Object Lesson: Atonement
This object lesson will focus on understanding the gospel and atonement of Christ. This is for a counselee who may not be a believer or one who does not understand the gospel completely. It may also benefit a counselee who is works oriented and not trusting in justification through faith in Christ. The emphasis of this object lesson is to help your counselee understand that they are born under the curse of sin due to Adam. They are dead in their sin (Ephesians 2:1) and separated from God (Ephesians 2:13) and under the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). This lesson will also show Christ, who was both fully God (Hebrews 1:3) and fully man (1 Timothy 2:5), lived a perfect life (1 Peter 2:22) , therefore fulfilling the law, and was the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10:5-10) to satisfy and remove God’s wrath (1 John 2:2) from everyone who trusts in Him as Lord and Savior (John 1:12). You can walk through all these scriptures slowly as you talk about sin and righteousness.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God,for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Ephesians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will”
Materials: black cardigan or jacket
White cardigan or jacket
As you begin this lesson put the black sweater or jacket on your counselee (if possible). Read Ephesians 2:1-3. Talk about being dead in your sins. Ask you counselee what that means and explain that we are spiritually dead, unable to desire or know God. Describe how we very early in life are self-centered toddlers and children who are more concerned about getting what they want and when they want it. Ask your counselee areas of sin that they have struggled with in the past. Do they remember (or are they now) involved in gossip, lying, arguments with people, unforgiveness, insisting on their own way, or other sins you have heard in the counseling sessions. Talk about what it means to be under the wrath of God. God is just. He cannot just ignore or excuse sin. Sin is against God and it must be accounted for. While we are sinners and apart from God, living in our sin, we deserve death (Romans 3:23). We will spend eternity in hell, separated from God, if we die in our sin.
But, Jesus came into the world to be the propitiation for our sin. John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world SO he sent His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Propitiation means to appease, the satisfy or relieve, to meet the demands of
Take the black sweater off your counselee and put it on yourself. Walk through the scripture of 2 Corinthians 5:21 explaining that you represent Jesus in this story. Jesus took on our sin when he was crucified so that he could experience the wrath of God’s anger against sin in our place. Romans 5:9 and 1 Thessalonians 5:9 talk about Jesus taking God’s wrath so it is removed from us. Again, God is just. Since Jesus has taken our punishment and satisfied God’s wrath against sin for those who believe and trust in him, we cannot be punished for our sin. Our sin is removed (like the black sweater). In mercy, God did not give us the punishment of death for our sin. He removed the extremely negative consequence which is mercy.
Put the white sweater on your counselee. In grace, God now clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. Not only is our sin gone, but we are credited with the perfect life of Christ. Look again at 2 Corinthians 5:21. We have become the righteousness of God. The sin has NOT been covered up. The righteousness of Christ doesn’t go over our sin. God has removed the sin since Christ paid the penalty for it.
God throws your sin into the sea (Micah 7:19)
God treads your sin underfoot (Micah 7:19)
God throws your sin behind his back (Isaiah 38:17)
God blots out your sin (Isaiah 43:25)
God forgets your sin (Hebrews 8:12)
God covers your sin (Romans 4:7-8)
God takes away your sin. (John 1:29)
God cancels the debt of your sin (Colossians 2:14)
God washes your sin (Isaiah 1:18)
God forgives your sin (1 John 1:9)
God laid your sin on Jesus. (Leviticus 16:21)
Read Isaiah 61:10 and rejoice in the garments of salvation! When you trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, you receive as a gift the robes of righteousness.