Efficient Atonement

“When Christ came into the world, he said,.. ‘I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

“’This is the covenant that I will make with them
    after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
    and write them on their minds,’

“then he adds,

“’I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’

“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through… his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:5,9-12,14-22

Jesus Christ the perfect Son perfectly fulfilled His Father’s will by giving His life to atone for those of every believer, past, present, and future. His finished work perfected for all time all who, in this life on earth, continue to be sanctified. Only the Holy One can design and accomplish such a mystery, where not one drop of blood is wasted, melding completed with ongoing in precise unity.

And we are the eternal benefactors. Sadly, many do not grasp the finished work, and spend days and endless efforts trying to achieve what only Jesus could. When Christ is demoted in their sovereign minds, they cannot fully grasp His supreme work on their behalf. They skirt the altar, focusing instead on self-sacrifice or good works in an attempt to win favor, a fruitless exercise that detracts from the perfect sacrifice that truly frees, and alone saves.

Where and how are we seeking full assurance? Would we in confidence draw near His throne, applying His once-for-all atonement? Whom can we tell of His efficient, loving gift for their eternal sake?

“And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!” ~Charles Wesley (1738)

Savior, keep me marveling at Your finished work, and making it known.