We don’t use the words atone or atonement very much in modern language because we don’t like to admit we have been wrong and need to make things right. Atonement means satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends. It is the result of atoning, which means (1) to make amends or reparation, as for an offense or a crime, or for an offender; or (2) to make up, as for errors or deficiencies –Dictionary.com
Atonement is the central theme of the Bible
Atonement is the central theme of the Bible because humankind fell from sinless to sinful when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, Jesus Christ had to make an atonement to appease the righteous judgement of God. All of the Bible is the revelation of that atonement.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:12-17 NLT)
Please don’t get side-tracked and distracted by the word “many” in these verses. When Adam sinned, he was one man, but he plunged many billions of people into sin. No person is immune from this fall (Psalm 14:1; Psalm 53:1-3; Romans 3:11-12; ). When Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all those sins, he was one God-man, but he atoned for many billions of people. No one is neglected from this atonement. (John 3:16; Acts 2:21; Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4-6; 1 John 2:2) Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for sins was an unlimited atonement, to make amends, reparation, and to make up, for the fallen nature of all humankind.
- 4183 polýs
- many (high in number); multitudinous, plenteous — (“much in number”) emphasizes the quantity involved. 4183 (polýs) “signifies ‘many, numerous’; . . . with the article it is said of a multitude as being numerous” (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 113,114) – i.e. great in amount. –HELPS Word-studies
- the many (cf. Winer’s Grammar, 110 (105)): those contrasted with ὁ εἷς (i. e. both with Adam and with Christ), according to the context equivalent to the rest of mankind, Romans 5:15, 19, cf. Romans 5:12, 18; we the (i. e. who are) many, Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; the many whom ye know, 2 Corinthians 2:17; the many i. e. the most part, the majority, Matthew 24:12; 1 Corinthians 10:33. –Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
In other words; the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to tell us there is the same one-to-many relationship between Adam’s sin and fallen humankind as there is between Christ’s sacrifice and the the gift of grace to everyone. If atonement was limited, by the same logic, there must be some people that were not tainted with Adam’s sin. It’s not Adam’s sin plunged all of humankind into depravity; likewise, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice rescued all of humankind from depravity.
Unlimited atonement for the sins of all the world
Atonement is not salvation. Atonement makes amends and reparation for sin; it takes care of the sin question. Now, it is a son question. What will you do with Jesus Christ?
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-7)
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins — and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (1 John 2:1-2 NLT)
Atonement restores you to Adam’s pre-sin condition
Some people have described atonement as going before a judge for your sins and being found not guilty. Others have described atonement as going before a judge for your sins and being pardoned. But, both of these fall short of the mark. Atonement is going before the judge and being found guilty for your sins and having the punishment determined, but having the judge step down from the bench, and paying the complete penalty and taking the punishment himself, so that it is like you never sinned. Now, you have the same question as Adam and Eve. Will you obey God or will you disobey God?
God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,
“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”
So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”
Featured image: Statue of thorn-crowned Jesus carrying his cross by marinas32 (CC0 Creative Commons)