Atonement

For about the last 2 years, I have been doing a series on Elijah and Elisha; and so, have been concentrating on the Old Testament for a while now. The New Testament has been a bit neglected; so, I thought that I should atone for my sins and do a bit in the New Testament. Now, there is an interesting word that we don’t use too much; one with theological associations: “atone”. What do I mean when I say that I am going to “atone” for my neglect of the New Testament? I mean that I am going to correct my error, make up for my failure, redress what is wrong. It is a word used exclusively with regard to sin, failure. [P] You can see that it came from “at one”, make one, unite, reconcile. But that is its old, obsolete, meaning; the word, actually, now, means “to make amends”. So, I am going to “make amends” for my neglect of the New Testament. So, I get out my hard-working computer [P] and get it to look up in the New American Standard Bible, [P] the one that I use. No more Old Testament, I am going to make it only look up in the New Testament [P]. And seeing I have been talking about “atone”; I get it to look up that word [P]. I mean, it is a good theological, Biblical sounding word. Just to be clear; when it looks up “atone”; it is finding “atone”, “atonement”, “atoning”, “atoned”, the lot. Now my computer is going to tell me all about atonement in the New Testament. And, surprise, surprise! [P] There is absolutely no mention of atonement in my NASB New Testament! Does that shock you? Here is this theologically pregnant word; and it is not in my Bible. Well, at least, it is not in the New Testament. If I do the same thing again [P]; only this time I do “all passages” [P], search the whole Bible; I get 94 results! [P] All in the Old Testament. Why am I messing about, showing you computer searches? To make a point: there is no atonement in the New Testament! [P] The question is: why? I mean 94 hits in the Old Testament – this was a significant theological issue; and it just disappears! Well, we are probably all familiar with the “Day of Atonement” – a special festival in the Jewish calendar. Even if we don’t know Jewish festivals, most of us can remember 1973 and the Yom Kippur war. The Arab nations surrounding Israel made a surprise attack; and they caught them by surprise by launching the attack on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when there was a big holiday in Israel, no buses were running, soldiers were on leave. “Yom” means “day”; “kippur” means atonement. The Hebrew word means “cover” [P]. Religious Jewish men will wear a “kippa” [P] – it covers their head. On the ark of the covenant there was a cover, [P] a lid, called the “kapporet”, (just file that fact away; I will come back to it) – it is the same root: to cover. Noah’s ark was covered with pitch – that is where the root of the word comes from: from the word for “pitch”. The day of atonement was a day of “covering”. Covering what? Well, we all need covering! You cover something that you do not want to be seen or known. Every so often we hear in the media of a “cover up” [P]. Some of us will remember “Watergate”; but it still goes on – the Russians allegedly were involved in influencing the US elections; they don’t want it to be known and so there is a “cover-up”. In fact, there is a long precedent of humans covering up – it dates way back. If there is stuff you are ashamed of, something you’ve done, wrong, something that you know you shouldn’t have done; what do you do? You try to cover it up. It goes way back to the very beginning! [P] [Genesis 2:15–17 Then יהוה God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. יהוה God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 3:1–11 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (they did what they were told not to, they disobeyed) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; (felt shame) and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. (they tried to cover up what they had done – rather ineffectively) They heard the sound of יהוה God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of יהוה God among the trees of the garden. (they didn’t want to be seen). Then יהוה God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” (as if He didn’t know! You can’t hide from God) He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”] His sin was obvious; it couldn’t be hidden from God. But God did cover Adam and Eve’s shame – the first death that ever occurred was what it took to cover sin. And it was יהוה who did it: the Author of life, effected the first death, in order to cover human shame. [Genesis 3:21 יהוה God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.] It takes the shedding of blood to cover sin, to atone for it. But it is not just back then. If we get caught doing something that we know we should not be doing, what do we do? [P] The traffic cop stops you; what do you immediately do? Frantically try to think up an excuse why you are doing more than the speed limit: “It’s a medical emergency”, “I didn’t see the sign”, “the accelerator got stuck”! Who ever says to the cop: “I knew the speed limit but deliberately and wilfully went faster, I have done wrong. I am fully to blame!” We can’t bear admitting our fault! We try to cover it. We cannot tolerate the guilt of having done wrong; so, a covering for sin is needed. This is what the Day of Atonement was all about: once a year, every year, two goats were selected; one was sacrificed as a sin offering, [P] all the sins of the nation were confessed and laid onto the other which was driven out into the wilderness bearing the sin of the whole nation. Blood from the sin offering was taken by the high priest right into the holiest place of the tabernacle or temple and put on the kapporet, the atonement cover. And atonement was made for the nation for another year. Sin was covered over for another year. The psalmist could say: [P] [Psalm 32:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!] But that is the thing when something is covered. Yes, you cannot see it; but it is still there! [P] Does anybody remember this stuff? Before the days of word processors and “CTRL Z”, if you made a mistake, you would “twink it out” – paint this white stuff over it. It covered up your mistake, no more ugly scribbling out. But you could scrape it off, get a bit of acetone and remove it – the mistake was still there underneath. It had not been removed. It was just covered up. Look, I am finally getting