Bible Study

The Gift of Eternal Life Berean Bible Study Course

Part I--The Character Of Jesus Christ Our Lord

F. Lesson 6--Jesus Is The Savior Of The Obedient

6. READ: ROMANS 3:21-26

c. Who was the sacrifice of atonement for all sins?

Answer: God gave this gift of justification freely by His grace. He did this by presenting Jesus, His Only Son, as a sacrifice of atonement, through our faith in the blood of Jesus. We must have faith in Jesus, contact His blood and THEN receive this freely offered gift of justification provided to all men through the grace of God, (verses 24, 25 and 26). This righteousness from God comes to all people who BELIEVE through their faith in Jesus Christ, (verse 22).

MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:

• Atonement can be said to be the reconciliation of God and man through the death of Jesus Christ--to make amends or "pay back" for an offense or wrong. It was for our offenses and wrongs that Jesus paid the price. He was the perfect sacrifice--unblemished, innocent, pure--for our sins. The sins for which WE should pay the price were instead paid for by the blood of Jesus. This is what "reconciles" us to God--brings us back to Him as friends--and we are no longer His enemies. We can become His children! Jesus came as our "propitiation," the One Who gained back the favor of God for us--the One Who took God's righteous anger and wrath away from us. Christ atoned for our sins.

• Scriptures concerning this atonement:

  Leviticus 16:10: "But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat." (Jesus became that scapegoat to make atonement, or turn aside the wrath of God, for us: John 11:49-50: "Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.'")

  Psalm 65:3: "When we were overwhelmed by sins, You forgave our transgressions."

  Hebrews 2:17: "For this reason He [Christ] had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people."

  Hebrews 9:27-28: "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him."

  1 John 4:9-10: "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

  Jesus was not only the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins; He was the perfect high priest to make atonement for us--to offer Himself as the perfect sarifice.