Hebrews 10:1-23
"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come; and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year after year, make those who approach perfect.
For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
"Sacrifice and offerings You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God."
Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them."
Then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and having a High Priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

First, let's define the word...ATONEMENT. It is the work of Christ that was accomplished in His life and death to secure our eternal salvation.

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What was the ultimate cause that led to Christ's coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins?
The Scripture points to two things: the love of God and the justice of God.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
This verse tells us that the initiative in all salvation lies with God. Sometimes Christianity is presented in such a way that it sounds as if God had to be pacified, as if He had to be persuaded to forgive. Sometimes men speak as if they would draw a picture of a stern, angry, unforgiving God and a gentle, loving, forgiving Jesus. Sometimes men present the Christian message in such a way that it sounds as if Jesus did something which changed the attitude of God to men from condemnation to forgiveness. But John 3:16 tells us that it was with God that it all started...at the back of everything is the love of God.
God is love! It is easy to think of God as looking at men in their heedlessness and their disobedience and their rebellion and saying: "I'll break them: I'll discipline them and punish them and scourge them until they come back." The tremendous thing about this text is that it shows us God acting not for His own sake, but for ours, not to satisfy His desire for power, not to bring a universe to heel, but to satisfy His love! God is not like an absolute monarch who treats each man as a subject to be reduced to abject obedience. God is the Father who cannot be happy until His wandering children have come home. God does not smash men into submission...He yearns over them and woos them into love.
As Augustine had it: "God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love."
The second reason we have suggested as the cause that led to Christ's coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins is: the divine justice of God.
The justice of God required that a way be provided that satisfied the penalty due to us for our sins. He could not accept us into fellowship with Himself unless the penalty be paid. In the beginning of man's history, God had laid down a divine law that without the shedding of blood, there could be no forgiveness of sins. The wages of sin is death, thus the penalty for sin is death, but it must be the death of a perfect sacrifice. In that the blood of bulls and goats and lambs could never take away sins, the sacrifice had to be a perfect man. In Romans 3:20 through 26, Paul says: "For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For the real function of the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith and holy character].
But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets. Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus

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Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction.
Since all have sinned and are fallen short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.

[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is provided in Christ Jesus,
Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.
"It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season) that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has [true] faith in Jesus." (Amplified text)
Christ was the perfect sacrifice which satisfied the just requirement as a penalty for the sins of mankind!
Paul uses an interesting word in this passage...Propitiation. It is a sacrifice that bears God's wrath so that God becomes "propitious" or favorably disposed toward us. "For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]." (1 Corinthians 5:21 Amplified)
We have just noted that Christ was the perfect sacrifice. Let's think for a moment about the sacrifice in the Old Testament context. There were four main types of sacrifices mentioned: the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering. When any of the four great animal sacrifices was being offered, there were five and six stages in the presentation. (1) The bringing near. When a worshipper made an animal draw near he had the intention of worshipping. He wanted to honor God, to get rid of his sin, to live in fellowship with God and man. He came obediently, bringing the prescribed offering. For most sacrifices the young of one of the domestic animals was specified (ox, sheep or goat, in some cases pigeons; some animals were excluded such as the horse or the donkey). It must be ceremonially clean...it must be without blemish, perfect of its kind.
(2) The laying on of hands. The worshipper laid his hand on the head of the animal. It was a symbolic transferal of the sins of the worshipper to the animal, so that when it died it was taking the punishment due to the worshipper for his sins.
(3) The killing of the animal. The animal was killed by the worshipper. If the offering was a bird, the priest would perform this action, but this was probably on account of the small size of the victim. In personally killing the animal, the worshipper gave symbolic expression to his recognition that his sin merited the severe punishment. He himself performed the act which set forth the truth that he deserved death.