around to making my point! [P] Why is there no atonement in the New Testament? Because sin is not covered – it is REMOVED! [P] [Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.] Hallelujah! Sin was covered on the “Day of Atonement” but it was not removed. [P] That goat never got rid of the sin. It was a ceremony stipulated in the Law but it could never remove sin. In actual fact, it did the opposite! It served to remind of sins! [Hebrews 10:1–4 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.] A better sacrifice was needed! A totally different order of sacrifice. The Old Covenant never removed sin, nor could it – it just covered it. A New Covenant was needed! Not the blood of bulls and goats: [P] [1 Peter 1:18–19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.] Here was a Lamb that could remove sin! Praise His Name! [P] [John 1:29 The next day he (that is John the Baptist. Jesus said He was the greatest prophet, yet he did no miracles. Why was he so great? Because of this great revelation:) saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!] Not a lamb that covered sin but who takes it away! [P] Hallelujah! It is gone! Sheep and bulls couldn’t remove sin because they aren’t moral beings, they have no concept of right and wrong. The perfect sacrifice that was needed to remove sin had to be sinless; and to be sinless He had to know right and wrong and choose the right and reject the wrong. Only One ever qualified! [P] That is why He is precious – He is utterly unique, the only One! There was only One who was sinless! Here was that Lamb who could remove sin, not just cover it. The New Testament does talk of love covering sin but not the blood of Jesus. JESUS’ blood does not cover sin – it removes it! Hallelujah! It is no more! GONE! It no longer exists! Period! Praise His Name! I said when I began that I had been neglecting the New Testament – why is it new? Because it is a totally different order! The New Testament is a New Covenant – “covenant”/“testament” the same thing. The old covenant is found in Exodus 24; strangely, it is a largely overlooked passage – I really don’t know why, because it really is quite amazing. The Old Testament/covenant, itself knew that it was inadequate; and itself prophesied a New Covenant that was coming. This is what it said: [P] [Jeremiah 31:33–34 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares יהוה, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. [P] “They will not teach again, each man his neighbour and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know יהוה,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares יהוה, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”] There it is! The New covenant! What does the covenant stipulate: [P] “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more!” Praise God! Now some, referring to [Micah 7:19 which says: He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.] which I think is alluding to the New Covenant, say God “casts our sin in to the sea of His forgetfulness”. The Bible does not say that God forgets our sin. There is a lot of talk about forgetting sin – I did another computer search of my Bible and the two words are never mentioned in conjunction with each other. Look, I “forgot” to get milk at the shops – it slipped my mind, I overlooked it. If elephants never forget, God certainly doesn’t! No, it doesn’t say that God forgets our sin; no, “I will remember them no more”! It is a deliberate and wilful determination never to call them to mind ever again. People say I can’t forget what so-and-so did to me; maybe not, but you can make a deliberate and wilful determination never to bring it to mind. Why was there a “New Covenant”? We got a new car because the old one blew a head gasket. It had served us well, but it was worn out. If it still worked, we wouldn’t have got a new one. You only have something new because the old is no longer adequate, doesn’t work, is obsolete. It says in: [Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.] No, the Old was inadequate. It wasn’t doing the job. Not that the fault was with the covenant, but with people who kept breaking it. Yes, it covered sin; but it never got rid of it. Something better was required. A New Covenant! This covenant was enacted at the Last Supper: [P] [Matthew 26:27–28 And when He (that is Jesus) had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.] There it is! Just as Jeremiah had prophesied. Forgiveness of sin. That is what the New Covenant is all about! Sin not covered, but removed! Forgiven! This is what it says in Hebrews, again, referring to the New Covenant: [Hebrews 10:11–18 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; (that is what I referred to before – the Old Covenant was inadequate – sin was covered by it could never be taken away) but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time (did you read that?! “Perfect”! He has perfected, not you.) those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,” He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.] The Old Covenant, with its sacrifices, is obsolete! [Hebrews 8:13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.] Brothers and sisters, it is a most wonderful thing that sin can be removed! It is no more! What we can never get rid of, never be able to cover up; is GONE! Hallelujah! Never to be uncovered, never to be brought to mind. If accused, no record of it can be found! If you come to Jesus, rely upon His sacrifice in your blood, partake in the covenant in His blood. Your sin is GONE! REMOVED! IT IS NO MORE! [Colossians 2:13–14 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.] When was Abraham’s sin taken out of the way”? – at the cross! Past sin was dealt with – at the cross. When was the Colossians sin taken out of the way? – at the cross. They hadn’t sinned yet when Jesus died - future sin was taken out of the way, at the cross. It says all our transgressions. When were John’s traffic offenses taken out the way? At the cross! He didn’t even exist at the time! Future sin was removed! So, when John gets a speeding ticket next week; when was it dealt with? It has already been dealt with at the cross. All sin, past and future was removed then. Look, if you have a burden of guilt; heaviness because of your own failure, sick of the very sickness of your own self; it does not need to be so! You do not have to be in that place any longer! There is a place where sins are washed away – years ago we used to sing:

