Sacrifice of Atonement Given by God

P.T. Forsyth:

"...Leviticus xvii.11. 'The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life'...

The positive truth is that the sacrifice is the result of God's grace and not its cause. It is given by God before it is given to Him. The real ground of any atonement is not in God's wrath but in God's grace." (p. 89)

Source: The Cruciality of the Cross.