Christ Our Atoning Savior: Why We Need Redemption and How God Provides It

By Stephen Wellum

Our Need for Atonement and God’s Gracious Provision in Christ

Central to why our triune God created humans is that he created us to know him in covenant relationship and to display his glory in the world as his kings and queens (Gen. 1:26–28; Ps. 8). But given human sin, how does God’s purpose still stand? In our sin, we—who were created to know, love, and obey the God of all glory—stand guilty and condemned before him; we cannot save ourselves. How will God forgive us, especially since “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10)? Adam’s sin turned the created order upside down and brought on all of humanity the sentence of death (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23). Humans, who were made for covenant relationship with God and for each other, are now under God’s righteous judgment as his enemies and objects of his wrath (Eph. 2:1–3). What hope is there for us? Our only hope is that our triune God, who does not need us, takes the initiative in grace to redeem, justify, and transform us (Eph. 2:4–7).

Contrary to non-Christian thought, we cannot save ourselves. We must never forget that the gospel message is not about self-help or our doing good for the betterment of society. No doubt, as a result of the gospel, our lives are transformed and we begin to act properly toward God and one another. But, first and foremost, the gospel is about the majesty, glory, and beauty of our triune God and what he has done to redeem, justify, and reconcile moral rebels against him—who deserve nothing but judgment—and to make all things new. Apart from God’s acting in sovereign grace, the human race is completely lost and without hope. This point is especially reinforced when we remember who we have sinned against.

Given that our triune Creator and Lord is holy and just (Isa. 6:1–4; Rev. 4:8–11), the moral standard of the universe, he cannot simply overlook our sin. Think of God’s holy justice (Gen. 18:25). God is not like a human judge, who adjudicates laws external to himself; God is the law. What is true, good, and beautiful is measured against the standard of God’s own perfect nature and will. This is why our sin is no small matter! In our rebellion against God, we have not sinned against an abstract force or an impersonal law, nor is our sin only horizontal—against one another. Above all, our sin is against God. David, for example, sinned against many people in his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, but he also rightly knew that his sin was first against God (Ps. 51:4). For this reason, Scripture reminds us that God’s forgiveness of our sin is not cheap. For God to forgive us, given who he is as the holy and just one, he must remain true to himself. He must act to satisfy his own righteous demand against us (Rom. 3:25–26).

This raises a crucial question running from Genesis 3 throughout the entire Bible: In the forgiveness of our sin, how will God demonstrate his holy justice, covenant love, remain true to himself, and justify the ungodly (Rom. 4:5)? Scripture is clear: it is only in Christ alone, the eternal Son made flesh (John 1:1, 14), that our triune God has satisfied his own righteous demand against sinners and secured our reconciliation, justification, and redemption by his obedient life and substitutionary death (Rom. 5:1; Rom. 8:1). To undo, reverse, and pay for Adam’s sin, Jesus Christ is the only one who can do this for us. As the true man, he is the only one who can obey for us as our covenant head. As the divine Son, he is the only one able to satisfy God’s righteous demand by paying the penalty for our sin (Rom. 6:23). Apart from his obedient life and atoning death, we have no Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 5:12–21; Heb. 2:5–18). But gloriously, because of the incarnate Son’s life, death, and resurrection, we have an all-sufficient Redeemer who meets our every need (Heb. 7:23–28).

There is no greater news than this: Christ Jesus, as God the Son incarnate, perfectly meets our need before God by his obedient life and substitutionary death. In Christ, the triune love of God is revealed because in Christ we receive the gift of righteousness which is now ours by faith in him. United to Christ by faith, he obeys in our place, dies our death, and satisfies divine justice—indeed, his own justice—which is evidenced in his glorious resurrection, ascension, and the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). As a result, by faith alone in Christ alone, his righteousness is ours forever (Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13). In Christ, we stand complete: justified before God by the forgiveness of our sins and clothed in his righteousness (Rom. 4:1–8; 5:1–2).

All of this reveals that God—not us—is at the center of the universe. Christ’s atoning work reminds us that our triune God planned our redemption from eternity and achieved it in history. From beginning to end, God alone acted in power and grace to provide and accomplish our salvation—by the Father’s initiative, through the Son, and by the Spirit’s union with Christ (Eph. 1:3–14).

Living as Justified and Reconciled People in Christ

In light of what our triune God has done for us in Christ, what practical effect does this have on our lives? Many applications could be made, but one stands out: as we consider God’s forgiveness of our sin and our justification in Christ, this shapes how we forgive others who sin against us.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to ask for the forgiveness of our sins and to forgive those who sin against us (Matt. 6:12). Jesus strengthens this point: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14–15). Many have struggled here, thinking Jesus suggests a works-based forgiveness. But this is not his meaning. We must interpret the Lord’s Prayer in its context and in light of Christ’s finished work.

When we do, we see that Jesus teaches us the relationship between God’s forgiveness of us and our forgiveness of others. Since God has forgiven us of our treason against him—and since everything we have is by grace—how can we not forgive others? God has done the greater; human sin against us is the lesser. This does not minimize human sin. Instead, it reminds us that our greatest problem is our sin before God. And if God has forgiven us freely and fully in Christ (Eph. 2:8–10), then we must extend that forgiveness to others.

Later, in Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive a brother who sins against him. Jesus answers, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:22). The point: continual forgiveness. Why? Because God has forgiven us of the greater—our sin against him—and we forgive others of the lesser.

If we struggle to forgive others, we must first consider our own sin before God and the justification we have received in Christ. Unless we see that we have been forgiven much, we will struggle to forgive. Sadly, today many focus on what someone has done to them and forget what they have done against God. If you are struggling to forgive, start with the cross.

For Further Study and Reflection

Texts on Christ’s work and our justification:
Rom. 3:21–31; 5:1–11; 6:1–14; 8:1–17; 2 Cor. 5:16–21.

Texts on our response:
Matt. 6:14–15; 18:15–35; Rom. 13:9–21; Phil. 2:1–11; Col. 4:12–17; 1 John 1:8–10; 2:9–11; 4:7–12.

Stephen Wellum is the author of The Person of Christ: An Introduction.

This article first appeared at Crossway and is posted here with permission. 

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