“I know a fount where sins are washed away

There is a place where night is turned to day

Burdens are lifted; blind eyes made to see

There’s a wonder working power in the blood of Calvary”

So, in the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, sin is forgiven, removed; not just covered. Now, will you forgive me bringing a stern word?: God removes sin – as far as the East is from the West! Who then, are we to reinstate it?! God remembers no more, who are we to be perpetually bringing it up?! – it is not there, it has been removed as far as the east as from the west. God says that it is not there; who are we to insist that it still is! We are calling God a liar! By recalling sin, we are working in direct opposition to God! You know what I am talking about! We hold things against our brothers! Things that God has forgiven and removed. It says in [P] [Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, [P] forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.] In fact, Jesus Himself said that: [Matthew 6:15 if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.] And in a parable about someone who held a debt against another after he had freely been forgiven himself: [Matthew 18:34–35 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all (brothers we never can) that was owed him. (then Jesus went on to say) My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, (that is hand you over to the torturers!) if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”] Brothers, we cannot not afford to forgive! It is imperative! We nullify the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, the covenant whereby sin is removed, if we hold sin against another who has repented and been forgiven by God! We are reinstating what God Himself has removed! Let us move on. When I said that there is no atonement in the New Testament of my Bible; I was telling you the truth. However, I did not say that it wasn’t in the New Testament of your Bible! It is confession time! Who uses a NIV? I am going to get my trusty computer out again. [P] Again, I am going to look in the New Testament for atonement; [P] but this time I am going to use, not the NASB but the NIV. [P] Lo, and behold, there are six times that atonement is mentioned in the New Testament! What is going on?! Is there atonement in the New Testament after all? Well, we need to go back ….. [P] Remember that I said that the covering on the ark, the lid, was called a Kapporet in Hebrew? – a “cover”, which is mentioned in Hebrews 9:5; there, my Bible calls it the “mercy-seat”, NIV is consistent and calls it the ”atonement cover”. Anyway, just over 300 years before Jesus, a man called Alexander conquered vast swathes of territory, including Israel, introducing Greek culture, and a most people ended up speaking Greek. So, because Greek was the language many people understood, the Scriptures were translated into that language. This was the version of Scriptures that Jesus Himself used. And the word they used to translate “kapporet” was a word which came from a root meaning to be merciful or gracious, not “cover” – that is the sole reason why our English Bibles translate “kapporet”: “mercy-seat”. The word they used didn’t mean “cover” at all; it meant “to remove guilt” or to “propitiate”. And that is how my Bible translates it: “propitiation” [P] You say, “Paul you just as well have left it in Greek!” “Propitiation” is not a word we use! What on earth is it all about?! Well, to start with; propitiation is not “covering”. Who remembers Fred Dagg? He used to sing a song called “we don’t know how lucky we are”. The phrase was repeated throughout the song in every situation that was encountered; except, when it was the stock and station agent, who, being a bit up-himself, said “You don’t know how propitious are the circumstances Frederick” – it means “favourable”. So, propitiate means to make things favourable; but more particularly, when things are bad. We may not use the word propitiation, but we do use propitiation. I don’t suppose it is a situation that occurs amongst any of us, with our perfect marriages; but, so I am told, sometimes husbands and wives do not always get along. The man comes home from work, and detects a certain tension in the air, an uncharacteristic silence. He sits down to tea and the steak is still frozen and the salad is burnt. He begins to discern that perhaps all is not right! Life becomes intolerable so he realizes that he has to do something to appease the angry god/ I mean wife. So, he brings a propitiation! [P] An offering that puts everything right, that turns away the just wrath that he is experiencing. God is