Atonement

Jesus accomplished much more on the cross than we give Him credit for. He did more than offer salvation to the world-He saved the whole world. The father did not just offer His Son, He gave His son. Sin came by Adam and so did death, but by Jesus, the Second Adam, has come life. Jesus has totally undone all the damage caused by Adam!

Now, no matter where you are in your life, no matter what addictions need to be overcome, no matter how fallen away you are, Jesus’ plan as of right now is for you to be saved in His Kingdom! It does not matter how far you have fallen. Jesus went to prepare a place for you in heaven, not when He saw you all dressed up nice for church, but while you were puking all over yourself in the bathroom after one of your hangovers! That’s right! Sounds far fetched? Let’s let God’s Word decide.

God told Adam and Eve “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17 Adam and Eve ate of the fruit but did not die. Why? Because Jesus was “the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. Jesus’ death took effect as soon as they sinned and kept them from dropping dead that day. They had not accepted anything nor did they believe anything, they were running away. Still they were alive because of the cross of Christ. Ever since then, believer and unbeliever alike owe every breath they breathe to the cross. We see this in 1 John 2:2. “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.” See he is the propitiation for “our sins” the believer and of the “whole world” which would be the unbeliever. All owe their life today to the cross. In Genesis 12:3 God tells Abraham “all families of the earth will blessed” because of Abraham’s seed. Not just believing families but all families. Once again, the unbeliever as well as the believer have benefited from the cross in receiving life today, even as Adam and Eve received life as Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. “To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring. All this Christ has taught in appointing the emblems of His great sacrifice. The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life.” (Desire of Ages p. 661)

So Because of the cross, Jesus’ plan is for all to be saved from the foundation of the world. Again let’s look in the Bible and see if this is so.

So our salvation actually goes back to the foundation of the world. This is why we do not baptize infants. Because they are not born lost. The Bible talks about how our names can be blotted out of the book of life, but does not talk about how to get our names into the book of life, because they are already there. We are born accepted! Unless we throw away our salvation we will be saved. “The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God's dear Son.” (Steps to Christ, p 27)

What we see in Romans chapter 5 is very powerful. Just as Adam’s sin condemned the whole world with no initiative on our part, so Jesus saved the whole world with no initiative on our part. Jesus totally undid all the damage Adam caused and we are “accepted in the Beloved.”

Jesus went into the river to be baptized, not because He personally was sinful, but because in taking on our DNA, He was representing a race that was sinful. He was repenting on behalf of the human race, just as a manager will repent on behalf of his waiter who spilled soup in your lap. Maybe the manager did not do it himself, but he represents an organization that did, and so he must repent. Jesus was repenting on behalf of the human race. When He came up out of the water He heard the Father say, “This is my Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” When the Father accepted the Son, He accepted the entire human race in Jesus Christ. We now have a perfect life in Christ Jesus.

This concept changes how we look at the cross. I used to look and see a repentant thief who was saved at the last hour. Now I look and see two thieves who were saved, but one unrepentant thief threw at away at the last hour. Both were brought to the cross. One resisted God’s love, the other did not resist and was drawn to Jesus.

Jesus has no intention of you being lost. He has not just provided your salvation, He has saved you. If not then you would not be alive today. Jesus says in Matthew 25:41 that hell is prepared “for the devil and his angels.” That fire is not prepared for you. Jesus tells us in John 14:1-3 that He is preparing a place for us in His Father’s house. That is where Jesus plans on you being, in heaven with Him. Jesus is drawing you with His love. Do not resist His love and you will be saved.

Just like in the wilderness all the Hebrew children needed to do was look at the brass serpent to be healed from the snake bites. They looked and were healed. They did not have to figure out how looking would cure them, they were just told to look. Likewise, when the serpent Satan, bites us we can be cured and overcome his power by just looking to the cross. We don’t have to understand everything. Just look.

Jesus has accomplished everything for our salvation from both the penalty and power of sin. Looking to the cross will do more for us than any alcoholic anonymous or addiction recovery workshop can ever do. I leave you with the words from maybe the greatest prophet ever. Simple words that can change our life if we just do them. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29