The Atonement

I was recently asked what is so important about the atonement. I found the answer to be encouraging. Here is what I wrote:

The Bible has one story from Genesis to Revelation. It is the story of a God redeeming his creation for his glory. That is the metanarrative for the entire Bible. The atonement is the key to unlocking God’s redemption. The offense of sin against a holy God is incalculable. Therefore, the punishment to be dealt is equal to the crime. No person can pay this price and be redeemed back to God. In order for there to be redemption, someone had to intervene. God’s Son came to pay that price. He who was blameless took on the blame of the world. He suffered the penalty for God’s people so that they could then receive the Son’s reward. The transaction took place on the cross. This is atonement. Without this doctrine, Christianity is simply another list of things to do and not do. A watered down or weakened version of this and you either get men who don’t really need redemption (they can do it on their own) or a God who doesn’t care (let them suffer). Today, the former thought tends to dominate. We have a high view of man and a low view of God. We often think (but never verbalize, it would be unbecoming of us) that God is lucky to have us. He would do well to just forgive anything or ignore sin. Therefore, we don’t really need redemption. We just need to try a little harder and God will honor that. No one really goes to hell because of sin, except Hitler, serial killers, and people who club baby seals. Who really needs their sins to be atoned? This doctrine is crucial to the faith because without it we are lost with a way.