30. How did the sin-offering take away sin?
The murderous crime against God’s only-born Son took away sin by immediately evoking the Father’s righteous judgment to reverse the unjust sentence even after its lethal execution! God himself condemned the sins Christ bore, which wrongly condemned him, by raising him from the dead, immortal and glorified, and exalting him to heaven’s throne, thus making his avenging completely pointless with respect to those who forthwith repented and believed this News. The Law of Moses had demanded nominal overcompensation by offenders on behalf of their victims. But the enormity of a capital crime was far too great for such restitution, so the death of the offender was exacted in its place. Yet this makeshift obviously could not truly rectify such a tragic loss. However, when God finally got in the act, a new dynamic emerged. He requited His Son with a superabundant overcompensation in response to his collective murder (this is what the collective laying of hands on the sacrificial animal denoted), which included a wonderfully indescribable present: the Holy Spirit. Ever after, all believers receive the Spirit as a pure gift that actually (objectively) cleans us internally (subjectively) from our sins. By giving us this pledge of everlasting life in our hearts, God enables us to rule over the decadent cravings of our mortal flesh so they don’t break forth inordinately in thought, word, or deed. That’s not everything we get, but it’s a flying start!
The Premial Atonement 