According to the 2005 calendar, October 12, was " Yom Kippur," also known as the "Day of Atonement" in Judaism. Originally the English word "atonement" meant "the quality of being at one (with)." It came to refer to human reunion with God through Jesus Christ. Jews are in error in their rejection of Jesus as our atonement with God. But only Jesus makes it possible for us to be "at one" or reconciled with God. Both the Old and New Testaments help us understand the atonement and how Christ puts the sinner in the right relationship with God.

In the Old Testament, the word "atonement" occurs nearly 100 times, always translated from a form of the Hebrew, "kippurim" or "kapar" (e.g., Lev. 23:27; 25:9; Num. 5:8). It can mean, "to cover; to spread over; to wipe off; to conciliate; to pacify; to blot out guilt." It is also rendered "ransom, compensation, reconciliation, purge."

In the New Testament, the idea of atonement sees its fulfillment in the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed" (Rom. 3:24-25, NKJV). The writer of Hebrews tells us that animal blood could not take away sin, but Jesus by His own blood atoned for our sin (Heb. 9:7; 10:3, 19-22). The New Testament uses the word specifically only once: "And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation (Rom. 5:11). Jesus makes it possible for us to be reconciled to God-"at one" with God. Jesus is our atonement. In "He Is Mine," Dianne Wilkinson describes God's plan for atonement.

Long before the fall of man, God designed a master plan;
He exchanged the sinner for the Sinless One.
Jesus left His throne on high, came to earth to bleed and die,
He said, "Father, not my will, but Thine be done."
Through God's mercy and His grace, He's prepared for us a place;
Words cannot describe the matchless beauty there.
We will praise the Perfect Lamb, the King of kings, the Great I Am.
He has made the joys of heaven ours to share.
CHORUS He is mine, He is mine,
I am blessed beyond all measure, He is mine.
I have pardon full and free, through the blood He shed for me,
Saved forever I shall be, He is mine.

Can you say, "He is mine" today? Have you accepted the offer of His atoning sacrifice on Calvary? Why not be reconciled to God today by confessing your faith in Christ, repenting of your sins, and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins. By means of His atonement, if you accept His grace in faithful obedience, you then can say, "He is mine"!