Getting Job-ed
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26 ESV
While discussing Moses’ era and the rituals that God required at that time, it’s crucial to talk about the concept of the atonement of Christ. This was the purpose of Jesus’ coming. Thus, this is the purpose of Christmas. Just as John Piper has observed, the atonement of Christ is the most important event in the history of the universe.
What is atonement?
What does it take for a rebellious creature to be justified in the sight of an infinitely holy King? Our culture, guided by relativistic and existential philosophy, doesn’t bat an eye for why a god would allow sinners to walk away Scott free from rebellion. Right? Think about it. We hardly give any objection as to how an infinitely holy God can allow rebellious creatures to walk about from such an atrocity! For God to be infinitely holy, righteous, and just, He by His nature has to deal with this problem, or else He is not infinitely holy, righteous, and just. If a King does not deal with this rebellion, whether by the death of the insurrectionist or by another means, He has contradicted His nature. God never contradicts His nature.
Atonement is the means by which divine wrath is removed from someone that deserves judgment. The term we see in the above verses is “propitiation” which means the removal of divine wrath from a subject that deserves it. And this isn’t judgment from just a little county court, this is punishment from an infinite God. We see this in Genesis 1-3. Mankind is given a law to follow, and to break that law, means death. God lays out the terms of the covenant agreement: If you follow the law then blessings occur, if you refuse, then death occurs.
Mankind chooses rebellion against God. So, for God to be infinitely holy, righteous, and just, what has to happen? Death. But mankind doesn’t die. We should have. That is what Paul is dealing with in Romans 3:21-26. This is an issue for Paul: the justification of God for allowing rebellious sinners off the hook. What does God do in Genesis 3:21? He kills an animal to cover their sin. How is God not unjust for allowing sinners to walk away without being utterly destroyed? He provided the death in their place.
Atoning Sacrifice
Throughout the Old Testament, laid out especially in Leviticus, we see the concept of the sacrificial system in place for the Israelites in their covenant with God. We don’t have the time to go into the specifics of what all that entailed, but in a nutshell, Leviticus is largely about the conditions that are required by an infinitely holy God to be in the presence of His people. As seen in the Old Testament, God is so holy that when His presence is near what is unholy, big things can occur, and by big, I mean death (Leviticus 10). So atonement has to occur for God to be in the presence of His people. But what is amazing is that in the New Testament we find that those sacrifices actually didn’t really save anyone, it was pointing to a greater reality that was to come (Hebrews 10:4-6).
So too, for God to exist with His people, atonement has to occur. A death has to occur. But not one of just bulls and goats, this has to be one that satisfies the wrath of God. The only sacrifice that can do that is one of God Himself. This is what Christmas is all about: God came into human existence to atone for mankind’s sin, in order to be in their presence, which would justify both His righteousness and also justify the sinner. This is the purpose of Christmas. This is the purpose of everything: to see and love the atonement of Christ and praise His glory forever (Ephesians 1:3-14).
-Austin
