The Atonement

We believe that Jesus Christ is a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek—made such by an oath¹—and that he presented himself in our name before his Father, to appease his wrath with full satisfaction by offering himself on the tree of the cross and pouring out his precious blood for the cleansing of our sins, as the prophets had predicted.² For it is written that "the punishment that brought us peace was upon him" and that "by his wounds we are healed." He was "led like a lamb to the slaughter"; he was "numbered with the transgressors"³ and condemned as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, though Pilate had declared that he was innocent.⁴ So he paid back what he had not stolen,⁵ and he suffered—"the righteous for the unrighteous,"⁶ in both his body and his soul—in such a way that when he sensed the horrible punishment required by our sins, "his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground."⁷ He cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"⁸ And he endured all this for the forgiveness of our sins.

Therefore we rightly say with Paul that "we know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified";⁹ we consider all things as "loss for the sake of Christ";¹⁰ and we find all comforts in his wounds and have no other means of reconciliation with God than this one and only sacrifice, once made, which renders believers perfect forever.¹¹ This is also why the angel of God called him Jesus—that is, "Savior"—because he would save his people from their sins.¹²