Scripture: Hebrews 2:14-17; Romans 3:21-25
Personally, I don’t understand the reluctance to accept the fact that God allowed His life to be taken by sinful man, and to shed His blood for the forgiveness of all who will believe. I’ll admit that it takes faith, and a desire to understand Godly ways as well as we can, but to deny His gift outright, without even trying to understand, goes beyond all comprehension.
Israel should have understood that Christ’s
sacrifice is the fulfillment of Passover (Exodus 12),
but even they missed the LORD’s point.
An innocent lamb was to be sacrificed, its blood was to be spread upon
the door frame of their home, and they were to remain inside the home, never
leaving the protection of the lamb’s blood, until the next morning, after the Angel
of Death had finished his work (Exodus 12:21-23, 29-30). That is the context of atonement – then, as
well as now.
So today, we will “try” to discover just what Christ’s “blood atonement” means for each of us.
Read Hebrews 2:14-17
The writer of Hebrews is reminding us that we are the ones to blame for sin, that we are the ones who turned away from the LORD’s way, to began following the way of darkness. It was “flesh and blood” that violated God’s commands, and flesh and blood would have to pay for the transgression.
But by God’s plan, it would be the “flesh and blood” of a human sacrifice that would be humanity’s redemption from the wickedness of earth. In Numbers35:33-34, we read that the land had been polluted by “blood”, and can only be atoned for by the blood of those who polluted. In other words, humanity’s sin – the “pollution” of earth – can only be made right again through the sacrifice of a human And the atonement for all people – a task far too great for any one person – could only be accomplished by God Himself. Only Jesus can be this One.
But God has never forced release from sin on anybody – He offers it to all, and each and every person must accept it for themselves. So the question that is before the entire world is “will you accept Christ’s Blood of atonement for the sparing of your own life?” There is no other way, you know!
The writer goes on to say that this offer isn’t for “the angels”, but for the “descendants of Abraham”! But does that limit the offer to the children of Israel? Romans 4:16-17 reminds us of God’s promise to Abraham, that he would be the father of “many nations”. The promise of God’s atonement was extended beyond the earthly descendants of Abraham – it was given, that all of humanity might be blessed.
Another one of God’s related attributes, and another one that is totally misunderstood by the world, is that of His great generosity. Israel had always assumed that by their status as the “chosen people”, that no one else was worthy of Jehovah’s grace. And the rest of earth’s people are just as confused over this issue as Israel is. In their confusion, they have come to believe that God is able to change His mind, and that sometimes He can be persuaded to see that His original decision needs to change, that it was a mistake. Is God immutable, that is unchanging, or not?
How do we miss the point that God’s ways are eternal, that the plan that is at work for us has existed since before the beginning of time! Israel’s selection as “the chosen” was never meant to be seen as exclusive – it was for a purpose that Israel has never quite accepted for their lives. In Genesis 12:1-3, Jehovah tells Abram that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
And all peoples will be blessed, when they accept the blessing of the atoning gift of Christ’s blood – the blood that was shed at Calvary – whether Israel is willing to take an active part in it or not!
Read Romans 3:21-25
In Isaiah 42:6-7, the LORD tells Israel that “they will be a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles”. This is the heart of a righteous God speaking, that there is no way that He would exclude the majority of earth from His hope for eternity. All that He does comes from His joyful heart, and is meant to be a blessed joy for all who accept it. In Galatians 3:26-29, Paul writes that “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” By faith in Christ, we become recipients of the same promises that were made to Abraham! The fulfilling of the covenant, the realized promise of Passover, forgiveness and acceptance at the Judgment, the love of God, and life in Him throughout eternity. It can all be ours, simply by faith in the blood of Jesus, and trusting in why it was given.
Paul continues with the truth of God’s righteousness, that it comes to all people through their faith in Christ Jesus. He also promises equality in Christ – that we all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory – that’s equality in our sin! Equality also extends to the judgment – no special favors, no deals, no exceptions – just the truth that only God knows. And it is all made possible by the equality that comes through Christ’s blood atonement, enabled in us by faith in Jesus.
This is what our faithful God is all about. He isn’t doctrine - He is creedal. He isn’t law - He is example and teaching. He isn’t demand - He is invitation. He isn’t “do as I say” - He is “do as I am”. He isn’t “you do it all or else”, He is “do just what I ask, and I’ll do the rest”.
The LORD knew that we could never meet the challenges that the Law presented, so His precious gift to us was Jesus and the holy blood that He was to shed at Calvary. He knew that we could never become perfect through the Law that we created, so He made a new and perfect way that we all could trust in. He knew that we would never fully understand Him, so He became like us, and taught us, and did for us those things that we never could.
And this brings us back to His atoning grace. There’s a contemporary song by Chris Tomlin titled “AmazingGrace (My Chains are Gone)”. The words of the chorus are this:
My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace
The ransom that the song speaks of is Christ’s “ransoming” blood. That’s what Christ’s “atonement” actually means – it is His ransom payment to free us from the penalty for our sin – and that is death. He took our death, shed His blood, and freed us for eternal life with Him.
Praise the LORD Jesus, this day, and always. Praise the LORD, for the day of His birth, Praise Him for the life He lived among us, Praise Him for the death He accepted on our behalf, and Praise Him for the ransom He paid to free us for life eternal.
Praise Him for His atoning nature.
