Atonement: The Heart of the Gospel

by Jonathan Pless

“Amends for an offense or injury.” This is the definition of atonement.

I want to urge you to read this short article in its entirety. Not because of anything special about its writer, but because I believe the topic has immense value for you today.

If you're at all like me, you might have quickly dismissed a post that begins with the word "atonement," or any similar theological jargon. I can tend to skim over talk of the specifics of the gospel. I easily become complacent. Ashamedly, I have thought to myself, “I’m already saved, why bother with hearing this whole message again?”

I’m young and I’ve only been a believer for about fifteen years. However, I’m convinced the atonement of Jesus Christ is the most wonderful news any human can ingest. Believer or unbeliever.

This blog post is for both the believer and unbeliever. The atonement of Jesus Christ is the most wonderful news any man, woman, or child could ever hear about. The atonement is the center, the very heart of the gospel message. It is simple, yet profound; an ancient truth, yet touching and changing all of life. Every believer needs to be reminded of this act; every unbeliever needs to hear—and believe!

Put succinctly, the Atonement is: Jesus Christ traded my sin for His righteousness.

The word atonement by definition includes, at minimum, two distinct sides. In a polite society, it is understood that the offending party is responsible for making amends. The offender(s) should “atone” for their wrongdoing against the other party in some way, whether that is financial, personal, or legal.

When it comes to the atonement and Jesus Christ, he is one party, while you and I are the other. We are the offending party. You and I have sinned against God. 

What is sin? 

Sin is a violation of the Law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deuteronomy 9:7; Joshua 1:18). “Sin is a rebellion against God’s sovereign authority, a despising of his Word and person, and even a defiance of God himself” (The Great Exchange: My Sin For His Righteousness, p. 20).

Atonement was necessary because of man’s egregious sin. God must punish sin. He is holy and righteous and cannot sweep sin under the rug. His nature demands justice. God will not forfeit his holiness to his love. God will not allow his mercy to violate the spotless integrity of his uncompromised justice. 

We are the offending party. God can never be the offending party, for He is “holy, holy, holy,” righteous, perfect, and sinless (Exodus 15:11; Isaiah 6:3).

I’m not at all attempting to be dramatic: sin causes destruction, death, and separation. The only way to right the wrong for our intolerable sin against God is to die — both a physical and eternal death. The Bible describes death as payment (wages) of our sin. We cannot atone for our own sin. We sin against an infinitely holy God which requires an infinite and perfectly holy sacrifice.

We have a massive problem, if only relying on the above information. We are utterly wicked and hopeless. We are the very objects of God’s wrath. We cannot pay for our own sin. God, by His nature, is a just Judge and must punish sin.

How can man become right with God? 

The only way to appease the wrath of God is with a perfect, sinless human. Who could this be?

The only possible way was for God to become human. This has already happened. His name was Jesus Christ. Jesus was born, lived, never sinned, and died an innocent death.

You see, Jesus Christ was a real, historical man who lived and breathed like you and me a couple of thousand years ago in the Middle East. Jesus wasn’t just another historical figure. He wasn’t like any other man. Jesus was sinless. He never did anything wrong — in thought, word, or deed.

Jesus was a man, but he was also God. He was called Immanuel, which means literally God with us. God in human form. 

Jesus Christ perfectly obeyed God the Father’s will and willingly endured suffering on our behalf. What kind of suffering? The full, unabated wrath of God Almighty. 

Consider a financial analogy: You and I are deep in debt - more than we could pay off in a lifetime. Drowning and overcome with no way out. When the sinless Christ died on our behalf, he both paid that debt (gone! paid! satisfied in full!) AND deposited His own endless righteousness into our account. Endless riches we will never find the bottom of.

Jesus paid our fine. He more than evened the scales. He took a debt we could never pay and credited to us pure, perfect righteousness. So clean and precise was this transaction, God Almighty now sees Christ’s righteousness as our own. (2 Cor. 5:17, 21; Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 8:12) 

His perfect life is the life we lived; his gruesome death was our death. Even more so, by Jesus’s blood, the Father sees his righteousness as our righteousness.

Friend! This is wondrous news! This news has led me to tears of joy numerous times in the recent past. Believer: worship your gracious, all-powerful, all-knowing King with me! He has torn down the dividing wall between God and man and provided a way of salvation to us this very day! Unbeliever: I pray the Lord of mercy and grace I serve would open your heart to this news. 

Rejoice with me. Even more so, this free gift of God can never be earned. This singular way of salvation is only received by the grace of God through faith. 

This gift of righteousness is free. One cannot earn a gift; otherwise it can no longer be called a gift. Instead it becomes a wage deserved. And no sinner deserves to be credited with righteousness.

Just some of the results of the atonement are:

We sinners gain a position of acceptance and favor before God including: righteousness, redemption, forgiveness, justification, and reconciliation.

Sinners gain a new relationship to the triune God: to the Father, as his adopted children; to Christ, as his blood-bought property; to the Holy Spirit, as His temple.

Sinners gain the privilege of approaching a holy God in worship. 

Sinners gain the capacity for experiencing a transformed life. 

Sinners gain the ability to be motivated by gratitude for the cross. 

Sinners gain a new relationship to other men.

Sinners gain victory over Satan, the world, and death.

Sinners gain the ability to no longer be mastered by sin. 

Friends, I admonish you: do not so easily forget what Jesus has done on the cross. His death is of eternal importance and deserves to be remembered. Remember the cross. Remember Christ Jesus’s supreme, sufficient sacrifice.