The Gathering - Part Eight

Here again is the purpose statement for our gatherings:

To remember what God has done to bring us into relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the communion that is now possible with God, to give attention to His word and to recommit to living within the grace of this covenantal relationship with God and each other.

This week as we prepare to gather let's consider what we mean by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In order to understand this great doctrine of the Atonement we must first grasp two truths. First, God is altogether holy and righteous. In Him is no evil, no sin. In fact, He is so opposed to sin that when He sees it, His holy wrath is aroused against it! The second truth we must understand is that all of mankind is sinful. We are sinners by nature, by birth into Adam's race. We also sin. We live out our fallen nature. When we understand these two truths we can understand the atonement. 

When we remember the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we are talking about His death on the cross that makes amends for our sin and brings us back into a right relationship with God. The Bible Scholar and Pastor Lehman Strauss wrote these words on the subject,

Because of two great facts, the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, Atonement is made an absolute necessity if sinners are to be pardoned and brought to God. When we have the true conception of the holiness of God, we will have the true conception of sin, and when we have the correct view of sin, we will have an adequate view of the Atonement. The only reason that men are offended at the preaching of the Cross is because they have no adequate sense of sin and the holiness of our Lord. When a man refuses to face sin, he will find it easy to dispense with what the Bible teaches about the Atoning Death of Christ. The love and mercy of God are infinite and matchless, still the penalty for sin must be paid. Thus it was, in the eternal past, before the foundation of the world, that God determined and planned that atonement should be provided for His fallen creatures who would be deceived by Satan. If no plan of atonement had been proposed and perpetuated by the Godhead, all would be hopeless for mankind. And so, in the counsels of the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it was decreed that One should come and offer Himself as a Divine Substitute in the sinner’s place. This necessitated the Substitute taking upon Himself a human body. The eternal Son of God was that Substitute. And so “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “God was manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).   (To read more of this article by Strauss click here.)

As we gather this weekend, may we keep in the front of our thoughts that Christ's atonement for sin is the only way that we are able to have a relationship with God, to engage with God, to worship Him.


"Father, make us keenly aware of Your holiness and Your hatred toward sin. Let us feel the weight of our sinfulness and then be able to rejoice in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. May we remember that He is our only hope. May we worship You in spirit and in truth today! Amen."

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

     by Joachim Neander

O Worship the King

     by Robert Grant

Open the Eyes of My Heart

     by Paul Baloche

Your Glory 

     by Leslie Jordan

Worthy, Worthy
     by Jacob Sooter and Mia Fieldes