Atonement – Salisbury Baptist Church

The Grace That Changes Everything

31st August 2025

There is an elephant in the room of understanding the relationship between Jesus' attitude to the law and forgiveness - the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the account of the woman caught in adultery, the contrast between divine justice and divine mercy is laid bare. Jesus does not ignore sin, but bears its cost upon the Cross, turning the wrath of God into forgiveness for all who trust in Him. True freedom from condemnation comes not from perfect obedience to the law, but from the saving grace of Christ who says, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more."

Healing in the Atonement?

10th August 2025

While Jesus' death on the cross is the ultimate source of all restoration, the Atonement specifically deals with bearing our sins to make us right with God. The prophecy in Isaiah about Him bearing our sicknesses was fulfilled during His earthly ministry, where He healed all who came to Him, demonstrating His compassion. Healing is not guaranteed in the Atonement in the same way as forgiveness; therefore, believers should pray for healing, trusting in Jesus' power, but not fall into condemnation if sickness remains. We must rest in the knowledge that God's grace is always sufficient for us.

The New Covenant

6th July 2025

The Old Covenant Law does not on its own make anyone righteous; rather, its primary purpose is to reveal the universal nature of sin, holding every person accountable to God. The Old Testament itself, however, points forward to a New Covenant. This new promise is not based on external rules but on an internal change, where God writes His law on our hearts and all may know Him personally. This covenant is made possible by the one, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose death provides a complete atonement for sin, offering total forgiveness to all who come to Him in faith.

One Blessing, Not Two

29th June 2025

Salvation is a totally complete gift of grace (charis), paid fully and secured by Christ's finished work on the cross and delivered by the Holy Spirit. A common teaching of a "second blessing" or a separate baptism in the Holy Spirit on top of being converted to Christ is a grave misunderstanding of careful reading of the New Testament that pictures God's salvation as bringing to us all that we need. The mistake is not to realise there is no need for a second blessing when the first is so complete. This one blessing was first available on the day of Pentecost. The earlier moment of Jesus breathing on His gathered disciples in the upper room - a teaching method that pictured how the Holy Spirit would be sent by Jesus from Heaven - was ultimately brought to pass when people responded to the Gospel message announced by Peter on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was not given until then after Jesus had been glorified in Heaven. (See John 7:37-39; Acts 2:36-41.) This event was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. There is only one blessing that brings salvation, even though our application of it often needs us time to step into all that it is involved. Our faith needs to acknowledge the total act of the provision of God's grace that the believer receives in responding to Christ. Salvation is the one total blessing Christ provides both in terms of atonement and forgiveness but also in the provision of power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life. We need to learn to rest fully in both His finished cross work of atonement, and also on the ongoing power from the Holy Spirit as we walk in Him. Salvation also includes our ultimate transfer to the glory in Heaven. All these are parts of our salvation provided by the first blessing of Christ.

The Finished Atonement

1st June 2025

Christ's Atonement is a finished work, a complete payment for our sin that we can never need to add. We are justified by faith in His action, not by works of the law or our own efforts to live a good life. True Christian service, therefore, does not spring from a duty to atone for our failures, but from a heart of love and gratitude for the totality of His grace.

Ruth

A Worthy Inheritance

1st June 2025

The story of Ruth's redemption by Boaz reveals a spiritual legality. Just as Boaz acted properly and lawfully to secure Ruth, Christ's Atonement is a finished, legal reality in heaven. Now being atoned, when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us, not only out of mercy alone, but because of the completed work of His Son. This truth calls us to a total commitment, like that of Ruth, so that we may walk fully in the blessing of being part of God's family.

The Garden of Suffering

18th April 2025

There is a vital distinction between the two situations of Christ's anguish: His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane serves as a pattern for our own trials, demonstrating that the Father sends strength to endure, not necessarily escape. The suffering on the Cross, however, is unique to the Son. In that moment, He bore our sins alone, accomplishing a complete atonement to which we can add nothing. So, we receive His forgiveness and cleansing by faith, receiving it with thankfulness.

The Blood that Atones

30th March 2025

The atonement is not achieved by our actions but entirely through Christ's blood. Many people misunderstand atonement, thinking it involves their own efforts to get right with God, but Scripture reveals it is completely God's work. Jesus' sacrifice has already paid for our sins in full, requiring nothing from us except belief. His blood changes everything: it propitiates God's wrath, reverses our fallen position, and silences Satan's accusations against us. When we trust in Christ's finished work rather than our "dead works," our conscience is purified, and we serve God not to earn salvation but out of grateful love.

The Blood is for the Father’s Eyes

23rd March 2025

The blood of Christ was shed not merely for us to see, but primarily for God the Father to see. When Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He presented His blood before the Father as an eternal, once-for-all atonement for our sins—past, present, and future. This perfect sacrifice can purify our conscience from "dead works"— futile attempts to earn God's favour through our own efforts. This is ours when we come to God receiving a full acceptance on the basis of this atonement due to Christ’s shed blood. Because Christ's atonement is complete, we need only to be reconciled to God by receiving this once and for all forgiveness of sins. Thereafter if we sin, we need only to confess to God those new sins and rest in the assurance that we are cleansed from them by the faithfulness of God to honour the full effectiveness of that finished atonement.

The Seven Sayings of Christ on the Cross

The Seven Sayings from the Cross #4

9th March 2025

The central saying from the cross—"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"—represents the most difficult moment in redemptive history when the Father turned away as the Son bore our sins. The supernatural darkness during those three hours came not from God but from the gathering powers of evil, attempting to extinguish the Light but finding themselves defeated instead. Through this abandonment, Jesus opened the way for us to draw near to God with confidence. We can now approach God with a true heart in full assurance of faith, just as Jesus demonstrated when He committed His spirit to the Father. Because Jesus was forsaken, we need never be.