Adam sinned. Man fell. The fall of man was so radical that soon every imagination of man's heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5, 8:21). A study of the Biblical record should convince anyone of the complete depravity of the human race, alleviated only by God's gracious working in his people. Until we come to understand our own fallenness into sin, and the completely hopeless situation we are in before God, we cannot understand the full significance of Jesus' death on the cross.

Man in his radical fallenness has offended the holiness and justice of Almighty God. This offense requires payment. The expected application of God's justice would be the outpouring of God’s holy wrath upon the offensive sinner. Sin separates man and God (Isa. 59:2). By no means will God leave the sinner unpunished, for to do so would compromise the justice of God (Ex. 34:7, Num. 14:18, Job 10:14, Prov. 22:21, Prov. 16:5, and others). God's justice would be satisfied by the sinner's eternal death. God is under absolutely no obligation to save anyone; rather, his holy nature demands punishment of the sinner.

Jesus paid a ransom price in his own blood that fully satisfied the righteous demands of God and paid the price for all our sins.  Paul said that Jesus became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). God in his justice and by the act of our justification pardons and releases us from all sins. We shall never have to pay for our sins in hell, for to do so would mean that God certainly was unjust in requiring a second payment, or it would mean that the atonement of Jesus was insufficient to purchase our eternal pardon.

When Jesus went to the cross as a ransom, he went on our behalf, standing in our place. Thus we speak of the substitutionary atonement, meaning that Jesus was a substitute for us. Peter says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Pet. 2:24, NIV. See also Isa. 53 where the prophecy of a substitutionary aatonement is very clear). We need to understand the atonement in this personal way, that Jesus quite literally took our personal sins on his body. When scriptures speak of Christ dying for us, for sinners, for helpless people, it is in the sense of in their place.

Paul describes this glorious event, which is the very apex of all history, in these words: "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus." (Rom. 3:21-26, NIV)

When God looks on us, he sees, not our sins, but the righteousness of his son, for we are now covered by that righteousness, and our position in Christ is secured and assured for all eternity!

For further information on the atonement, check the offerings on the Engedi website.