Atonement Summary

"A man PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT, AND DUG A VAT UNDER THE WINE PRESS AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. They took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those vine-growers said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!' They took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES '?"
(MarK 12:1-11)


This is not a description of what I think salvation IS, but how we get salvation through Jesus. This is too spare a summary, but it will do for now:

God wants to forgive us all, but we are all born into systems of alternative salvation and justice. These are governments, religions, economies, etc. that murder, steal and encourage evil to obtain their goals.

Jesus came to show us a new way, of living outside of those systems toward charity, peace and reliance on God's power. Jesus then allowed the systems of this world to kill him, a completely innocent man, the perfect representative of God. Then God, the judge of all the world, raised Jesus from the dead. This showed two things: first, that the systems of the world are condemned and second, that God established Jesus to be the head of a new kingdom with a new law.

Those who wish to be freed from all the acts of evil done under the old system must give their fidelity to Jesus, and commit to him as their king, and willingly live under his law. Thus are we saved from this evil world and Jesus is the ruling king over all who choose Him.