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[0:00] Welcome everyone. Pens, handouts, Bibles. Just, well I guess one notice, half term next week, so no Sunday school.

[0:20] ! We'll restart the Sunday after that and we're going to be staying in the Atonement. So this is going to be a mega series on the Atonement because there's lots to say on this. And I've got recordings if you've missed any. Let's pray.

[0:39] Lord God, we thank you for this new day, this new week. We thank you for Christ and all that he has done for us, his obedience, his sacrifice.

[0:51] We thank you for the cross. And as we just dive deeper into understanding our glorious salvation, please help us. By your spirit would we grasp these wonderful and weighty things.

[1:05] And please give us great assurance today knowing that Christ has died for us. He has taken our guilt away. Would we truly know that in our hearts? In Jesus' name. Amen.

[1:15] So if you haven't been here, we've been thinking about the Atonement this term. And so the Atonement, it refers to the cross, all that Christ was doing on the cross.

[1:26] And in fact, all his life, as we saw last week, his life and his cross is all connected. And what have we seen so far? We have seen that we need Atonement. So the world is as it is. It is fractured. It is a sinful mess.

[1:41] Because we have fractured our relationship with God. So we are meant to be living communion with God to have a good, a right relationship with them. But now there is the debt of sin above us.

[1:55] There is wrath on God's part toward us because of that sin. And so there is a broken relationship. And so we need Atonement.

[2:07] There are three kind of ingredients to Atonement relating to the three needs of sin. So we need our debt paid for. We need redemption.

[2:19] We need propitiation. So God's wrath is against us. We need that wrath to go somewhere else to be satisfied, for God's wrath to be appeased. And through all that, we need reconciliation.

[2:32] We need to be brought back to God. We aren't at one with God because of our sin. And so we need Atonement. That's what it means. Being at one with God.

[2:44] And how does this happen? Well, we saw in the Old Testament, we need a sacrifice, right? The wrath needs to go somewhere. The debt needs to go somewhere. God's justice demands that.

[2:55] He can't just forget it, sweep it under the rug. Something needs to be punished for sin. And so we saw in the Old Testament that that happened in the sacrifice. So I'll put the cross here, but you can put the lamb there, right?

[3:09] That happened in the sacrificial system. And so, but that didn't work. And so we find our need for atonement fulfilled on the cross.

[3:20] So Christ substitutes in for us. This is his people. He substitutes in for us. He's a sacrifice for us.

[3:31] The debt goes on to him. The sin, the guilt goes on to him. The punishment, the wrath falls on him. And he dies for us.

[3:42] And we saw also, who does he die for? Who's the us? It's his people. It's the elect. Those on his belt. He's carrying a people with him. And he dies for them. And therefore, he atones for our sins.

[3:56] And last week, we saw this involves not only his death, but his whole life. So do you remember our atonement chart?

[4:08] So this is our atonement chart, right? So as soon as he's born, he is obeying and suffering for us.

[4:19] And it's a whole life of obedience and suffering. And then at the cross, it kind of climaxes, right? So his life isn't disconnected from his death. It's all one big act of obedience.

[4:29] Climax in the cross. That's Philippians 2. Obedient to the point of death. Even death on the cross. That's a title and that's a cross. They look the same.

[4:41] There we go. And now today, so that's a bit of a recap. Now today, I want us to think about Christ's sacrifice even deeper. I want us to think about why Christ's sacrifice was so perfect.

[4:57] What is it about Jesus and the cross that was good enough to cover our sins and to bring us back to God? Why would nothing else do except the cross of Christ?

[5:14] Why is it so perfect? And so I want us to jump into that. And I want us to see the atonement is perfect. So we've seen that we need a sacrifice.

[5:24] That's the shape, the need that we, that's the shape of the atonement. That's our need. God's wrath needs to fall somewhere. Justice demands payment needs to be made by someone in some way.

[5:37] And so we saw a few weeks ago, God set up the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, didn't he? So the tabernacle, the goats, the bulls, the sacrifices. That was all in shape, right?

[5:48] There was a death on Israel, there was a wrath of God, and it would fall on a sacrifice. God was showing us the shape of the atonement. And God was providing for that need.

[6:01] But that didn't work, did it? And I want us to ask, why didn't that work? Why weren't the Old Testament sacrifices good enough to actually bring atonement?

[6:16] Well, if we answer that, we're going to see why Christ is able to save us, and why his cross was so perfect to save us.

[6:28] And I want you to see that in Hebrews. I want you to break out into groups and answer these two big questions using the verses below them. What are the problems with the Old Testament sacrifices?

[6:38] There are a few. I've got a few here. And what is different about Christ's sacrifice compared to the Old Testament sacrifices? Again, there are a few answers to each question.

[6:50] So break out into groups. I'll give you five minutes for this. Thank you.

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[33:08] And so, Thank you.

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[34:38] That's really, thank you.

[35:38] And it will.

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[36:38] That is how we can.

[37:08] for one life.

[37:38] And you know, perfect, because you're perfect.

[38:38] God, right?

[39:08] And you're just, you know, And what does that, you know, and you're just, you know, but you're just, you know, and you're just, you know, and you're just, you know, it was a, you know, and you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just.

[43:08] infinitely deep when he went to the bank. And the Canons of Dort, I've got that there for you, it really helpfully spells this out. So the Canons of Dort is a reformed document spelling out the reformed faith, basically. So it's a bit like the Westminster Confession of Faith.

[43:25] And it says this, Article 2.3, the death of God's son is the only and entirely complete sacrifice and satisfaction for sins. It is of infinite value and worth, more than sufficient to atone for the sins of the world. And why? The reason for this is this death is of such great value and worth for the reason that the person who suffered it is, as was necessary to be our saviour, he was not only a true and perfectly holy human, but also the only begotten son of God of the same eternal and infinite essence, nature, being, as God. Same with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And the Westminster Confession says a similar thing. Why was it required that the mediator, our saviour, should be God, as well as man? It was required that the mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God. And you need an infinite payment to take an infinite wrath. And the power of death as well. And it was so that it was to give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, infinite worth to his sufferings, obedience and intercession.

[44:44] And so he could satisfy God's justice. And this is key to why the atonement is so perfect. Our sins are infinite. God's wrath is infinite. And so only an infinitely valuable person can atone for our sins, which is exactly what happened on the cross. And let me finish with this. And this is why, if we think about Betty, this is why there is no sin too great to forgive. This is why Jesus saves to the uttermost. To think we or someone that we know is too bad for Jesus to forgive. It's to say that the value of Jesus' life, it's too small to pay for their sins. And that is utterly impossible.

[45:34] And so this means every single bit of our sin and guilt and debt is being completely paid for. To say some of my sins aren't paid for, maybe God is angry with some of these really bad ones that I've done in my life. That is to say Christ isn't valuable enough to pay for them, which is impossible.

[45:53] No, because Jesus is divine. Therefore, it really is finished once and for all. How are we for time? One minute for questions. Go for it.

[46:08]  Lackis, did that answer your question? Okay, good. Okay.