The answer is yes, but the question requires a more comprehensive answer than may first appear. The objective of God’s plan is not only to forgive sin, but also to remove sinful tendencies from the heart of every individual who has ever lived.
Salvation is a two-step process. The first step was to provide an atoning sacrifice. That will be followed by the Millennial kingdom, when the cleansing work will take place. The Apostle Paul briefly described this process, saying, God …will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
The Scriptures teach that death is the result of original sin. When Father Adam disobeyed God, he lost the personal fellowship he enjoyed with God (Genesis 3:17-19). His disobedience introduced sin into the human family, and everyone born since that time has inherited sin as well as its punishment, death. This is described by the prophet Jeremiah. “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Jeremiah 31:29).
The word “atonement” means to reconcile two opposing parties. The first work of atonement was the death of Jesus. In 1 Timothy 2:6, the Apostle Paul terms his death a “ransom.” The word ransom means “a corresponding price.” Paul also writes, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). As a corresponding price for Adam, Jesus’ death guaranteed the resurrection of all his descendants. So, Jesus essentially purchased the human family. However, the effects of sin remain and must be removed.
For believers in Christ who have devoted themselves to doing God’s will, the cleansing process begins in this age, known as the Gospel Age. By applying the merit of Christ, each believer receives justification as described in Romans 3:24: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This justification provides the legal basis for a believer to have a relationship with God as “sons” (see also Romans 8:14). Through this ongoing relationship, the cleansing process continues. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
But believers are just a small portion of the human family. The work of removing sin in every human heart is reserved for the Millennium, the 1,000-year kingdom of Christ described in Revelation 20. There, we are told that Satan will be bound, no longer able to “deceive the nations.” Mankind will be resurrected, and the instructions in righteousness will begin. At the end of the age, Satan will be loosed from his prison as a final test before even he is destroyed. Those who follow him and persist in sin will be destroyed in the second death, a death from which there will be no resurrection.
The plan of God is comprehensive. The blood of Christ provides forgiveness of original sin. This is followed by the work of cleansing, first in this present age for believers, and then for the remainder of mankind in God’s Millennium. God’s plan of atonement reveals not only profound wisdom, but through it, we see the loving heart of our great Creator.
