Atonement // Romans 3:25

by Mark Jordan

Romans 3:25-26 (NIV) | God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Atonement is one of the only theological words with its origins in English. It literally means, “at-one-ment,” or the process by which sinners are made one with God. Atonement typically addresses the way by which people remove obstacles to their reconciliation with God. What is unique to atonement is there isn’t anything you or I can do to remove the obstacles we face caused by sin. Now, before you begin to feel defeated, I have some very good news for you: there isn’t anything you can DO, because the work is already DONE! Jesus accomplished this on the cross. As our verse for the day indicates, Jesus accomplished that at all those years ago, but His perfect sacrifice made it effective for all time. Your salvation is therefore available to you right here and right now, not based in anything you can do, but because of what Jesus already did. Accept God’s offer of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus and find your life at one with the Lord forever. Good news, indeed!