Atonement

Atonement means to cover or coat something or to pacify someone.

Biblical atonement is the process restoring right standing with God once sin has occurred. Since according to Romans 3:23 all have sinned and come short of God’s standard, we need something to put us into right standing with God. Something had to cover our sin.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that, despite Biblical knowledge and despite how good we might appear, we have all sinned.

In the Old Testament, an elaborate ceremony took place every year to atone for Israel’s sins. This ceremony is described in Leviticus 16. In accordance with God’s instructions, their guilt had to be covered – their offenses had to be paid for through the shedding of blood.

God’s instructions were very detailed.

Before entering the Most Holy Place, the high priest had to carefully wash himself and put on special garments. A bull was killed to cover the sins of the priest and his household. Then the priest cast lots over two goats – one to be sacrificed and one to become the scapegoat, carrying the people’s sins away from the community. Incense was burned over the ark so that smoke concealed the holiest place, protecting the priest. The blood of the sacrificed bull and goat were sprinkled on the atonement cover, the tent of meeting and the altar. Then the scapegoat was sent off with all of Israel’s sins on its head. Then the priest washed himself and changed his clothes before exiting the tent to burn portions of the offering on the altar. Finally, the remains of the animals were removed and the attendants who removed them – along with the man who led the scapegoat away – had to wash their clothes and bathe themselves. All of this happened every year so that people could be cleansed from all their sins.

The essential component was the shedding of blood. The atonement was showing that it was about the substitution of life for life. The life of the bull and the goat were given for the life of the people. The blood of the bull and the goat were shed to cover the sins of the people.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that our sin has been paid for.

This atonement ceremony in the Old Testament points forward to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins.

God gives Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement.

Romans 3:24-26

And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by His blood to be received by faith, This is to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God shows His righteousness by judging sin through Jesus’ death on the cross and His grace by making Jesus the atoning sacrifice for the punishment we deserve.

Sin was never waved off, disregarded or left unaccounted for.

God upheld His righteousness and the worthiness of His name by having Jesus shed His blood for our sin. God’s justice shines in the fact that He didn’t just ignore sin but dealt with in the only way He could, by the shedding of blood.

God’s grace shines in the way God placed all our sins on Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus, the perfect sinless one, became guilty of my sin and I, the sinful one, was declared to be the righteousness of God.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is Jesus becoming my sin and I becoming His righteousness.

Salvation is a free gift by grace through faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Think of grace as the electricity that runs through your house. It is always available, but it does light up your house until you plug in the lamp and turn the switch on. The plugging in and flipping the switch is faith.

When I acknowledge my sin and accept Jesus’ death to pay for my sin and surrender my life to His authority, which is all enabled by grace, I receive forgiveness, which is applied by grace.

Salvation is a free gift for us, but it cost God, the Father the heartbreak of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is all about God’s grace.

In the Old Testament the atonement was a covering of sin.

In the New Testament the atonement is an eternal removing of sin.

In the Old Testament the atonement was through a detailed and involved ceremony.

In the New Testament the atonement is through the crude and ugly death of Jesus.

In the Old Testament the atonement was for Israel.

In the New Testament the atonement is for all people.

In the Old Testament the atonement was by the blood of bull and goats.

In the New Testament the atonement is by the blood of Jesus, the perfect and sinless sacrifice.

Through the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus, Raising the Roof and

Removing the Walls,

                                                       Joe