angry! [P] [Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.] Not angry because He lost His temper or got irritated; but a righteous anger at the rebellion and deliberate wilfulness of the people, that He created, to go their own way. The wrath is perfectly justified, …. and terrible! You do not want to face an angry God! The wife was bad enough! His anger needs to be turned away, lest we be consumed! [Psalm 90:7 For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath we have been dismayed. Hebrews 10:30–31 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!] Roses may cheer up the wife; but they do not remove the offence. Propitiation, turning aside God’s anger, can only take place if the cause is removed. The wrath has to fall. It fell upon Jesus. He is the propitiation for our sins [P] [1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.] The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. But to take away sin He had to become sin. Like that scape goat that was released into the wilderness, the sin was placed upon Him: [P] [1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.] He bore the load and carried it away, removed it. It being no more, there is no longer any cause for God to be angry. But to carry away human sin, He had to be a human Himself – be like them in being tempted, but yet without sinning. [P] [Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.] When sin is taken away, you are no longer a sinner but righteous, what the Bible calls “justified”: [Romans 3:24–26 being justified as a gift by His grace ( we didn’t deserve it or do anything it was given) through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; [P] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. (it is not roses, but blood of a spotless Lamb that is required to turn aside God’s wrath) This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed (in the past they were covered, “passed over”, now they are removed); for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.] The cross is a public demonstration, for all the world to see, and for all the spiritual powers to see.; that sin has been removed. Not magicked away, not over-looked, not covered, not forgotten, not ignored. But dealt with once and for all! Hallelujah! Done righteously, because sin was fully paid for. Not only was God righteous; maintaining righteousness by dealing justly with sin; He also at the same time made righteous those who most definitely were not! Hallelujah! This is the demonstration of the immense love of God. It was nothing in us; but all of what is in God, His love: [P] [1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.] God’s love is demonstrated in this propitiation. [Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.] Significantly, there is one other place where “propitiation” is mentioned; it is often overlooked because it is not translated “propitiation” or “atone” – it is the story Jesus told of a Pharisee and a tax-collector praying. The Pharisee prayed a pious prayer, then it says in: [P] [Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’] He was crying out to God to be propitious, to propitiate. That is our desperate need! It is a wonderful thing that sin can be removed. It is utterly the pure love and mercy of God. Propitiation comes at an awful cost. It doesn’t come to the pious religious man; but to the humble, contrite man who repents and cast himself on God’s mercy, acknowledging that he is the sinner, that God is utterly righteous, exalted in heaven. Our only appeal is the mercy of God. Yes, sin can be utterly and completely removed! That is wonderful and liberating! [Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.] Hallelujah! But forgiveness is only found through repentance – a brokenness, a turning. [Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 66:2 to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.] I have a little concern; churches have grasped hold of the concept of “grace” – but not as it is in the Bible, rather: sin no longer matters; “oh, it has been forgiven.” You saunter up to God, say, “Thanks for your grace, mate!” Give him a high-five and carry-on with life. Where is the brokenness of that tax-collector? The appeal for mercy, for propitiation? Where is the lowly spirit, the contrite heart? That is what marked the movements of God in the past: an awareness of the utter enormity of sin as an offense to a holy God! A trembling before Him and an overwhelming wonder at the removal of that dreadful blot. David knew it: [Psalm 51:16–17 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.]

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