The Need for Atonement

The dishonoring of God's holiness by our sin merits death. Eternal death. A life must be given in order to avert God's great wrath. The blood of bulls, goats and lambs as required by the Sinai Covenant was not enough (see Hebrews 9-10). Thus, the very son of God became THE Passover Lamb. Jesus' sacrificial death is described by John, Paul and the writer of Hebrews as a "propitiation", which means "a turning away of anger" (Rom. 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2, etc.). Christ not only took the sin of the world upon himself, he also took all of God's wrath upon himself. This is a necessary component of the doctrine of "the atonement" or the bring of God and us "at-one."

The prophet Isaiah stated that it actually pleased God to offer His son to be "crushed" (Isa. 53:10). Again, not easy teaching and one we will return to later.