What is Atonement?
Atonement is a word utilized in primarily Christian (and even Jewish) contexts, but it is rarely defined in a way that is simple and understandable. Many Christians today have heard the word and have even utilized it without knowing what exactly it means. Most Christians have a definition of atonement that states that it is at • one • ment with God, but there are two issues with that definition—(1) it isn’t really a definition and (2) it doesn’t tell us what atonement is, but rather the result of atonement. [1] Really, all that we have by utilizing a definition like at • one • ment is a shallow understanding of what atonement actually is and what it means for the modern-day Christian. What this blog post will do is it will provide a working definition of atonement for modern-day Christians while helping them to understand and apply what atonement means for them today. To do this, we’ll take a look throughout the Old and New Testaments and we’ll develop an understanding of what the Bible means when it uses the word atonement.
Atonement in the Bible
If you were to look up the word atonement in a concordance, you would find that the word is utilized approximately 103 times in 90 verses. [2] If you’re particularly discerning as you read through the concordance, you would notice that the word is utilized only in the Old Testament (OT) and its use is concentrated in the Pentateuch (the first five books). That doesn’t mean that the idea of atonement isn’t in the New Testament (NT), it only means that the word itself doesn’t appear in the New Testament.
Atonement in the Old Testament
In the OT, atonement translates the Hebrew word כָּפַר (kaphar) and it “conveys the idea of covering, both in the sense of covering to hide and also covering for someone.” [3] Already you can see then, that the modern idea that atonement is at • one • ment. isn’t sufficient—the OT’s use of the word kaphar is already more significant. We see this throughout the OT as we see various texts that utilize the word kaphar.
Throughout the OT, particularly in the Pentateuch, the use of kaphar focuses primarily on the ritual sacrificing of unblemished animals to atone for sin. We see passages such as Exodus 29-32; Leviticus 1-25; Numbers 5-8, 15-16, 25, 28-29, 31, 35; and Deuteronomy 21:8 describing atonement as something that requires the blood of ritually clean animals to cover the sins of the people.
The idea of atonement is illustrated in Genesis 3 after Adam and Eve sin. They chose to cover themselves with sewed fig leaves because they then understood what it meant to be naked (Gen 3:1-7); God chose to cover them with the skins of animals because He understood that sin could only be atoned for by blood (Gen 3:21). [4] This could also be why Cain’s offering of fruit rather than the firstborn of his flock was rejected by God (Gen 4).
As the OT continues, we see David write of God atoning for mankind (Ps 78:38), we see Solomon explain that this atonement is done through God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (Prov 16:6), and we see a vision given to Isaiah in which “one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” (Isa 6:6-7) [5]
Essentially, we see that atonement is the process of covering the sins of the people—in the OT it was seen through ritualistic sacrifices of animals; in Isaiah, we see it visualized as a burning coal touching Isaiah’s mouth; but even with these different illustrations, visualizations, and ritualistic laws, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that these things are not enough—Consider Psalm 51:16-17, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Continuously offering sacrifices didn’t atone for the sins of man. Rather, it was the broken and contrite spirits and hearts of man coming to the Father by faith asking for His mercy and grace that resulted in God providing atonement for their sins. This is why David before saying that God wants a broken spirit and contrite heart, begs God for mercy and he asks God to blot out his transgressions (Ps 51:1); and this is why he spends vv. 7-12 asking God to “purge [him] with hyssop . . . wash [him] . . . [and] create in [him] a clean heart.”
The OT makes it abundantly clear that man’s sin requires atonement. We see commands concerning this truth, we see illustrations of how this is to be done, and we see that this is something that man cannot do, but rather something that God does for men who humbly come to Him for mercy, grace, and salvation.
Atonement in the New Testament
Despite the fact that the NT doesn’t utilize the word atonement, I think it’s fairly easy to deduce that the idea of atonement from the OT is certainly seen in the NT—it’s seen primarily through Jesus and His death on the cross for the sins of mankind. In fact, the idea of Jesus atoning for the sins of mankind is emphasized significantly in Hebrews 10:11-14, “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, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Or in other words, what the Law required the Israelites to do by offering sacrifices repeatedly was only an illustration of Jesus’ ability to take away sins through His sacrifice on the cross. The author of Hebrews continues in ch. 10 by stating that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the means through which God no longer remembers our sins and we are set free from the eternal consequence of sin.
Jesus atones for man and it is through His atoning for man that those who repent and believe are able to enter into fellowship or communion with the Father. This is why it is such a huge deal for us to be able to enter into the “holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us . . . through his flesh.” (Heb 10:19-20)
Conclusion and Application
With all this in mind, we can formulate a much better definition of atonement. Atonement is what Jesus accomplished for those who are His as our substitutionary sacrifice on the cross—He paid the wages of sin, He endured the consequence of sin, and He covered our sins in order to blot them out. It is right to call what Jesus accomplished on the cross the substitutionary atonement that we needed to be saved because it is what Jesus accomplished on the cross that covers our sins and gives us the ability to enter into God’s presence and be reconciled to Him. Or put differently, Jesus atoned for our sins and because He atoned for our sins, we’ve been reconciled to God and can enjoy genuine fellowship and communion with Him.
So, how should we apply this theology? It’s actually quite simple—(1) praise Jesus for doing what you couldn’t do for yourself and (2) do what Hebrews 10:19-25 teaches. Hebrews 10:19-25 tells us that since we can now enter into God’s presence, we should actually enter into God’s presence, we should hold fast our confession of faith, and we should continuously stir up one another to love and good works. We ought to be thankful that Jesus did what we couldn’t do and because He did this, we can be with God; and we ought to take advantage of this truth. [6]
Jesus’ sacrificial and substitutionary atonement of our sins allows us to be with God—don’t take this for granted. Jesus’ sacrificial and substitutionary atonement for our sins is what makes it possible for man to be at one with God.
[1] M.G. Easton, “Atonement,” Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 66.
[2] This is according to the The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[3] D. Brockway, “Atonement,” The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), Logos Bible Software.
[4] See Kenneth Mathews, “Genesis 1-11:26,” The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 255
[5] Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this blog post are to the English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
[6] I recently preached a short sermon concerning this very topic at the North American Mission Board’s Church Planter’s assessment. To see or listen to this sermon, visit SermonAudio.
