it to your children and their children it shall be when your children say to you. What do you mean by this service that you shall say? It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our household. So the people bowed their heads and worship. So that's that's what the Passover was all about. And the Passover was not a one-time sacrifice. Like I said it was it began at the time of The Exodus it began at that time and the people of Israel were to follow that Passover sacrifice forever. Literally forever. That's what it says. So why don't we follow that Passover sacrifice forever? Why don't we why are we doing that anymore?

They were not under the law. Why? Yeah, because Jesus is the Passover sacrifice and and he has he has been the ones for all the sacrifices in effect. We are under the Passover ourselves to this day and it is the blood of Jesus who is on our dirt doorpost and continues to stay on our door post that blood continues to stay on our door post and God continues to pass over us in in the you know, the meeting out of Justice or judgment or it doesn't fall on us. It has fallen on Christ in his blood remains on our door post. And so amazing thing. So we're not under the law. It has been fulfilled in Christ. Any passes, he's the Passover Lamb and we are passed over. I am one more. And I will finish with this tonight. Now you have a full-blown law. Okay, so you had the Passover and again, that's still before God gave the law on Mount Sinai to Moses. But now we move the people of Israel have come out of Egypt. They've gone into Mount Sinai and God is speaking to them Fuller Covenant and he gives the law and there's one book in the first five books of the Old Testament. One of those first five books says a lot about the sacrifices that the people were to offer. Which book is that

Say it louder. I know some of you know. What are the cats write The Book of Leviticus the third book of the Bible says a lot about the sacrifices. So it gives all kinds of rules and regulations about how the sacrifices were to be. So damn, the law you have the first sacrifice instruction manual and is found particularly in The Book of Leviticus as of the sacrifices Were Meant to make atonement or to forgive sin, and they served as a substitute for the center now, we're not used to thinking about the sacrifice of the Old Testament in those terms, but they were sufficient. Up to a certain degree. They were sufficient to bring about forgiveness and to offer a substitution. They had to be we've already seen these elements previously and the the the prophetic picture that they present has to continue all the way until what happens until Christ actually comes and fulfills it or brings it to completion. That's all we see that in the sacrificial system in Leviticus chapter 1 verse 4. It says he shot put his hand. I'm head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him are so you picture this you have to sacrifice their the person bringing the sacrifice was to lay their hand on the sacrifice and it says it would be accepted for him to make atonement or to bring about forgiveness for him. So we have both of those ideas the substitutionary sacrifice and the Forgiveness that the sacrifice to see both of those in this verse right here. And so it became the pattern for the sack by sorry. I'm going to stop there anybody have any questions. the comments

All right heavy-hitting stop right now so bad but really important. This is really important. This is what Christ did for us. Okay. Thank you. You have a song for us. We will finish.