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(4) The manipulation of the blood. It is here that the work of the priest begins. Up to this point, it was the worshipper who did everything. At this stage in making of the sacrifice, the priest collects the blood and proceeds to use. He collected the blood in a conical vessel. This shape of vessel made it impossible for him to set it down and this meant that the priest must move without delay to the prescribed actions so that the blood had no chance to settle and coagulate. If the sacrifice was a burnt offering the priest was required to 'bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides' (Leviticus 1:5, 11); if a bird was offered its blood was drained out on the side of the altar. The procedure was the same for a peace offering (Leviticus 3:2, 8, 13). The big difference came when the sacrifice was a sin offering and here it depended on the person(s) for whom the sacrifice was being offered. If it was for a priest or for the whole congregation the blood was sprinkled seven times in front of the curtain that marked off the Holy of Holies. Then the priest put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of incense (a small altar in front of the curtain) and poured the rest of it at the base of the altar of burnt offering (Leviticus 4:5-7, 16-18). When the sacrifice was offered on behalf of a sinning ruler or a wayward member of the community, there was no sevenfold sprinkling in front of the curtain. The blood was put on the horns and poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering (Leviticus 4:25, 30). Where the offering was a bird, part of the blood was sprinkled against the side of the altar and the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar (Leviticus 5:9). The solemnity of the sin offering was heightened by an elaborate blood ritual and that this must have had the effect of making it plain that sin could not be taken lightly.
(5) The burning on the altar. Some part of the animal was always burnt on the altar, this apparently being regarded as God's portion as it ascended heavenwards in the smoke rising from the altar fire.
(6) The disposal of the rest of the carcass. As to the burnt offering, the whole carcass was burnt up and the hide of the animal belonged to the officiating priest. For other sacrifices, some portions were given to the priest and some portions given to the worshippers.
Observation: Nobody who came thoughtfully to God by the way of sacrifice could be in any doubt but that sin was a serious matter. It could not be put aside by a light-hearted wave of the hand but required the shedding of blood. Worshippers knew what they had to do to receive forgiveness for their sins and restore fellowship with God!
An essential element in the sacrificial approach was the element of cost. David could say to Araunah, 'I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing' (2 Samuel 24:24). No one who came to God by the way of offering the best in his flock would put a low value on the privilege of such an approach. He would realize, as many of us today do not, that the service of God must cost us something.
The Old Testament never tells us in set terms why sacrifice was held to do away with sin. It was enough that

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it was so. We are told many times that sacrifice was offered 'to make atonement' or the like, and, as we have already noticed, the term 'blood' was often used. In fact the word 'blood' is used in the Old Testament 362 times. But far and away the most frequent use of the term is to indicate death with violence, a use which is found 203 times. In Leviticus 17:11 we find these words: "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar, it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." Such passages certainly show that the Israelites saw life and blood as closely connected and that they treated blood with great respect. The men of the Old Testament certainly saw life as specially linked with blood, for when the blood was taken from animal or man, so was the life.
The term blood is not used as often in the New Testament as it is in the Old Testament, if fact, only 98 times is blood referred to. The references to the blood of Christ often show clearly that it is His death that is in mind. In Colossians 1:20, Paul speaks of the blood of His cross. In Romans 5:6-11, we find these words: "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For it is when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." The sacrifice that Jesus made was a sacrifice offered in love. Ephesians 5:2: "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." The writer to the Hebrews points out, in a passage in which he dismisses burnt offerings and sin offerings and stresses the importance of doing the will of God, that "by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). The 'will' is important and we should not overlook the contrast between Christ's willing sacrifice of Himself and the uncomprehending, involuntary sacrifices that necessarily occurred when animals were offered. What happened on Calvary was out of love and the sacrifice for our sins was done with a willing heart.
In the New Testament, when the sacrificial terminology is used, it is mostly to emphasize what Christ has done. The sacrifice that matters is the death of Jesus on Calvary's cross. In our text from Hebrews 10, we noticed these words: "Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Christ] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.

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Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool, because by one sacrifice He made perfect for ever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:11-14).
The Jewish priests continually offered sacrifices daily. They were still standing, going about their duties when the letter of Hebrews was written. Their sacrifices were animals, incapable of atoning for the sins of humanity. Moreover, the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies only once a year, and only with the blood of the sacrificial animals. This is the light in which the writer of Hebrews considers the death of Christ. He, in contrast, offered only one sacrifice, never to be repeated. Christ's sacrifice is effective, valid for all time, needing no succession or repetition. Christ is seen as seated, His work complete, at God's right hand in heaven!
Christ's sacrifice is perfect because of its nature: Christ offered HIMSELF. He is God's own son, and as such, He is superior to the prophets, to the angels, to Moses through whom the sacrificial system of Israel was introduced, and to Aaron who was the first high priest in Israel, superior to anything that system had to offer. His one sacrifice is worth infinitely more than the multitude of offerings of the Old Testament times.
Christ is both priest and victim! He is not only the sacrifice superior to all other sacrifices, but He is also the High Priest who offers sacrifice and as such He is superior to Aaron. He offers Himself to the Father through the Eternal Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity are therefore engaged in His atoning death for our salvation. Peter describes Christ as redeeming us by His blood: "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19).
At the heart of the biblical doctrine of atonement is the idea of penal substitution.
What do we mean by that? Firstly, when we talk of its being penal, we mean that Christ endured punishment. The obvious questions that arise from this claim relate to the nature of the penalty and the one who exacts it.
In the first place, God's law has been broken and sin has been committed against Him. God is the One who prescribes the penalty and exacts it. Secondly, the penalty God laid down for sin is death, exclusion from fellowship with Him for ever. For human beings, this means eternal punishment. "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matthew 25:46).
When we say 'substitution' we mean that Christ endured this penalty in our place! Christ, Himself, willingly submitted to the just penalty which we deserved, receiving it on our behalf and in our place so that we will not have to bear it ourselves.
Consider the scoop and penalty inflicted upon Christ. The death due to us from our transgression of God's law is an eternal death that involves everlasting exclusion from the presence of God, yet Christ suffered on the cross for only three hours, and the sufferings of

