The full message of the Atonement has been missed by so many. People seek God for selfish motives and idolatry, for wealth and prosperity or they go to the other extreme and put God in a small box and limit His power so that the message of the Atonement has been distorted and lost to so many.
The facts are, Jesus came to restore to mankind what had been lost in Eden. What was lost, you ask?
First and foremost, through his rebellion, man lost his relationship with God. Because he tried to bridge that gap himself, he offered God what he thought would be satisfactory – his religion, his good works, his morality. All this did was make man increasingly fearful and subject to sicknesses, diseases and troubles. Relationships with those around him broke down and even as early as the first generation, we read of murder out of jealousy.
Jesus brought peace with God, forgiveness and abundant life to those who trusted in Him and His saving power.
The key word here is “trust” or “faith”. This isn’t a tacit nodding of the head in agreement with the principles of the Atonement. This is an absolute sell out to a God who came to restore what had been lost. This requires an active faith in the Giver that allows for no ifs or buts, no dependant clauses, no escape clauses like “if it is God’s will”. This is a firm, unwavering belief in Jesus as your Saviour: mind, body and soul.
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). In other words, we are saved by grace, not by following any other path of our own choosing. Human accomplishments and good works will get us nowhere. Salvation is a PERSON, not a PROCESS.
Salvation, from the Greek ‘sozo’, means “to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):--heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole” (Strongs #4982). Salvation is all about the making whole of a person so that only an unreserved trust in our Saviour for taking away our sins, shame and sicknesses, will see the full work of the Atonement in our lives.
“O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!” (Jer. 17:14 NLT)