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His earthly life lasted for only about thirty years. Is there not a huge disparity between the two? The reality is surely that Christ's sufferings were infinitely more intense. The prime factor is that He is the Son of God. As Paul puts it "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). To fathom the depths of what Christ endured we would need to spend eternity in hell. He was rejected by humankind, abandoned by God, subject to the full curse of the law and more besides. All this was underserved for He had been uniquely obedient to the Father. He was sinless. He was righteous. He was pure love and wholesome goodness. He was equal with God and the Creator of all things.
This verse we have just quoted from 2 Corinthians 5:21 is probably one of the most profound verses in the whole of Scripture. Paul's words must mean that the sinless Jesus was made sin by being condemned to a criminal's death, and having to endure the ignominy and the punishment of the cross, solely that those who are sinners indeed might be acquitted by the Holy God and be free to enter upon a new life pleasing to Him. The Apostle, we may be sure, does not mean that by 'making the sinless One sin' God the Father exercised any unloving compulsion upon God the Son. Both persons of the blessed Trinity were at one in this divine redemption. The Father in His love sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world; and the Son showed His own love when He went willingly to the cross, and discharged at so great a cost the role delineated for Him. "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows...He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)
The astounding thing is that this Sinless One, God "made sin for us." "Sin" is to be taken in the same comprehensive sense. God did not make Him "a sinner." God did less, and He did more. God left Jesus as sinless as He was. The idea of God making anyone a sinner, to say nothing of His own Son, is unthinkable. God did something else entirely: He laid on Him the iniquity of us all, so that He bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), so that He was made a curse for us (Galatians 3:3...in our stead), so that He died for all. God made Christ sin, charging all that is "sin" in us against Him, by letting Him bear all this burden with all its guilt and penalty "in our stead" in order to deliver us. It sounds incredible that God should have done this with His own sinless Son...but this is what God did through Christ to save us and free us from our sins! Praise God!
"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM."
God's righteousness is the quality that is stamped upon us by God Himself when in heaven, on His judgment seat, He renders the judicial verdict that acquits us of all sin and guilt gratuitously, by His grace, by means of the ransoming that is in Christ Jesus.
What makes this statement of Paul's so remarkable is the fact that he does not say: be given, get, receive, have God's righteousness...but, BECOME! It is identi-

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fying us with God's righteousness in Christ.
Only righteousness, this righteousness that God's verdict declares, can accomplish our personal reconciliation to God.
RECONCILIATION! By His propitiatory sacrifice on the cross, Christ has brought us out of a state of enmity with God into friendship. The original fellowship that Adam enjoyed with God before the fall has been restored. We are now at peace with Him. Because Christ took our place in obeying the Father and in suffering for our sins and because He appeased the wrath of God that stood against us, so He renewed all barriers to a restored friendship with Him. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
(Romans 5:10-11)
God's holy hostility to sin and the sinner is a fearful truth, which is fully consistent with His love and goodness. Reconciliation involves the removal of the enmity of the one offended by sin. With God's righteous demands satisfied, then and only then is His enmity withdrawn. "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him, to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." (Colossians 1:19-20) Christ is our peace. He is the one in whom friendship is restored both on the vertical level in relation to God, and also on the horizontal level between Jew and Gentile. The enmity has been abolished through the cross. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
There is one more aspect of the atonement to consider, namely REDEMPTION. In speaking of redemption, the biblical writers bear witness to our deliverance from our bondage to sin and to Satan. This release is akin to being freed from prison. Moreover, it involves the payment of a ransom. Christ's blood is the payment required to set us free from bondage and to make us God's own possession. Consequently, we belong to Him and are under obligation to live for Him in all that we do. "For you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:20). God is the one who required the ransom price. Our deliverance was exceedingly costly to God Himself but there was no other way to release us and to claim us for His own. It required the utmost expenditure.
ATONEMENT...what an all-encompassing truth! It is the act of God that rescues us from eternal damnation and assures us an eternal home in heaven...all because of what Christ has done for us! Praise God!